Virginia Men's Basketball Team Set To Square Off Against Auburn

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Dec. 2, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Virginia enters tonight’s game with a 5-0 record, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons UVa has won its first five contests. The Cavaliers, ranked 24th in The Associated Press and 25th in the ESPN/USAToday Top 25 polls, are coming off a 48-44 victory over Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday (December 1) in Evanston, Ill. Auburn also stands at 5-0 in 2004-05 and is coming off a 79-76 overtime win over Colorado State on Tuesday (November 30) in Auburn, Ala. The Tigers finished the 2003-04 season with a 14-14 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the SEC.

Cavaliers Improve to 3-2 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
With a 48-44 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday (Dec. 1), Virginia improved its record to 3-2 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Cavaliers also helped the ACC win the series for the sixth consecutive year as ACC schools won seven of nine contests. The ACC’s cumulative record in the Challenge is 34-19.

The Series vs. Auburn
Virginia and Auburn are knotted at 2-2 in the all-time series. The Cavaliers won the last meeting in the series, 77-72 in Birmingham, Ala. on December 8, 2001 at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center. It marked the first meeting between the two teams in over 70 years.

The first two games in the series were played when both schools were members of the Southern Conference. The Tigers won the initial game of the series 27-21 in Charlottesville in the 1919-1920 season. The Cavaliers evened the series at 1-1 with a 29-27 triumph in Atlanta in the 1924-25 season. In the 1930-31 season, Auburn came away with a 33-26 win in Atlanta.

Virginia vs. the Southeastern Conference
Virginia is 16-22 (.421) against the SEC all-time dating back to that league’s first season in 1932-33. In their last matchup against an SEC team, the Cavaliers defeated then 15th-ranked Kentucky 75-61 in the Maui Invitational on November 26, 2002.

Taking games played when a school was in the SEC only, the series looks like this (records listed for UVa): vs. Alabama 1-4, Arkansas 0-2, Auburn 1-0, Florida 1-0, Georgia Tech 0-1, Georgia 2-1, Kentucky 1-4, Louisiana State 1-0, Mississippi 1-0, Mississippi State 1-1, South Carolina 1-2, Tennessee 5-2, and Vanderbilt 1-5. Virginia has never played Sewanee or Tulane while those schools were members of the SEC. (Please note that Virginia has played those two schools, but not while they were members of the SEC.)

In all games against the 12 current SEC members, Virginia is 52-54 (.491).

First Trip to ALLTEL Pavilion at the Siegel Center
The Cavaliers have played many games in Richmond through the years, but tonight’s contest is UVa’s first in Virginia Commonwealth’s ALLTEL Pavilion at the Siegel Center. The Siegel Center opened in the fall of 1999.

Solid Defense
The Cavaliers have held their first five opponents to 60 or fewer points – Robert Morris (55), Arizona (60), Appalachian State (60), Richmond (58), and Northwestern (44).

The last time UVa limited its first five opponents to 60 or less points was back in the 1948-49 season. In the 1948-49 season, the Cavaliers held their first nine opponents to 60 or fewer points.

Only once during the Pete Gillen era has UVa held more than five opponents to 60 or fewer points in a game and that was six times during the 1998-99 season (Gillen’s first at Virginia).

More Defense
Virginia held Northwestern to only 44 points in a 48-44 victory (Dec. 1) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It marked the fewest points the Cavaliers have allowed in a game in the Pete Gillen era. The previous low by a UVa opponent for points in a game in the Gillen era was 48 points by Virginia Tech (in a 64-48 Cavalier win) on November 24, 2000.

The 44 points by Northwestern also marked the fewest points Virginia has allowed in a game since holding UMBC to 34 points (in a 57-34 UVa win) on December 21, 1996. It is also the lowest point total by a UVa opponent on their home court since the Cavaliers held UNLV to 39 points (a 59-39 UVa win) in Las Vegas on January 3, 1994.

Just Enough Offense
UVa’s 48 points against Northwestern marked the fewest points in a Virginia victory in the Pete Gillen era. The previous low was 58 points (in a 58-55 win) at Clemson (Feb. 21) last season. It also marked the fewest points scored in a UVa victory since the 1981-82 season when the Cavaliers defeated NC State 45-40 on February 20.

UVa’s 48 points against Northwestern are one point more than the fewest points scored in a game under Gillen. The Cavaliers managed just 47 points in losses to North Carolina (Jan. 21, 1999) and Georgia Tech (Feb. 9, 2000).