Cavaliers Travel to Virginia Tech for Commonwealth Clash
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (19-7, 11-5 ACC) travels to in-state rival Virginia Tech (15-12, 6-10 ACC) for a Commonwealth Clash Wednesday (Feb. 26). Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
For Openers
• Virginia and Virginia Tech meet for the second time in 2019-20.
• UVA (11-5) is fourth in the ACC, while Virginia Tech (6-10) is 11th.
• UVA has won 11 or more ACC games for a school-record eight straight seasons.
• 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.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed live on WatchESPN.com and ESPN 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 273-96 (.740) mark in 11 seasons at Virginia and 342-129 (.726) 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.
• UVA is 132-58 (.695) in ACC play, 155-29 (.842) at home and 141-38 (.788) in non-conference action (79-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage at .695, among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
On the Road
• Virginia is 5-4 in true road games in 2019-20, defeating Syracuse (48-34), Georgia Tech (63-58), Wake Forest (65-63 OT), North Carolina (64-62) and Pitt (59-56).
• The Cavaliers are 7-4 away from home, including a pair of neutral site wins at the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament.
• UVA went 8-1 in ACC road action last season and 10-1 overall.
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 6.0-3.5.
• UVA captured the Clash in 2015, 2016 and 2019, while Virginia Tech has won the Clash in 2017 and 2018.
All-Time vs. Virginia Tech
• Virginia is 94-56 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 22-30 mark in Blacksburg, in the series that dates back to 1914-15.
• UVA has a three-game winning streak in the series and two-game winning streak at Cassell Coliseum.
• The Cavaliers are 4-1 in their last five games against the Hokies and 7-3 in the last 10.
• Two of the last six meetings have been decided in overtime, including a double overtime thriller on Feb. 12, 2017 in Blacksburg.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 15-6 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
Last Time vs. the Hokies
• Braxton Key collected 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double as then-No. 19 Virginia routed Virginia Tech 65-39 on Jan. 7 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Kihei Clark added 18 points and game-high six assists, and Mamadi Diakite chipped in six points and 10 rebounds.
• UVA held the Hokies to 27.1 percent shooting (13 of 48) and owned a 38-25 rebounding advantage.
• UVA outscored Virginia Tech 34-16 in the paint and forced 13 turnovers.
• Landers Nolley II led the Hokies with 18 points.
UVA in the National Rankings
• As of Feb. 24, Virginia ranks first in the nation in scoring defense (52.7), second in field goal percentage defense (37.2) and fewest fouls (351), fifth in personal fouls per game (13.5), 17th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.2), 28th in blocks per game (4.7) and 44th in total blocks (121).
UVA Receives Votes in National Polls
• UVA received votes in the latest AP and USA Today Coaches’ poll.
• UVA, which has been unranked in seven straight polls, was unranked in the Jan. 13 AP poll for the first time since Nov. 20, 2017, ending its streak at 46 straight weeks in the national polls.
Last Time Out
• Kihei Clark scored 17 points as Virginia edged Pitt 59-56 in ACC action Feb. 22 at Petersen Events Center.
• The Cavaliers led 54-41 with 3:51 left and needed a Braxton Key free throw with four seconds remaining to overcome a late Pitt run to seal their fifth ACC road win.
• Mamadi Diakite, Tomas Woldetensae and Key each reached double figures with 10 points.
• Diakite added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
• UVA shot 52 percent in the first half en route to a 31-29 lead, improving to 15-0 when leading after the first 20 minutes.
• Xavier Johnson led Pitt with 16 points and six steals.
• UVA outrebounded Pitt 33-32 despite 10 Pitt offensive rebounds.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Duke on Saturday, Feb. 29. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.