No. 12 Virginia Meets Virginia Tech in Commonwealth Clash

Feb. 10, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 12 Virginia (18-5, 8-3 ACC) travels to in-state rival Virginia Tech (16-7, 5-6 ACC) in a Commonwealth Clash on Sunday, Feb. 12. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

For Openers
– The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529, which is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams of the Cavaliers and Hokies. – UVA is 6-3 on the road, including a 4-2 road mark in ACC play.
– The Cavaliers have a two-game winning streak against Virginia Tech and have won nine of the last 10 games in the series, including a 71-48 victory on Feb. 1 at JPJ.
– As of Feb. 10, UVA is tied for third in the ACC at 8-3.
– The Cavaliers rank first nationally in scoring defense (54 ppg) and second in turnovers per game (9.9).
– London Perrantes leads UVA in scoring at 12.2 points per game, marking the lowest scoring average to lead any UVA team in a single season (Malcolm Brogdon 12.7 ppg in 2013-14).
– Virginia is 23-10 in its last 33 ACC road contests since 2012-13.

Broadcast Information
– The Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be televised on ESPNU, streamed online on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.
– Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.

The Head Coaches
Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 183-77 in eight seasons at UVA and 252-110 in 11 seasons overall
Virginia Tech: Buzz Williams (Oklahoma City University, 1994), 47-44 in three seasons at Virginia Tech and 200-130 in 10 seasons overall

In The National Rankings
– As of Feb. 10, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (54 ppg), third in turnovers per game (10), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.51), eighth in field goal percentage (49.5%), 11th in scoring margin (+15.0), 16th in field goal percentage defense (39.1%), 19th in fouls per game (16) and 22nd in 3-point field goal percentage (39.8%).
– UVA has held four opponents to fewer than 40 points and was the first team in Division I to hold three straight opponents (St. Francis Brooklyn, Yale and Grambling State) to fewer than 40 points in the last 20 years.
– UVA was also the first team in ACC history (1953-present) to hold three straight opponents to fewer than 40 points.
– The Cavaliers have held 15 of their opponents to 55 or fewer points and seven opponents to 50 or fewer points.

More on The Commonwealth Clash
– The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 22 individual event points on the line. – The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy.
– The UVA-VT game is worth a half point in the Clash and the Hokies lead this year’s Clash 4.5-3.5.
– UVA has captured the Clash in each of the past two seasons.

UVA Ranked No. 12/13 in Latest Polls
– UVA is ranked No. 12 in the latest AP poll and No. 13 in USA Today Coaches’ poll.
– UVA has ranked in the top 15 in 57 of the last 59 AP polls.
– UVA was ranked in top 10 in the preseason rankings (No. 8/7) for the third straight season, matching a school-best from 1981-83.
– UVA has been ranked in 60 consecutive AP polls since Feb. 3, 2014.
– UVA has finished in the top 10 (No. 3 in 2014 & No. 6 in 2015 and No. 4 in 2016) in the final AP rankings in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-83.

All-Time vs. Virginia Tech
– Virginia is 90-54 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 20-29 mark in Blacksburg, in the series that dates back to 1914-15.
– The Cavaliers are 5-1 in their last six games against the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. – UVA has held Virginia Tech to 49 or fewer points in each of the last two meetings.
– Head coach Tony Bennett is 11-4 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
– London Perrantes has averaged 10.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds in seven career games against the Hokies.

Last Time Against The Hokies
– Devon Hall tallied a career-high 17 points and Isaiah Wilkins scored a career-high 15 points to lead then-No. 9 Virginia to a 71-48 win over Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
– London Perrantes added 14 points as UVA posted its largest margin of victory in the series since a 25-point win over the Hokies in 1991.
– UVA started the game on a 10-0 run and out-rebounded Tech 37-22 in its ninth home win of 2016-17.
– The Hokies were held to a season-low 48 points and shot 35.7 percent in the loss. – Seth Allen led Tech with 14 points and Zach LeDay added 12.
– Hall matched a career-best with nine rebounds for UVA.

Last Time Out
– London Perrantes scored 18 points and Isaiah Wilkins added his first career double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks Monday night as the Cavaliers beat No. 4 Louisville 71-55.
– Virginia trailed 34-32 at halftime, but took command with a 22-5 run that made it 54-39 midway through the half.
– V.J. King scored a career-high 24 points for the Cardinals.
– The Cardinals were without their second- and third-leading scorers, with guard Quentin Snider (12.1 ppg), forward Deng Adel (11.1 ppg) and center Mangok Mathiang (7.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) all out.
– UVA was 18 of 20 from the free throw line and out-rebounded Louisville 38-19.

Hoo Are These Wahoos?
– UVA is led by senior point guard London Perrantes, who is averaging team highs in points (11.9 ppg) and assists (4 apg).
– Isaiah Wilkins (7.7 ppg & 6.1 rpg) leads the team in rebounding, blocked shots (33) and steals (27). – Devon Hall is averaging 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds, while Darius Thompson has added 6.7 points per game.
– Marial Shayok is averaging 9.6 points and Kyle Guy is averaging 7.6 points to top all UVA rookies.
– Jack Salt is averaging 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game, while Ty Jerome, Mamadi Diakite and Jarred Reuter are key role players off the bench.

On The Horizon
– No. 12 Virginia hosts No. 18 Duke on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 9 p.m. on ESPN2.