UNCG at Virginia
Date & Time
Friday, Nov. 10 | 7 p.m. ET
Location John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.
Coverage ACC Network Extra | Cavaliers Live |
Additional Info Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Game Notes | Game Program | JPJ Clear Bag Policy | Parking Map


Nov. 9, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia hosts UNC Greensboro in its 2017-18 season opener on Friday (Nov. 10). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For Openers
– UVA begins its 113th season of men’s basketball, sporting a 1,566-1,162 (.574) all-time record.
– UVA is 18-1 in its last 19 season-opening games, including a 76-51 win at UNC Greensboro last season.
– Virginia has a four-game winning streak on opening night and is 7-1 in season openers under head coach Tony Bennett.
– The lone opening-night loss under Bennett came at George Mason (63-59) to begin the 2012-13 campaign.
– The Cavaliers are 90-22 all-time in 112 season-opening games.
– UVA is 1-0 all-time vs. UNCG.

Security Information
Virginia Athletics has implemented a clear bag policy and enhanced security procedures for home football and men’s and women’s basketball games. The changes in policy and entrance procedures are a result of recommendations for large-scale events held on Grounds by the University of Virginia’s security consultant.

All bags entering John Paul Jones Arena for home men’s and women’s basketball games must be clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and cannot exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12″. Clear, one-gallon plastic freezer bags (Ziploc bags or similar) are also permitted. Additionally, all fans entering the arena will be screened upon entry, typically with walk-through and hand-held metal detectors.

The new policy does not change the items fans may bring into John Paul Jones Arena.

Gates open 90 minutes prior to tipoff for all home men’s basketball games. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to John Paul Jones Arena.

Click here to read the full bag policy and description of game day entry procedures.

Broadcast Information
– The Virginia-UNCG game will be streamed online on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN.com) 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), 188-83 in eight seasons at UVA and 257-116 in 11 seasons overall.
UNCG: Wes Miller (North Carolina, 2007), 85-102 in six seasons at UNCG.

UVA Receiving Votes in Preseason Rankings
– UVA received votes in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ preseason polls.
– The Cavaliers had been ranked in 64 consecutive AP polls since Feb. 3, 2014.
– UVA was ranked in the top 10 in the preseason rankings in each of the past three seasons (2014-16).
– Last season, the Cavaliers ranked No. 24 in the final AP poll and received votes in the USA Today Coaches’ poll.

Bennett Names Captains for First Time
– Virginia head coach Tony Bennett named Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt tri-captains for the 2017-18 season.
– The announcement of Hall, Wilkins and Salt marked the first time in Bennett’s 11-year head coaching career where he officially named team captains.
– Hall, Wilkins and Salt have combined to play 248 career games and make 147 career starts.

Last Time vs. UNCG
– Then-No. 8/7 Virginia defeated UNCG 76-51 in last season’s opener at the Greensboro Coliseum on Nov. 11, 2017.
– Former Cavalier Marial Shayok led four Cavaliers in double figures with 15 points as the Cavaliers posted their fourth straight season-opening win.
– Virginia held UNCG scoreless for 11:19 spanning halftime and used a 22-0 run to blow the game open. – UVA shot 52 percent from the field and was 8-of-16 from 3-point range.
– Former Cavalier Darius Thompson added 12 points and Isaiah Wilkins added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Kyle Guy (7 points, 3 assists) and Ty Jerome (2 points) made their UVA debuts.

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
– Virginia returns three starters – Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt – and five other letterwinners including Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and Mamadi Diakite from last year’s 23-11 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
– Hall is UVA’s top returning scorer at 8.4 points per game, which marks the third time in school history that UVA started the season without a returning double-digit scorer (1998-99, Colin Ducharme averaged 7.8 ppg in 1997-98 and 1969-70, Chip Case averaged 7.2 ppg in 1968-69).
– Wilkins averaged 6.8 points and was UVA’s top rebounder in 2016-17, averaging 6.0 per game.
Kyle Guy averaged 7.5 points and shot 49.5 percent from 3-point range, while Ty Jerome averaged 4.3 points point and shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc.
– Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson averaged 11.3 points for Rutgers last season and Salt averaged 3.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
– Redshirt sophomore Mamadi Diakite (3.8 ppg & 2.6 rpg) and redshirt freshmen De’Andre Hunter and Jay Huff are expected to be key contributors this season.
– Freshman Marco Anthony provides depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is expected to redshirt the 2017-18 season.

All-Time vs. Southern Conference Opponents
– Virginia is 111-15 all-time vs. the Southern Conference (101-15 vs. VMI, 3-0 vs. East Tennessee State, 2-0 vs. Citadel, 2-0 vs. Wofford, 1-0 vs. Furman, 1-0 vs. Samford, 1-0 vs. UNC Greensboro).
– Tony Bennett is 3-0 all-time vs. SoCon opponents as a head coach (1-0 vs. Wofford and 1-0 vs. UNC Greensboro at UVA, 1-0 vs. Citadel at Washington State).

About The 2017-18 Schedule
– Seven of Virginia’s opponents are ranked in the AP Top-25 preseason poll (Duke, North Carolina, West Virginia, Miami, Notre Dame, Louisville and Seton Hall), while three (Rhode Island, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin) received votes.
– The Cavaliers will play 17 games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams: home games against North Carolina, Notre Dame, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin; road contests at Duke, North Carolina, West Virginia, Louisville, Florida State, Wake Forest and VCU; and neutral-site tilts against Vanderbilt and either Seton Hall or Rhode Island in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, N.Y.
– Four opponents (Clemson, Georgia Tech, Monmouth, UNC Greensboro and Syracuse) participated in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament.

Virginia Picked Sixth in the ACC
– Virginia was picked to finish sixth in the ACC preseason poll.
– The Cavaliers, who were picked third and finished tied for fifth last season, have finished at or higher than their predicted finish in eight seasons of the last nine seasons.
– Duke is the preseason favorite, followed by North Carolina, Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Boston College and Pittsburgh.

On The Horizon
– Virginia hosts Austin Peay in non-conference action on Monday, Nov. 13. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. The game is part of the NIT Season Tip-Off.