Virginia Plays at VCU Friday

Nov. 16, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (2-0) meets VCU (2-0) in men’s basketball non-conference action on Friday (Nov. 17). Tipoff at Siegel Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.

For Openers
– Virginia meets VCU for the first time since posting a 74-57 win over the Rams at the Siegel Center during the 2014-15 campaign.
– UVA has started 2-0 for the second straight season and is is 102-33 (.756) in non-conference action under Tony Bennett.

Broadcast Information
– The Virginia-VCU contest will be televised on CBS Sports Network 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), 190-83 in nine seasons at UVA and 259-116 in 12 seasons overall.
VCU: Mike Rhoades (Lebanon Valley, 1995), 2-0 in first season at VCU and 246-128 in 14 seasons overall.

UVA Receiving Votes in Rankings
– UVA received votes in the first Associated Press regular-season poll and USA Today Coaches’ preseason poll.
– The Cavaliers received votes in the preseason rankings in both polls, snapping a streak of 64 consecutive weeks in the AP rankings 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.

Last Time Out
– Devon Hall tallied a career-high 19 points to lead five players in double figures as Virginia defeated Austin Peay 93-49 in non-conference action on Nov. 13 at John Paul Jones Arena.
– Jay Huff scored 16 points (7-8 FGs) and blocked five shots in his collegiate debut, while Kyle Guy added 14 points and De’Andre Hunter 13 as 11 Cavaliers scored in the win.
– The 93 points were the most scored under Tony Bennett during his 12-year head coaching career (9 seasons at UVA and 3 seasons at Washington State). – UVA jumped to a 51-22 halftime lead on 70.4 percent shooting (19-of-27) and the Cavaliers finished at 63.5% percent (33-of-52) overall.

Last Time vs. VCU
– Justin Anderson tallied a season-high 21 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 74-57 win at VCU on Dec. 6, 2014.
– Anderson sparked Virginia’s second-best field goal shooting performance (68.3%) in school history in the win.
– Anthony Gill added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 15 points.
– Virginia outrebounded VCU 35-21 and had 18 assists.
– VCU was paced by Treveon Graham’s 17 points and Melvin Johnson added 15 points.
– Anderson (Philadelphia), Brogdon (Milwaukee) and Graham (Charlotte) are currently playing in the NBA.

All-Time Against the Atlantic 10
– Virginia is 117-80 all-time against current Atlantic 10 members (12-4 vs. Davidson, 2-0 vs. Dayton, 0-3 vs. Fordham, 8-1 vs. George Mason, 26-24 vs. George Washington, 1-2 vs. LaSalle, 2-0 vs. UMass, 1-1 vs. Rhode Island, 52-36 vs. Richmond, 2-6 vs. Saint Joseph’s, 0-1 vs. Saint Louis and 11-2 vs. VCU).
– The Cavaliers meet an A-10 opponent for the first time since defeating George Mason 83-66 to capture the Charleston Classic during the 2015-16 season.
– Tony Bennett is 7-3 all-time vs. Atlantic 10 opponents at UVA.

Getting Defensive
– UVA has held both 2017-18 opponents to fewer than 50 points, limiting its foes to an average of 48.5 points per game.
– The Cavaliers are 66-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett.
– In 2016-17, Virginia led the nation in scoring defense (56.4 ppg) for the third time under Bennett.
– Bennett-coached teams have led the nation in scoring defense four times (2008-09, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17) and finished in the top-five nationally in eight of 11 seasons.
– Bennett-coached teams are 91-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points during his 12-year coaching career.

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).
– Hall leads UVA in scoring at 16 points per game, while Kyle Guy is averaging 15 points and shooting 50 percent (3-of-6) from 3-point range. – Wilkins is averaging 6.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals.
– Center Jack Salt is averaging 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds, while graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 8.5 points after averaging 11.3 points for Rutgers last season.
– Jerome (6 ppg) takes over at point guard after backing up All-ACC performer London Perrantes last season.
– Redshirt sophomore Mamadi Diakite (3.5 ppg & 3.5 rpg) and redshirt freshmen De’Andre Hunter (6.5 ppg) and Jay Huff (16 ppg) are key contributors off the bench.
– Marco Anthony provides depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is expected to redshirt the 2017-18 season.

UVA vs. the Commonwealth of Virginia
– UVA has a 62-14 record against teams from the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1999-2000.
– UVA went 1-1 vs. teams from Virginia last season, posting a win (71-48) and double overtime loss (80-78) against Virginia Tech.
– UVA has won 15 of its last 17 games against teams from Virginia.

On the Horizon
– Virginia hosts Monmouth on Sunday, Nov. 19. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 1 p.m. The game is part of the NIT Season Tip-Off and will be televised on the Regional Sports Network.