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Dec. 23, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Virginia (2001-2002: 17-12/7-9 ACC) stands at 6-2 this season. In its last game, UVa defeated Rutgers 61-57 Saturday (Dec. 21) in Piscataway, N.J. for its third consecutive victory. Georgetown (2001-2002: 19-11/9-7 Big East) is 7-0 in 2002-2003 and is coming off a 91-66 victory over Howard (Dec. 20) at MCI Center.

The Series vs. Georgetown
Georgetown leads the series with Virginia 12-10, but the Cavaliers have won six of the last eight meetings. Three of the last five games have been decided in overtime. Georgetown won the first six meetings of the series, which dates back to the 1906-07 season. Since then, Virginia holds a 10-6 edge in the series.

In the last meeting, the Cavaliers recorded a 61-55 victory (Dec. 20) at MCI Center last season to win the John Thompson Foundation Classic. In the previous meeting, Georgetown defeated UVa 115-111 in triple overtime in the first round of the 2000 National Invitation Tournament at University Hall (Mar. 15). Prior to last season’s victory, Virginia’s last win over the Hoyas was a 76-66 overtime triumph in the ACC/Big East Challenge at the Greensboro Coliseum in the 1991-92 season. UVa also recorded a 68-63 win over the Hoyas at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md., in the 1982-83 season. The game was billed as the “game of the decade” with two of the premier players in the country, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing, squaring off against one another.

Virginia is 5-5 against the Hoyas at home in Charlottesville. Georgetown has won the last two games at University Hall, one in overtime and the other in triple overtime. The Cavaliers’ last victory over Georgetown in Charlottesville was a 76-75 win on February 10, 1953.

Non-Conference Teams at University Hall
Virginia is 197-29 (.872) all-time in University Hall against non-conference opponents since the building opened for the 1965-66 season. The Cavaliers have won 79 of their last 89 home games against non-conference opponents dating back to the 1989-90 season. UVa had its 15-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents snapped with a 74-67 loss to South Carolina in the first round of the 2002 National Invitation Tournament (Mar. 13). Virginia’s previous home non-conference loss was also in the NIT as the Cavaliers fell to Georgetown 115-111 in triple overtime in the first round of the 2000 NIT (Mar. 15).

The last time UVa lost a regular season home game to a non-conference opponent was December 12, 1998 when the Cavaliers fell to 12th-ranked St. John’s 95-68. Virginia has won 25 consecutive regular season home games against non-conference foes.Virginia vs. the Big East Conference

The Cavaliers are 118-87 (.576) against the 14 schools in the Big East Conference. Most of the games occurred prior to a school’s membership in the Big East. This afternoon’s game is the second of three contests Virginia plays against Big East teams this season. UVa posted a 61-57 win at Rutgers (Dec. 21) and plays at Virginia Tech (Jan. 21). The win over Rutgers marked UVa’s fifth consecutive win over a Big East team. Virginia’s last loss to a Big East foe was to Georgetown in the 2000 NIT.

In all games against the current membership of the Big East, Virginia is 72-44 vs. Virginia Tech, 10-12 vs. Georgetown, 8-8 vs. West Virginia, 7-3 vs. Pittsburgh, 5-1 vs. Notre Dame, 4-1 vs. Villanova, 3-0 vs. Boston College and Rutgers, 3-1 vs. Providence, 2-6 vs. Connecticut, 1-1 vs. Syracuse, 0-2 vs. Miami (Fla.) and Seton Hall, and 0-6 vs. St. John’s.

Virginia was the only ACC school to win all three games in the defunct ACC-Big East Challenge held from 1989-91. Syracuse was the only Big East school to win all three games in the challenge.

Gillen Registers 350th Career Win
Virginia head coach Pete Gillen won his 350th career game Saturday night (Dec. 21) when his Cavaliers posted a 61-57 victory over Rutgers.

Gillen is in his 18th season as a collegiate head coach and sports a 350-179 record for a .662 winning percentage. Gillen is in his fifth season at Virginia and has posted a 76-51 record (.598 winning percentage). Gillen won the 300th game of his career when Virginia defeated then 21st-ranked North Carolina 87-85 on January 18, 2000 at University Hall.

Gillen has led his teams to postseason play 14 times in 17 seasons (nine NCAA, five NIT), including the last three seasons at Virginia. He has been selected as the conference Coach of the Year five times – all while coaching Xavier (Midwestern Collegiate Conference).

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