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CHARLOTTESVILLEThe Virginia men’s basketball team closes the non-conference portion of its 2007-08 schedule on Thursday (Jan. 3) when the Cavaliers travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a game with Xavier. The game is the final non-conference game of the regular season for the Cavaliers.
The game will be televised by CSTV and is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. The 8 p.m. starting time is a change from the originally announced starting time of 9 p.m.
Virginia enters the game with a four-game winning streak and an overall record of 10-2 after a 78-70 victory over Hartford at John Paul Jones Arena on Dec. 30. Junior forward/guard Mamadi Diane led the Cavaliers with 20 points and he had nine rebounds against the Hawks. Senior forward Adrian Joseph had his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Joseph has had double figure rebound totals in six of UVa’s 12 games.
Senior guard Sean Singletary and sophomore guard Calvin Baker each had 12 points in the victory over Hartford. Singletary has now scored in double figures in 34 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Baker has scored in double figures six times off the bench this season.
Thursday’s game is Virginia’s third true road game of the season. The Cavaliers won 75-72 at Arizona on Nov. 17 and 100-85 at Penn on Nov. 23.
Singletary continues to lead UVa in scoring (18.2 ppg.) and assists (6.8 apg.), while Joseph is the team’s leading rebounder with an average of 8.1 rebounds a game. Joseph is averaging 13.2 points a game and Diane 11.8 points a game.
Xavier is currently 10-3 overall and has won its last two games. The Musketeers are coming off a 103-77 victory over Kansas State on Monday (Dec. 31).
Xavier is 7-1 on its home court at Cintas Center this season. During the last eight seasons, the Musketeers are 97-16 (.858 winning percentage) at Cintas Center.
The Musketeers have six players averaging in double figures in scoring led by senior guard Drew Lavender (12.5 ppg.). Also averaging in double figures in scoring for Xavier are sophomore forward Derrick Brown (11.8 ppg.), junior guard/forward C.J. Anderson (11.7 ppg.), junior guard/forward B.J. Raymond (11.2 ppg.), senior guard Stanley Burrell (10.8 ppg.) and senior forward Josh Duncan (10.1 ppg.). Brown leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.8 rebounds a game and Anderson is averaging 5.8 rebounds a game. Lavender leads Xavier in assists with an average of 4.8 a game.
Xavier is averaging 79.0 points a game and allowing an average of 62.2 points a game. The Musketeers are shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 76.2 percent from the free throw line, and are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 8.1 rebounds a game (39.0-30.9).
Sean Miller is in his fourth season as the head coach at Xavier. His Xavier teams have compiled an overall record of 73-35 (.676 wining percentage) and have competed in the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons. Miller was an assistant coach at North Carolina State for five seasons (1996-2001).
The two teams have met only once previously with Virginia winning 85-65 during the 1971-72 season.