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Aug. 7, 2013

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced the pairings for the final two rounds of the inaugural 2013 Corpus Christi Challenge at American Bank Center on Nov. 29-30.

Following first and second round games held at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia plays SMU in the third round of the challenge in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers play either Texas A&M or Missouri State in the championship round on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. ET. Both Virginia games will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.

Hampton, Liberty, Sam Houston State and Arkansas Pine Bluff complete the inaugural eight-team field. The tournament format includes four games for each team with two games held at campus sites and two games held at the American Bank Center Arena.

The Cavaliers return 11 letterwinners, including their top five scorers, from last season’s team, which finished with a 23-12 record and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. All-ACC performers Joe Harris (Chelan, Wash.) and Akil Mitchell (Charlotte, N.C.) lead the way after enjoying breakout seasons a year ago. Harris earned All-ACC first-team honors after averaging 16.3 points per game, including a career-high 36 in a win against Duke. Mitchell was named to the All-ACC third team after averaging 13.1 points and a team-leading 8.9 rebounds per game.

Fifth-year head coach Tony Bennett has a 76-53 record at Virginia. He has increased Virginia’s win total in each of the last four seasons and led the Cavaliers to the postseason in each of the last two seasons.

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