Lehigh at No. 18 Virginia
Date & Time
Saturday, Dec. 2 | Noon ET
Location John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.
Coverage ACC Network Extra | Cavaliers Live | Gametracker
Additional Info Tickets | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Game Notes | Game Program | JPJ Clear Bag Policy | Parking Map


Dec. 1, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 18 Virginia (7-0) continues non-conference men’s basketball action against Lehigh (4-3) on Saturday (Dec. 2). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for Noon ET.

For Openers
– Virginia meets Lehigh for the third time.
– UVA has started 7-0 for the second straight season and third time in nine seasons under head coach Tony Bennett.
– UVA is ranked first nationally in scoring defense (50.1 ppg), fourth in free throw percentage (81.4%), sixth in field goal percentage defense (34.5%), seventh in turnovers per game (9.3), tied for11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (25%) and 20th in scoring margin (19.7).

Broadcast Information
– The Virginia-Lehigh contest will be streamed online on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3.com) and ESPN App, 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), 195-83 in nine seasons at UVA and 264-116 in 12 seasons overall. Lehigh: Brett Reed (Eckerd, 1995), 186-133 in 11 seasons at Lehigh.

All-Time vs. Lehigh
– UVA is 2-0 all-time vs. Lehigh in a series that dates back to 1973-74.
– The Cavaliers meet the Mountain Hawks for the first time since posting an 80-54 win in the last meeting between the teams in 2015-16.
– UVA topped Lehigh 87-60 in the first meeting at University Hall on Dec. 11, 1973.
– Former Cavalier great and ABA standout Gus Gerard had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead UVA, which out-rebounded Lehigh 48-30 in the contest.

UVA in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings
– As of Nov. 30, UVA ranks Nos. 1, 3 and 39 in the KenPom.com adjusted defense, overall and adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
– UVA is shooting 48.8 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and school-best 81.4 percent from the free throw line.
– UVA has shot 50 percent or better in four games.
– UVA has held each of its seven foes to less than 50 percent shooting.

UVA Ranked No. 18 in AP Poll
– UVA is ranked No. 18 in the latest AP poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll.
– The Cavaliers received votes in the first three AP 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 Time Out
Kyle Guy scored 17 points and Devon Hall added 16 as Virginia shut down Wisconsin 49-37 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Nov. 27.
– The Cavaliers held the Badgers scoreless for 7:37 of the second half and held Wisconsin to 31.3 percent shooting (15 of 48).
– UVA out-rebounded Wisconsin 39-30 behind Isaiah Wilkins‘ game-high 10 rebounds.
– UVA did not attempt a free throw for the first time in school history, breaking the previous low of one free throw attempt vs. Clemson (2012) and North Carolina (1982).
– UVA is one of nine DI teams since 1996-97 to win a game without attempting a free throw – Bucknell, Dayton, Illinois State, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Portland, Princeton, Stony Brook.

Last Time vs. the Mountain Hawks
– Malcolm Brogdon tallied 23 points to lead then-No. 12 Virginia to an 80-54 win over Lehigh in non-conference action on Nov. 25, 2015.
– Darius Thompson (12 points), Marial Shayok (11 points) and Anthony Gill (10 points) also reached double figures as UVA reached 80 points for the fourth straight game.
– London Perrantes dished out a game-high eight assists and UVA out-rebounded the Mountain Hawks 37-29.
– UVA shot 50 percent or better from the field for the fourth straight game, hitting 34 of 65 attempts for 52.3 percent.

Getting Defensive
– UVA has limited its opponents to a school-record 50.1 points per game and has held four of its 2017-18 foes to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin).
– The Cavaliers are 68-2 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 93-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points during his 12-year coaching career.

About the Cavaliers
– UVA is led by tri-captains Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt.
– The announcement of Hall, Wilkins and Salt marked the first time in Bennett’s 12-year head coaching career where he officially named team captains.
– UVA has averaged 69.9 points per game (second most under Bennett) on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 50.1 ppg (lowest in school history) on defense.
– UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its first seven games.
– Guy leads the team in scoring at 16 points per game and has scored 13 or more points in six of seven games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17).
– Hall has averaged 11.9 points on 54 percent shooting and a team-leading 95.2 percent (20 of 21) from the charity stripe.
– Wilkins, who has averaged 7.9 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds, leads UVA in field goal percentage (64.7%) and has a team-high eight blocked shots.
– Jerome is averaging 7.7 points and is tied for the team lead in assists (17).
– Salt is averaging 3.0 points and career-best 5.4 rebounds, while graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 6.3 points after averaging 11.3 points for Rutgers last season.
Mamadi Diakite (6.3 ppg & 3.9 rpg) and redshirt freshmen De’Andre Hunter (6.3 ppg) and Jay Huff (5.0 ppg) are contributors off the bench.
Marco Anthony provides depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is expected to redshirt the 2017-18 season.

On the Horizon
– Virginia plays at No. 19 West Virginia on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Tipoff at West Virginia Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.