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Cavaliers Play At Georgia Tech On Wednesday
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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team will be looking for its second consecutive victory on Wednesday (Feb. 23) when the Cavaliers play an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Georgia Tech.
Wednesday’s game in Atlanta is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU. The Virginia Sports Radio Network will also broadcast the game.
The Cavaliers are coming off a 61-54 victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday (Feb. 19) at John Paul Jones Arena. The win evened Virginia’s overall record at 13-13 and UVa is now 4-8 in the ACC.
The victory over Virginia Tech was the second for the Cavaliers against the Hokies this season. UVa defeated Virginia Tech 57-54 in Blacksburg on Dec. 5.
Senior guard Mustapha Farrakhan scored 16 points and freshman guard Joe Harris added 15 points and seven rebounds to lead Virginia against the Hokies last Saturday. Red-shirt junior guard Sammy Zeglinski also scored in double figures for UVa with 10 points and he had five assists.
For the game the Cavaliers shot 45.7 percent (21-46) from the field, including 47.8 percent (11-23) from three-point range, and 61.5 percent (8-13) from the free throw line. Virginia made at least 10 three-point field goals for the seventh time this season and shot better from three-point range than two-point range for the ninth time.
Virginia out-rebounded Virginia Tech 32-30. Harris, freshman forward Akil Mitchell and junior center Assane Sene each had seven rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Sene also scored seven points and sophomore guard Jontel Evans scored seven points and had five assists. It’s the 11th time this season Evans has had at least five assists in a game.
Farrakhan and Harris are both averaging in double figures in scoring for the Cavaliers. Farrakhan is averaging 13.2 points a game for the season and 14.0 points a game in ACC games. Harris is averaging 10.6 points a game for the season and 11.4 points a game in conference games. His 55 three-point field goals rank second on Virginia’s list of three-point field goals by freshmen in a season.
Freshman guard KT Harrell is averaging 8.9 points a game for the Cavaliers and Sene is averaging 5.4 rebounds a game. Sene is averaging 7.3 rebounds a game in conference games. Evans leads UVa in assists (94, 3.6 apg.) and steals (37, 1.4 spg.).
Harris is tied for third in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (.423, 55-130) for all games and is also third in that category in conference games (.435, 30-69). He ranks tied for sixth in the ACC in three-point field goals made (2.1 pg.) for all games and is tied for third in conference games (2.5 pg.).
Evans ranks tied for ninth in the conference in all games in assists and is ninth in steals, and Farrakhan is 16th in the ACC in all games in scoring. Farrakhan is 14th in scoring in conference games.
Sene ranks seventh in conference games in rebounding with his average of 7.3 a game and ninth in blocked shots (1.7 bpg.).
Zeglinski ranks first in conference games in three-point field goal percentage (.444, 24-54), is third in assist to turnover ratio (2.4) and is tied for eighth in three-point field goals made (2.0 pg.).
As a team in conference games, Virginia ranks first in three-point field goal percentage (.400, 90-225), first in defensive rebound percentage (.720), second in scoring defense (63.2 ppg.) and fourth in three-point field goals made (7.5 pg.). For all games UVa ranks first in defensive rebound percentage (.717), second in three-point field goal percentage (.388, 190-490) and fourth in scoring defense (62.7 ppg.), rebounding defense (33.2) and in three-point field goals made (7.3 pg.).
Georgia Tech leads the series with Virginia 38-32 and the Yellow Jackets lead 22-9 in games played in Atlanta during the series. The Cavaliers have won the last two games in Atlanta and four of the last five games between the two teams overall.
Wednesday’s game is the second between the teams this season. Virginia defeated the Yellow Jackets 72-64 in Charlottesville on Jan. 22. Farrakhan led the Cavaliers with 23 points and five assists in that game, while Harrell scored 17 points and Harris 11. Junior guard Iman Shumpert led Georgia Tech with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Brian Oliver scored 13 points and red-shirt freshman center Daniel Miller had 12 points and six rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech enters Wednesday’s game with an overall record of 11-15 and a 3-9 record in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 79-57 loss at Duke on Sunday (Feb. 20) and they have lost six of their last seven games.
Shumpert leads Georgia Tech in scoring, rebounding and assists. He is averaging 17.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, and has 88 assists (3.4 apg.). Also averaging in double figures in scoring for the Yellow Jackets are sophomore guard Glen Rice, Jr., (13.9 ppg.) and Oliver (10.9 ppg.). Oliver has not played in Georgia Tech’s last four games after breaking his left thumb against Clemson on Feb. 5.
Paul Hewitt is in his 11th season as the head coach at Georgia Tech and his 14th season as a collegiate head coach. His Yellow Jacket teams have compiled an overall record of 188-159 and participated in five NCAA Tournaments. Hewitt was the head coach at Siena for three seasons before moving to Georgia Tech.
After the game at Georgia Tech the Cavaliers return home for a game with Boston College on Saturday (Feb. 26) at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at noon and will be televised by the Regional Sports Networks of the ACC.