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Feb. 1, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Virginia, ranked eighth in the AP poll and fifth in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 14-4 overall and 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. The Cavaliers are coming off a 91-87 loss to third-ranked Maryland (Jan. 31) at University Hall. Missouri, ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 24th in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12. The Tigers are coming off a 105-73 loss (Jan. 28) to second-ranked Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.

The Series vs. Missouri
Virginia holds a 4-0 lead in the series with Missouri. Three of the games have been decided by 13 or more points. UVa defeated the Tigers 85-72 (Jan. 20) last season at University Hall. The previous three meetings occurred in the 1980s. The Cavaliers won the initial meeting 68-53 on February 20, 1983 at the Continental Airlines Arena (then known as Brendan Bryne Arena) in East Rutherford, N.J. UVa won the second meeting 64-62 on February 9, 1986 in Columbia, Mo. Virginia improved to 3-0 versus the Tigers with a 66-50 win at University Hall on January 7, 1987.

UVa’s narrowest margin of victory over Missouri occurred in Columbia when it posted a 64-62 victory over the Tigers in the 1985-86 season.

Virginia vs. the Big 12 Conference
Given the geographic disparity of the Big 12 Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference, it isn’t surprising that Virginia rarely plays schools from the Big 12. Against the 12 current members of the Big 12, the Cavaliers are 6-7 all-time. The Cavaliers are 4-0 vs. Missouri, 1-1 vs. Oklahoma, 1-2 vs. Kansas, and 0-1 vs. Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Virginia has played only two games against teams when they were a member of the Big 12 Conference (the Big 12 was formed in the 1996-97 season). In the first game, the Cavaliers lost to Nebraska 80-65 in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 27, 1997. Last year’s victory over Missouri marked the second meeting against a current Big 12 school. Prior to last year’s win, the last UVa victory over one of the Big 12’s current teams was in the 1994-95 season. Virginia defeated Kansas 67-58 in the “Sweet 16” of the 1995 NCAA Tournament on March 24 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

Last Season Vs. Missouri
The Cavaliers closed out their non-conference regular season schedule with an 85-72 victory over 20th-ranked Missouri (Jan. 20) at University Hall. UVa won all 11 of its non-conference regular season games, marking the first time since the 1981-82 season the Cavaliers went undefeated in non-conference regular season play. Guard Donald Hand led five Cavaliers in double figures with 20 points and also added six assists. Forward Chris Williams and forward/center Travis Watson notched double-doubles. Williams totaled 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and added four assists. Watson posted his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Watson also blocked three shots. Guard Roger Mason, Jr., scored all 13 of his points in the second half, while forward/guard Adam Hall had 11 points and six rebounds.

The Cavaliers never trailed in the first half and led by as many as nine points before settling for a 35-32 lead at intermission. Missouri took its first lead in the game at the 18:57 mark of in the second half (36-35). Neither team led by more than four points during the first 17 minutes of the second half. With the Tigers leading by one point, 69-68, at the 4:18 mark, UVa took the lead for good on a dunk by Watson at 4:10. Watson was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to give Virginia a 71-69 advantage. Watson’s three-point play began a 12-0 Cavalier run. The Cavaliers outscored Missouri 17-3 in the last 4:10 of the game. Clarence Gilbert led the Tigers with 22 points, while Kareem Rush added 20.

Hall Returns to Lineup
Senior guard/forward Adam Hall returned to action for Virginia January 31 against Maryland. Hall missed five games after injuring his right foot with 41 seconds left in UVa’s game against North Carolina (Jan. 12). Hall had a partial tear of the plantar fascia (dense tissue that supports the arch) on the bottom of his right foot.

Hall played five minutes against Maryland and was 0-2 from the field and had one rebound.

Prior to his injury, Hall was averaging 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, and was averaging 27.8 minutes per game. He started the first 11 games of the season, but came off the bench in UVa’s victory over North Carolina. Hall played 24 minutes and scored eight points with four steals, three assists and one rebound against the Tar Heels.

Non-Conference Regular Season Winning Streak
Virginia has won a school record 27 consecutive regular season games against non-conference opponents. The previous record for consecutive non-conference regular season victories was 22. During its current streak, UVa has won all three of its games against ranked non-ACC teams. Virginia beat fourth-ranked Tennessee 107-89 (Dec. 19) and 20th-ranked Missouri 85-72 (Jan. 20) during the 2000-01 season, and defeated 16th-ranked Georgetown 61-55 (Dec. 20) at MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The streak began with a 98-67 win against Loyola (Md.) at University Hall on December 8, 1999. The last time the Cavaliers lost to a non-conference opponent during the regular season was on December 4, 1999 when they lost 85-63 to St. John’s University at Madison Square Garden. Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia won 22 consecutive non-conference regular season games from November 21, 1981 to December 19, 1982. UVa began the streak with a 63-61 win over Brigham Young (Nov. 21) to start the 1981-82 season. The streak ended the next season when Virginia lost to Chaminade 77-72 (Dec. 23).

Mason Scores 1,000th Career Point
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., became the 36th Cavalier to score 1,000 career points when he made two free throws with 9:17 left in the first half against Maryland (Jan. 31). Mason ended the game with 29 points and 1,027 in his career. He currently stands 34th on UVa’s all-time scoring list with 1,027 points. Mason is 10 points behind current teammate Adam Hall, who also scored his 1,000th career point this season (vs. Rutgers – Dec. 23).

Leading Free Throw Shooter in ACC History
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., is the most accurate free throw shooter in ACC history. Mason retook the lead as the ACC’s most accurate free throw shooter from Wake Forest’s Charlie Davis (1969-71) with a six for six effort from the charity stripe against Duke (Jan. 27). Mason has made 270 of 308 for 87.66 percent, while Davis made 578 of 662 free throws for 87.31 percent.

Mason originally passed Davis for the ACC’s all-time lead with his four for four performance from the free throw line against Florida State (Jan. 20), but fell behind Davis when he went three for four from the line against Georgia Tech (Jan. 22). Mason temporarily passed Davis again when he made his first four free throws against VMI (Jan. 24), but finished the game five for six to slip back to second.

Three With 1,000 Points
The Cavaliers have three players on the team who have scored 1,000 career points at Virginia. It marks the third time Virginia has had three 1,000 point scorers on the same team. Senior forward Chris Williams leads the trio with 1,662 career points (ninth at UVa). Senior forward Adam Hall has scored 1,037 points and junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., is right behind Hall with 1,027 points.

In the 1980-81 season, Jeff Lamp, Lee Raker and Ralph Sampson each had 1,000 career points. Bryant Stith, John Crotty and Kenny Turner were the other trio to accomplish the feat in the 1990-91 season.

Junior forward/center Travis Watson could become the four UVa player on the 2001-2002 squad with 1,000 career points. Watson currently has 931 points and needs 69 to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

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