Cavaliers Set for Rematch vs. Florida State Saturday

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Jan. 17, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia (12-5, 3-1 ACC) begins its three-game homestand against Florida State (12-4, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) is set for 12 p.m.

Broadcast Information
The Virginia-Florida State game will be televised by the ACC Network and online at ESPN3.com. The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network and Sirius (Channel 92) and XM (Channel 191) satellite radio stations. Live statistics (GameTracker) are located on VirginiaSports.com, as well as the Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes. Fans can also follow the game via Twitter at @UVaMensHoops.

Ticket Information
Tickets for the Virginia-Florida State game may be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets. Fans may also purchase tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office by telephone and in person. The ticket office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-8821. Tickets may also be purchased on game day at the JPJ box office starting at 10:30 a.m.

For Openers
• Saturday’s game is Youth Day at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Virginia meets Florida State two weeks after posting a 62-50 win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
• Virginia aims for its first two-game series sweep vs. Florida State since 2000-01.
• As of Jan. 16, Virginia and Florida State are tied for third in the ACC at 3-1.
• The Cavaliers rank third in the nation in scoring defense at 56.0 points per game.

The Head Coaches
Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 88-58 in five seasons at UVa and 157-91 in eight seasons overall. Florida State: Leonard Hamilton (Tennessee-Martin, 1971), 209-147 in 12 seasons at FSU and 409-357 in 26 seasons overall.

All-Time vs. Florida State
• Virginia is 19-22 vs. Florida State in the series that dates back to 1991-92.
• The Cavaliers are looking for their first two-game home winning streak against the Seminoles since posting a 56-55 win (Feb. 9, 2005) and 73-70 win (Feb. 17, 2007).
• The Cavaliers are 1-0 against the Seminoles this season, defeating FSU 62-50 on Jan. 4.
• UVa is 12-8 vs. Florida State in Charlottesville, including a 56-36 win last season at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The 56-36 win tied a school record for fewest points allowed to an ACC opponent (NC State, 36, Feb. 10, 1982).
• Virginia has won two of its last three games vs. Florida State, but is 2-11 in its last 13 contests.

Last Time vs. the Seminoles
• Virginia ended a 10-game losing streak at Florida State and 17-game losing streak in the state of Florida with its 62-50 win over the Seminoles on Jan. 4.
• The Cavaliers also ended a two-game losing streak and improved to 6-0 in their last six ACC openers with the win.
• Justin Anderson scored 16 points and Akil Mitchell added 11 points and 13 rebounds for his 14th career double.
• Virginia jumped to an early 6-0 lead and never trailed as it bounced back from an 87-52 loss at Tennessee. The Cavaliers led by as many as 15 in the opening half and 22 in the second half.
• London Perrantes had a career-high 14 points for Virginia.
• Okaro White led Florida State with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Last Time Out
• The Cavaliers lost 69-65 at Duke on Jan. 13.
• Rasheed Sulaimon tallied 21 points off the bench, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left, and Amile Jefferson (10 points and 15 rebounds) clinched the win with a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds left after Virginia erased an 11-point deficit.
• Malcolm Brogdon matched a career high with 17 points and Joe Harris added 15 points for UVa.
• Virginia outrebounded Duke, 34-31, behind Akil Mitchell’s team-high nine rebounds.

About the Cavaliers
Virginia’s three-game winning streak to begin ACC play came to end with its 69-65 loss at No. 23 Duke on Jan. 13. The Cavaliers re-established their identity with wins over Florida State (62-50), Wake Forest (74-51) and NC State (76-45), and are playing their best basketball of the season.

The Cavaliers’ success has been highlighted by its third-ranked defense, rebounding and balanced scoring. The Cavaliers are yielding 56 points per game and grabbing 55.8 percent of the rebounds, ruling the glass in 14 of 17 games and enjoying an average rebound margin of +8.3 per game. UVa also ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 37.4 percent.

Virginia is averaging 65.8 points per game, marking their highest total under head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia is averaging 25.4 bench points and has scored 43.6 percent of its points in the paint.

UVa sports a balanced scoring attack, led by All-ACC performer Joe Harris at 10.9 points per game. Harris has hit double figures in scoring in each of the last three games. Malcolm Brogdon is second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.2 rpg) and has added a team-leading 1.2 steals per game. Brogdon leads UVa in scoring during ACC action at 13.8 points per game.

Versatile guard Justin Anderson has recorded 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Anthony Gill, who has led the team in scoring in four games, has registered 7.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Mike Tobey has chipped in 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while Akil Mitchell has added 6.6 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Mitchell ranks second in the ACC at 10.3 rebounds per game during league play. Freshman point guard London Perrantes leads the Cavaliers with 3.4 assists per game.

Up Next
Virginia hosts North Carolina on Monday, Jan. 20. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN as part of ACC Big Monday.