Virginia Battles Pittsburgh on Super Bowl Sunday

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Feb. 1, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia (16-5, 7-1 ACC) hits the road for an ACC game at Pittsburgh (18-3, 6-2 ACC) on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2. Tipoff at Petersen Events Center (12,500) is set for 12:30 p.m.

Broadcast Information
The Virginia-Pittsburgh game will be televised by ESPNU and online at WatchESPN.com. The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. and Sirius (Channel 91) and XM (Channel 91) 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
The Virginia-Pittsburgh game is sold out.

For Openers
• Virginia, which has won four straight games, meets Pittsburgh for the first time in ACC play.
• The Cavaliers meet the Panthers for the first time since defeating Pitt, 84-80, in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 3, 1990.
• Virginia’s 7-1 start in the ACC is its best since starting 7-1 in 1982-83 (Ralph Sampson’s senior season).
• A win at Pittsburgh would match UVa’s 8-1 ACC start in 1981-82 when the Cavaliers started 12-1 and finished 12-2 in ACC play.
• The margin of victory in each of the Cavaliers’ first seven ACC wins was at least 10 points, for the first time in school history.
• Virginia has led by 21 or more points in each of its seven ACC wins. • UVa is 0-3 vs. ranked opponents, losing to VCU, Wisconsin and Duke.
• As of Jan. 31, Virginia is second in the ACC at 7-1 and Pittsburgh is tied for third at 6-2.
• The Cavaliers rank first in the nation in scoring defense at 56.0 points per game.

All-Time vs. Pittsburgh
• Virginia is 7-3 all-time vs. Pittsburgh in the series that dates back to 1957-58.
• The Cavaliers have a three-game winning steak against Pittsburgh.
• Head coach Tony Bennettis 0-1 all-time against Pittsburgh, losing to the Panthers 57-43 in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 29, 2008, as head coach at Washington State.
• The Cavaliers are 3-2 against the Panthers in Pittsburgh, posting a 62-61 win on Dec. 5, 1976, in their last visit to the Steel City.

Last Time vs. the Panthers
• Virginia star Bryant Stith had 28 points to lead the Cavaliers to an 84-80 win over Pittsburgh at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.
• John Crotty scored 18 points, Kenny Turner had 15 and Anthony Oliver chipped in 14 as four Cavaliers landed in double figures in scoring.
• Jason Matthews led Pittsburgh with 24 points and current Arizona head coach Sean Miller added 11 points.

Last Time Out
• Malcolm Brogdon continued his terrific play with 16 points and a career-high five steals in Virginia’s 68-53 win at Notre Dame Tuesday.
• Brogdon matched his career highs in rebounds (7) and assists (6) and Mike Tobey added 14 points and four rebounds in the win.
• London Perrantes added five assists, one steal and no turnovers in 29 minutes.
• The Cavaliers shot 53.8 percent from the field and tallied an ACC-high 29 points off of 20 Fighting Irish turnovers.

About the Cavaliers
Virginia has won seven of its last eight games and looks to win its fifth straight overall. The Cavaliers have defeated Florida State (78-66), North Carolina (76-61), Virginia Tech (65-45) and Notre Dame (68-53) since their 69-65 loss at Duke on Jan. 13. A Virginia win at Pittsburgh would match its 8-1 ACC start in the 1981-82 season.

The Cavaliers’ success has been highlighted by its top-ranked defense, rebounding and balanced scoring. The Cavaliers are yielding 56.0 points per game and grabbing 54.5 percent of the rebounds, ruling the glass in 16 of 21 games. UVa also ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 38.0 percent.

Virginia is averaging 67.0 points per game, marking its highest total under head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia is averaging 24.3 bench points and has scored 42.5 percent of its points in the paint.

UVa sports a balanced scoring attack, led by Malcolm Brogdon and All-ACC performer Joe Harris. Brogdon leads the team at 11.6 points per game, while Harris is a close second at 11.5 ppg. Brogdon has a career-best eight-game double figures scoring streak and ranks first in the ACC in steals (2.13 spg), third in field goal percentage (51.1%) and 12th in scoring (15.1 ppg) during ACC action.

Versatile guard Justin Anderson has recorded 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Anthony Gill, who has led the team in scoring in four games, has registered 7.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Mike Tobey, who had 14 points at Notre Dame, has chipped in 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Akil Mitchell has added 6.6 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game. Mitchell is fourth in the ACC at 8.1 rebounds per game during league play. Freshman point guard London Perrantesranks second in ACC action in assist to turnover ratio (4.22), fourth in assists (4.75 apg) and seventh in steals (1.75 spg).

Up Next
Virginia hosts Boston College on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.