No. 19 Virginia Entertains Virginia Tech in Commonwealth Clash

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 19 Virginia (10-2, 2-0 ACC) hosts Virginia Tech (10-3, 1-1) in ACC action Saturday (Jan. 4). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2 p.m. on Regional Sports Networks.
 
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.
• The Cavaliers have held a Division I leading eight opponents to fewer than 50 points and three foes to fewer than 40 points.
• UVA’s No. 19 ranking is its lowest since receiving votes in the Nov. 20, 2017 AP poll.
 
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be televised on Regional Sports Networks and streamed live on WatchESPN.com, FoxSportsGo.com and Fox Sports Go app.
• The game will also be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
 
The Head Coach
• Three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett has a 264-91 (.744) mark in 11 seasons at Virginia and 333-124 (.729) career mark in 14 seasons.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and school-record 35 wins.
• Bennett became the 80th active Division I head coach to win his 300th career game against Marshall on Dec. 31, 2018.
• Bennett was named the USBWA Henry Iba National Coach of the Year for the third time in 2018 to rank second all-time behind legendary John Wooden, who captured the award six times.
• UVA is 141-38 (.788) in non-conference action (79-7 at JPJ), 123-53 (.699) in ACC play and 150-27 (.848) at home under Tony Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage at .699, among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
 
All-Time vs. Virginia Tech
• Virginia is 93-56 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 39-13 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates back to 1914-15.
• The Cavaliers are 3-2 in their last five games against the Hokies and 7-3 in the last 10.
• Two of the last five meetings have been decided in overtime, including a double overtime thriller on Feb. 12, 2017 in Blacksburg.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 14-6 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
 
Last Time vs. the Hokies
• Kyle Guy scored 23 points and Ty Jerome added 16 points and six assists as then-No. 3 Virginia posted a 64-58 win at then-No. 20 Virginia Tech on Feb. 18, 2019.
• Guy tallied 17 points as the Cavaliers led 32-29 after 20 minutes.
• De’Andre Hunter added 10 points and helped limit Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker to 11 points on 4 of 14 shooting.
• Braxton Key added a pair of 3-pointers in the second half as Virginia swept its series against the Hokies.
• Guy bagged six long balls as UVA went 11 of 27 from 3-point range. • Virginia limited Virginia Tech to 3 of 28 (10.7%) from distance.
 
More on the Commonwealth Clash
• The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 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 Cavaliers lead this year’s Clash 4-2.
• UVA captured the Clash in 2015, 2016 and 2019, while Virginia Tech has won the Clash in 2017 and 2018.
 
There’s No Place Like Home
• Virginia is 188-43 (.814), including a 7-1 mark in 2019-20, in 14 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena.
• South Carolina recently ended UVA’s 22-game home nonconference winning streak.
• UVA was 15-1 at JPJ last season and is 150-27 (.848), including a 115-12 (.906) mark the past eight seasons, at home under head coach Tony Bennett.
• Virginia is an ACC-leading 58-6 (.906) in league home games over the past seven seasons. Duke is second at 55-8 (.873).
• UVA has won 11 or more home games for 10 straight seasons.
 
UVA in the National Rankings
• As of Jan. 2, Virginia ranks first in the nation in scoring defense (47.3) and field goal percentage defense (34.6), third in personal fouls per game (12.1) and fewest fouls (145) and 26th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.6).
 
UVA Ranked No. 19 in Latest Polls
• UVA is ranked No. 19 in the latest Associated Press poll and USA Today Coaches’ polls.
• UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for 43 straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in 37 of the last 40 polls.
 
Holding Foes Under 50
• UVA is 8-0 when limiting opponents to fewer than 50 points.
• UVA is 95-2 when achieving the mark in the Tony Bennett era.
• Bennett-coached teams are 120-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points (25-1 in three years at Washington State).
• UVA is 3-0 when limiting opponents to fewer than 40 points (26-0 all-time under Bennett).
• UVA has three wins when scoring fewer than 50 points for the first time since 1981-82 (Maryland and NC State twice).
 
Last Time Out
• Kihei Clark collected his second career double-double with 10 points and career-high 13 assists as then-No. 16 Virginia defeated Navy 65-56 on Dec. 29 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Braxton Key led Virginia with 15 points and Mamadi Diakite added 13 points and Casey Morsell had 10 points.
• UVA shot a season-high 53.2 percent from the field and season-best 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8 of 19) in the win.
• Jay Huff added nine points, four rebounds and game-high four blocks as UVA held a 19-4 advantage in bench points.
 
On The Horizon
• No. 19 Virginia continues ACC action at Boston College on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Tipoff at Conte Forum is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.