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Cavaliers Open Season At Home Against William & Mary On Friday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team opens its 2010-11 season on Friday (Nov. 12) at John Paul Jones Arena against William & Mary. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Single-game tickets for the William & Mary game are available for $28 and $13 and can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets or by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets may also be purchased on game day at the JPJA box office starting at 5:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, including 3WV-FM (97.5) in the Charlottesville area.
The 2010-11 season is the second for Tony Bennett as Virginia’s head coach. Six lettermen return from last year’s UVa team that compiled an overall record of 15-16 and a 5-11 record in the ACC. The Cavaliers have added seven freshmen to their roster.
Bennett’s first Virginia team led the ACC and ranked 13th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.7). The Cavaliers shot 74.8 percent from the free throw line to rank second in the conference and 18th nationally. UVa also improved by 8.9 points in points allowed per game (63.6). The Cavaliers were 3-3 against ranked opponents last season.
Heading the list of returning players for Virginia is 6-8 senior forward Mike Scott. Scott is the Cavaliers’ top returning scorer after averaging 12.0 ppg last season and he led the team in rebounds a year ago with an average of 7.2 rpg. He also had eight double-doubles last season and enters the 2010-11 campaign with 18 in his career. Scott has started 65 games during his first three collegiate seasons.
Sammy Zeglinski, a 6-1 red-shirt junior guard, was third on the Virginia team in scoring a year ago with an average of 8.9 ppg and led the Cavaliers in three-point field goals made (61), assists (80) and steals (38). Zeglinski started 44 games the last two seasons, but he will not play against William & Mary because of a knee injury.
Other returning lettermen for UVa include 6-4 senior guard Mustapha Farrakhan, 6-9 senior forward Will Sherrill, 5-11 sophomore guard Jontel Evans and 7-0 junior center Assane Sene.
Farrakhan has lettered the last three seasons for the Cavaliers. He averaged 6.5 points and 2.0 assists a game last season when he played in 30 games, starting 10. He scored in double figures 10 times, led the team in assists in nine games and shot 78.3 percent (47-60) from the free-throw line.
Sherrill joined the program as a walk-on and earned a scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year. He played in 30 games last season, starting seven, and averaged 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds a game. Sherrill has lettered each of the last three seasons and was a member of the 2009-10 ACC All-Academic Team.
Evans played in all 31 games last season, starting 11, and averaged 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 16.5 minutes played a game. His +7 steals-to-turnovers comparison (34 steals, 27 turnovers) led the ACC in 2009-10.
Sene averaged 1.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 12.6 minutes played a game last season and was second on the team in blocked shots with 19. He led Virginia in blocked shots with 35 (1.6 bpg) and ranked fifth in the ACC in 2008-09.
Bennett has named Farrakhan, Scott and Sherrill the team’s tri-captains for the 2010-11 season.
A number of freshmen players are expected to have an impact on the 2010-11 Virginia team. Joining the Cavaliers this season are guards Billy Baron (6-2), KT Harrell (6-4), Joe Harris (6-6) and Thomas Rogers (6-6), and forwards James Johnson (6-9), Akil Mitchell (6-8) and Will Regan (6-8).
Virginia defeated Roanoke College 82-50 in an exhibition game on Nov. 6 and the starting lineup for that game was comprised of Evans, Farrakhan, Harrell, Scott and Sene. Scott led the Cavaliers against Roanoke with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Harrell and Harris each added 10 points.
UVa leads the series with William & Mary 52-26 and the Cavaliers have won the last eight games in the series. Virginia won the last meeting between the two teams 84-71 at University Hall during the 2003-04 season.
Eight lettermen return from last season’s 22-11 William & Mary team that participated in the National Invitation Tournament. The Tribe played three games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents last season. William & Mary won at Wake Forest (78-68) and at Maryland (83-77) during the regular season, and lost at North Carolina 80-72 in the first round of the NIT.
Among the top returning players for William & Mary are 6-6 junior forward Quinn McDowell and 6-9 senior forward Marcus Kitts. McDowell averaged 13.9 points and 4.3 rebounds a game last season, while Kitts averaged 7.0 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds a game.
Tony Shaver is in his eighth season as the men’s head basketball coach at William & Mary. He was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons last season.
After the game with the Tribe, Virginia returns to action against USC Upstate on Monday (Nov. 15). That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.