Top-Ranked Virginia Hosts Georgia Tech Wednesday

Feb. 20, 2018

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Top-ranked Virginia (24-2, 13-1 ACC) hosts Georgia Tech (11-16, 4-10 ACC) in ACC men’s basketball action on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) is set for 7 p.m.

For Openers
– Virginia is first in the ACC at 13-1 and Georgia Tech is 13th at 4-10.
– UVA can clinch the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament and share of its eighth ACC regular-season title (third in five years) with a win over Georgia Tech.
– De’Andre Hunter is the reigning ACC Co-Rookie of the Week.
– Tony Bennett is coaching in his 400th career game.
– Virginia’s recent 15-game regular-season ACC winning streak was the ninth-longest in league history and the longest since Duke’s record of 31, set between 1998-2000.

Broadcast Information
– The Virginia-Georgia Tech contest will be televised on ESPN2 and 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.

The Head Coaches
Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 212-85 in nine seasons at UVA and 281-118 in 12 seasons overall.
Georgia Tech: Josh Pastner (Arizona, 1997), 32-32 in two seasons at Georgia Tech and 199-105 in nine seasons overall.

UVA Ranked No. 1 For Second Consecutive Week
– Virginia is ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for the second straight week.
– On Feb. 12, UVA earned its first No. 1 ranking since Dec. 21, 1982 (650 weeks between No. 1 rankings).
– The Cavaliers are the first team to ascend to No. 1 following a loss (a 61-60 setback to in-state rival Virginia Tech).
– UVA is 21-3 all-time in the 13 weeks as the top-ranked team.
– The Cavaliers are the fourth team in the Top 25 era (1990-present) to earn a No. 1 ranking after being unranked in the preseason (Kansas, 1990; Syracuse, 2010; Baylor, 2017).
– UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for 13 straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past nine polls.
– Virginia is the fifth team in ACC history to move from unranked in preseason to the top 3, joining Miami (2012-13), Georgia Tech (2003-04), Wake Forest (1980-81) and North Carolina (1972-73).
– UVA is the lone ACC team to be ranked in the top 3 in four of the past five seasons.
– 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 in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings
– UVA ranks No. 1 in the KenPom.com overall and adjusted defense efficiency ratings and No. 42 in the adjusted offense ratings.
– UVA is shooting 46.1 percent, 38.2 percent from 3-point range and 76.9 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
– UVA has shot 50 percent or better in nine games and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in 25 of 26 games.

Last Time Out
– New No. 1 Virginia looked the part on Feb. 13, never trailing and holding Miami to 38 percent shooting to win 59-50.
– De’Andre Hunter scored 22 points, including a four-point play. But defense was the difference for the Cavaliers, who limited an opponent to 50 points or less for the 12th time.
– The Cavaliers (24-2, 13-1 ACC) won in their first game since 1982 as the No. 1 team. They bounced back from an overtime home loss on Feb. 10 to Virginia Tech that ended a 15-game winning streak.
– The Hurricanes (18-7, 7-6) lost their second in a row, and lost at home for only the second time.
– Kyle Guy scored 13 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 46 percent.
– Ty Jerome had seven assists – one more than the Hurricanes.

All-Time Against Georgia Tech
– Virginia is 40-40 all-time vs. Georgia Tech, including a 22-11 record in Charlottesville, in the series that dates back to 1947-48.
– The Cavaliers have a three-game winning streak in the series and a five-game winning streak against the Yellow Jackets in Charlottesville.
– UVA has held Georgia Tech to 52 points or less during the three-game winning streak in the series.
– Virginia is 10-2 in its last 12 games against Georgia Tech.
– Head coach Tony Bennett is 10-2 all-time vs. Georgia Tech.

Last Time Against the Yellow Jackets
– De’Andre Hunter tallied a game-high 17 points off the bench to lead then-No. 2 Virginia to a 64-48 win at Georgia Tech on Jan. 18.
– Ty Jerome added 12 points and Devon Hall and Kyle Guy added 11 each as the Cavaliers won their third straight game vs. Georgia Tech.
– Hunter’s four-point play near the end of the first half gave UVA a 28-19 lead.
– UVA shot 53.6 percent in the second half and forced 18 turnovers.
– Georgia native Isaiah Wilkins had nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in an all-around effort.
– Tadric Jackson led Georgia Tech with 15 points and Ben Lammers tallied six blocked shots.

Getting Defensive
– UVA has limited its foes to 52.7 points per game (2nd best in school history) and has held 11 opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson and Syracuse).
– Six opponents (UNCG, Austin Peay, Savannah State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech & Clemson) have committed more turnovers than made field goals.
– UVA has held 20 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
– UVA has held 20 foes to less than 43 percent shooting.
– The Cavaliers have held 15 opponents to 30 percent or less shooting from 3-point range.
– The Cavaliers are 75-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (11-0 in 2017-18).
– 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 and finished in the top-five nationally in eight of 11 seasons.

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 67.7 points per game on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 52.7 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
– UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 26 games.
– UVA is one of five schools to have the same starting five this season (Central Michigan, Davidson, Montana, Old Dominion and Penn).
– Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and has reached double figures in 23 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17).
– Hall has averaged 12.2 points and Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (6.6) and blocked shots (1.5).
– Jerome is averaging 9.7 points and team highs in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (1.5 spg).
– Salt has chipped in 3.8 rebounds per game and 20 blocked shots.
– Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.9 ppg) has reached double figures in eight ACC games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17), Virginia Tech (14), Syracuse (15) and Miami (22).
– Hunter was named ACC Co-Rookie of the Week following his 22-point performance at Miami.
– Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.1 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 4.9 ppg & 3.0 rpg.
– Jay Huff and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is redshirting the 2017-18 season.

There’s No Place Like Home
– Virginia is 164-41 (.800), including a 14-1 mark in 2017-18, in 12 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena.
– UVA’s recent 16-game home winning streak ended with the 61-60 overtime loss to Virginia Tech.
– The Cavaliers finished undefeated at home (15-0) in 2015-16.
– UVA is 126-25 (.834), including a 91-10 (.900) mark the past six seasons, at home under head coach Tony Bennett.
– Virginia is an ACC-leading 47-5 (.904) in league home games over the past six seasons. Duke is second at 45-6 (.882).
– UVA has won 11 or more home games for nine straight seasons.

On the Horizon
– No. 1 Virginia plays at Pittsburgh on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tipoff at Petersen Events Center is set for 4 p.m. on ESPNU.