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Cavaliers Start Busy Stretch At Miami
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CHARLOTTESVILLEThe Virginia men’s basketball team begins a busy stretch of games on Saturday afternoon (March 1) at Miami when the Cavaliers play the Hurricanes in an Atlantic Coast Conference encounter. The game with Miami is the first of three games in five days for UVa.
After playing the Hurricanes, Virginia travels to Atlanta for a game with Georgia Tech on Monday (March 3) and then concludes the three-game stretch with a home game against Duke on Wednesday (March 5). The game at Georgia Tech was rescheduled from Feb. 21 when a leak in the roof at Alexander Memorial Coliseum caused postponement of the game scheduled for that night.
With the game at Georgia Tech now scheduled for Monday, the “Cavalier Call-In” radio show with head coach Dave Leitao is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at Wild Wing Caf in Charlottesville. The program will also air on the normal affiliates on the Virginia Sports Network.
The Cavaliers enter the Miami game with an overall record of 13-12 and a 3-9 record in the ACC. Virginia is coming off its second consecutive victory, a 78-60 home win over NC State on Feb. 24 at John Paul Jones Arena.
UVa had an outstanding defensive effort against the Wolfpack. The Cavaliers had 16 steals and NC State turned the ball over 25 times in the game. In the first half alone, Virginia had 11 steals and the Wolfpack turned the ball over 17 times. For the game, the Cavaliers scored 25 points off NC State turnovers.
Senior guard Sean Singletary led Virginia to its victory over NC State. Singletary had game-high totals of 21 points, seven steals and six assists. His seven steals tied the UVa single-game record and his 21 points marked the 12th time this season and 39th time in his career that he’s scored at least 20 points in a game. He has scored in double figures in 47 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the ACC. Singletary’s six assists moved him into third place on Virginia’s career assists list with 532.
Sophomore guard Calvin Baker came off the Virginia bench to score 15 points against NC State.
Singletary continues to lead the Cavaliers in scoring and assists. He is averaging 18.9 points and 5.9 assists a game. He ranks third in the ACC in scoring and second in assists.
Junior forward/guard Mamadi Diane and senior forward Adrian Joseph are also averaging in double figures in scoring for Virginia. Diane is averaging 11.9 points a game, while Joseph is averaging 11.2 points a game and leads the Cavaliers in rebounding with an average of 6.8 rebounds a game.
Miami enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 19-8 and a 6-7 record in the ACC. The Hurricanes are coming off a 79-69 loss at Clemson on Wednesday (Feb. 27) that broke a four-game winning streak.
Junior guard Jack McClinton leads Miami in scoring with an average of 16.4 points a game. McClinton is shooting 42.9 percent (69-161) from three-point range and 90.0 percent (72-80) from the free throw line. He also leads the Hurricanes in assists with 67.
The Hurricanes’ other top scorers include sophomore guard James Dews (10.7 ppg.), sophomore forward Dwayne Collins (9.7 ppg.) and junior guard Brian Asbury (9.5 ppg.). Senior center Anthony King is Miami’s top rebounder with an average of 7.4 a game and Collins is averaging 6.5 rebounds a game. King has also blocked 40 shots.
Frank Haith is in his fourth season as the head coach at Miami. His Miami teams have compiled an overall record of 65-57 and twice participated in the National Invitation Tournament.
Miami leads the series with Virginia 4-3 and the Hurricanes have won both games played in Coral Gables, Fla. The teams split two games last season with each team winning at home.
Saturday’s game is the only regular-season game between Virginia and Miami this season.