Virginia Men's Basketball Returns To ACC Play Saturday

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Jan. 5, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Virginia enters today’s Atlantic Coast Conference game with a 6-5 overall record and a 0-1 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 78-68 loss to Western Kentucky (Jan. 2) in Bowling Green, Ky.

Clemson stands at 12-2 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. The Tigers, who won their first 11 games of the season, are coming off a 61-55 home win over Florida State (Jan. 4).

The Series vs. Clemson
Virginia leads the all-time series with Clemson 63-46. The Cavaliers won the only meeting against Clemson last season 81-79 (Jan. 22) at University Hall. UVa has won the last four meetings in the series. Virginia swept three games from the Tigers in the 2003-04 season. UVa snapped a two-game losing streak to the Tigers with a 61-50 win (Jan. 20) in Charlottesville. Virginia earned a sweep with a 58-55 victory (Feb. 21) in Clemson, S.C., and then defeated Clemson a third time with an 83-79 overtime victory (Mar. 11) in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. It marked only the second time the Cavaliers beat Clemson three times in the same season (UVa also won three times in 1982).

UVa has won 11 of the last 15 games against the Tigers and 22 of the last 31 in the series dating back to the 1989-90 season. The Cavaliers swept the season series seven times in the last 13 seasons (since 1992-93) and are 18-8 vs. the Tigers during that span.

The Tigers swept the 2002-03 season series from UVa, winning 78-77 (Jan. 18) in Clemson, S.C., and 73-64 (Feb. 18) in Charlottesville. It marked Clemson’s first season sweep since the 1996-97 campaign.

Virginia had its four-game winning streak against the Tigers snapped with a 68-52 loss (Jan. 8) in the first meeting in the 2001-02 season in Clemson, S.C. Virginia earned a split in the 2001-02 series with an 85-71 win (Feb. 10) in University Hall.

The Cavaliers swept the 2000-01 season series versus Clemson, winning 104-76 (Jan. 27) at Littlejohn Coliseum and 84-65 (Feb. 28) at University Hall. Virginia also swept the 1999-00 season series from Clemson.

Virginia has won seven of the last eight contests against Clemson at University Hall. The Cavaliers had their five-game home winning streak against Clemson snapped with a 73-64 loss to the Tigers on February 18, 2003. UVa won for the seventh time in the last eight tries at home with an 81-79 victory (Jan. 22) last season.

The Cavaliers are 37-15 all-time at home against the Tigers, including 31-9 at U-Hall. Prior to the 2002-03 season, the last UVa loss to the Tigers at University Hall was a 62-52 setback on December 7, 1996 (Clemson was ranked 12th in the nation).

More Success in Second ACC Games
Virginia has lost its last 11 ACC openers (19-34 all-time), including a 63-54 setback to Georgia Tech (Dec. 4) in Atlanta earlier this season. However, UVa has fared much better in its second ACC contest of the season over the same span. Over the last 10 years, the Cavaliers have won five times in their second ACC game. Four of the wins have come at home at University Hall and the fifth win came in Richmond (against Wake Forest in the 1997-98 season).

The three times in the last six years UVa didn’t win its second ACC game was in 2001-02 (a 68-52 loss at Clemson – Jan. 8), in 2003-04 (a 93-71 home setback to then second-ranked Duke – Jan. 11) and last season (a 92-69 loss at then ninth-ranked Georgia Tech – Jan. 8).

Back to ACC Play
The Cavaliers opened ACC play on Dec. 4 (a 63-54 loss to Georgia Tech) and are playing their second conference game on Jan. 7 against Clemson. The 33 days between ACC games is the longest stretch ever between ACC contests for Virginia. The previous longest length of time between ACC games for UVa was 31 days in the 1979-80 season – Dec. 1 (vs. Georgia Tech) to Jan. 2 (vs. Wake Forest).

Virginia has also played six non-conference games between league matchups. The six games ties for the second most all-time between ACC contests (1997-98, 1996-97, 1981-82, and 1967-68). In 1979-80, the Cavaliers played eight non-conference contests between their first two ACC games.

New UVa Coaches in Home ACC Debut
Dave Leitao is making his ACC home game coaching debut against Clemson. Only two of six UVa coaches have won their first home ACC game. Billy McCann was the first UVa coach to win his home ACC debut in the 1957-58 season (a 66-61 win over Wake Forest – Dec. 14). In 1990-91, Jeff Jones was the second (and last) UVa coach to win his first home ACC game (an 81-64 win over #8 Duke – Jan. 5).