/
.
Virginia Returns Home To Play Maryland-Eastern Shore On Tuesday
Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE-The nationally ranked Virginia men’s basketball team plays the first of two consecutive home games on Tuesday (Dec. 27) when the Cavaliers host Maryland-Eastern Shore at John Paul Jones Arena.
UVa is ranked No. 23 by The Associated Press and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week. The Cavaliers are 10-1 on the season and have won their last eight games. Maryland-Eastern Shore is 3-9 on the season and 0-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Single-game tickets for Virginia’s game with Maryland-Eastern Shore are available and can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets. Tickets may also be purchased on game day at the JPJA box office starting at 5:30 p.m.
Family packets are also available for the Maryland-Eastern Shore game. A minimum of four tickets must be purchased at a family package price point and a voucher will be included with each ticket for a hot dog and 22-ounce soda.
Tuesday’s game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. It will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network and carried free on the ACC Digital Network.
UVa is coming off a two-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Cavaliers won at Oregon (67-54, Dec. 18) and at Seattle (83-77, Dec. 21) on the trip.
Senior forward Mike Scott was named the ACC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week on Monday (Dec. 26) for his play in Virginia’s victory at Seattle. He scored a career-high 33 points and had 14 rebounds against the Redhawks. He was 12-14 from the field and 9-11 from the free-throw line. It was Scott’s second consecutive double-double and his fifth of the season. He now has 29 career double-doubles, tying him for third on Virginia’s career list.
Scott leads the Cavaliers in scoring (17.1 ppg.) and rebounding (9.9 rpg.). He is shooting 63.3 percent (62-98) from the field and 80.3 percent (61-76) from the free-throw line. Scott ranks second among Atlantic Coast Conference players in field goal percentage, third in rebounding and fourth in scoring.
Sophomore guard Joe Harris is averaging 12.8 points and 3.6 rebounds a game for Virginia. Harris is shooting 89.7 percent (35-39) from the free-throw line. He ranks third among ACC players in free throw percentage and 14th in scoring. Harris scored 14 points in the victory at Seattle.
Senior guard Sammy Zeglinski has scored in double figures in four of the last five games and is averaging 9.2 points a game. Zeglinski is shooting 42.6 percent (20-47) from three-point range. He ranks tied for third among ACC players in steals (1.8 spg.), and is fourth in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made (2.2 pg.). Zeglinski scored 11 points against Seattle.
Three other Virginia players are averaging between 7.5 and 5.6 points a game, including freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon (7.5), junior guard Jontel Evans (7.1) and senior center Assane Sene (5.6).
Evans leads the team in assists with 34 and ranks eighth among ACC players in that department with an average of 3.1 a game. He ranks eighth in steals with an average of 1.5 a game.
Brogdon scored 10 points in the win at Seattle. He made eight of nine attempts from the free-throw line.
As a team the Cavaliers rank third in the nation in scoring defense allowing an average of 51.1points a game. In ACC rankings, Virginia ranks first in scoring defense, free throw percentage (74.3 percent, 199-268), rebounding defense (26.8) and defensive rebounding percentage (.770), second in turnover margin (+2.2), and third in field goal percentage (48.1 percent, 247-513), three-point field goal percentage defense (27.1 percent, 46-170) and rebounding margin (+6.8).
Virginia and Maryland-Eastern Shore have met once before with the Cavaliers winning 104-63 in Charlottesville during the 2006-07 season.
Maryland-Eastern Shore is coming off a 64-60 loss at Air Force on Dec. 17. The Hawks have won two of their last four games.
Maryland-Eastern Shore is led by in scoring and assists by junior guard Percy Woods who is averaging 11.1 points and 3.7 assists a game. Sophomore guard Louis Bell is averaging 11.0 points a game, senior guard Hillary Haley is averaging 8.7 points and 3.9 rebounds a game, and freshman guard Ishaq Pitt is averaging 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game for the Hawks. Senior forward/center Tyler Hines is averaging 6.6 rebounds and 5.7 points a game for Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Frankie Allen is in his fourth season as the head coach at Maryland-Eastern Shore.
After the game with Maryland-Eastern Shore, Virginia returns to action on Friday (Dec. 30) when the Cavaliers host Towson at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.