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Virginia To Host Wake Forest Tuesday In University Hall
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March 1, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
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The Game
Virginia stands at 15-10 overall and 5-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2003-2004 season. The Cavaliers are coming off a come-from-behind 74-72 win over 12th-ranked North Carolina (Feb. 24) in Charlottesville, Va. Wake Forest, ranked 11th in The Associated Press and 11th in the USAToday/ESPN polls February 23, stands at 19-6 overall and 9-5 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons have won six consecutive games and are coming off a 91-83 victory over Maryland (Feb. 28) in College Park, Md.
The Series vs. Wake Forest
Virginia led the all-time series with Wake Forest entering the 1990s, but the Demon Deacons have had the better of the Cavaliers the last decade and now lead the series 61-56. The Deacs, who registered a 91-78 win (Jan. 31) in the first meeting of the 2003-2004 season, have won 15 of the last 22 meetings and 20 of the 33 matchups since the 1989-90 season. UVa, however, has won six of the last 13 games.
Last season, UVa posted an 85-75 win (Jan. 23) in the first meeting of the season in Charlottesville. Wake Forest won the second matchup last year 75-71 (Feb. 23) in Winston-Salem. The home team has won the past seven matchups in the series.
The Cavaliers split the 2001-2002 season series with Wake Forest with both teams winning on their home floor. UVa won the first meeting 86-74 (Jan. 15) in Charlottesville, while the Demon Deacons took a 92-70 decision (Feb. 17) in Winston-Salem. The two teams also split the 2000-2001 season series with both teams winning at home. Wake won the first meeting in the 2000-2001 season 96-73 (Jan. 2) in Winston-Salem in a matchup of two top 10 teams (UVa was ranked eighth in the AP poll and Wake was fourth). Virginia won the second meeting 82-71 (Feb. 3) in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers have won 19 of the last 25 games played at University Hall, including the last three. Wake Forest has won five of the last 10 games in Charlottesville dating back to the 1992-93 season. The Demon Deacons’ last win in Charlottesville was an 80-75 win (Mar. 2) in the 1999-00 season. Virginia leads 33-18 in games played in Charlottesville.
Senior Night
Tonight’s game against Wake Forest marks the final regular season home game at University Hall for four Cavaliers. Three of the players are graduate students – Todd Billet, Majestic Mapp, and Billy Glading, while Brad Abel is a senior.
Late Game Heroics
Guard Todd Billet has lifted the Cavaliers to its last three victories with some clutch late-game shooting.
He drained a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to lift Virginia to an 82-80 win over Georgia Tech (Feb. 14) at University Hall. The three-pointer marked Billet’s only points of the game.
At Clemson (Feb. 21), Billet sank a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to erase a 55-53 deficit and give UVa a 56-55 edge. He also made a layup with two seconds left to make the final score 58-55. Billet scored 21 points in the game.
Against 12th-ranked North Carolina, Billet capped a Cavalier come-back with a three-pointer with 13.6 seconds remaining to erase a one-point deficit and propel UVa to a 74-72 victory.