The Head Coach
• Three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett has a 280-97 (.743) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 349-130 (.729) career mark in 15 seasons.
• Bennett led the Cavaliers to their eighth straight season with 23 or more wins in 2019-20.
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 136-58 (.701) in ACC play (77-20 at home & 59-38 away), 158-29 (.845) at home and 144-39 (.787) in non-conference action (81-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
All-Time vs. William & Mary
• Virginia holds a 55-26 lead against William & Mary in its oldest rivalry that dates back to UVA’s first season in 1905-06.
• The Cavaliers are 39-9 all-time vs. William & Mary in Charlottesville, including a 72-40 win at John Paul Jones Arena in the last meeting between the teams in 2018-19.
• UVA has an 11-game winning streak in the series and 12-game winning streak against the Tribe in Charlottesville since a 71-65 overtime loss on Jan. 10, 1977.
• The Cavaliers have won 26 of the last 28 games in the series.
Virginia Against the Commonwealth
• UVA is 71-15 against teams from Virginia since 1999-00.
• UVA has won 24 of its last 27 games against teams from Virginia, including wins vs. JMU (65-34) and Virginia Tech (65-39 & 58-53) in 2019-20.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Sam Hauser leads the team in scoring (14.5) and rebounding (6.8) and is shooting 58.5 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range (7 of 16).
• Kihei Clark, who has come off the bench the past two games, has chipped in 7.5 points per game and leads the team with 11 assists.
• Jay Huff is averaging 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and a team-leading 2.5 blocks per game.
• Trey Murphy III has reached double figures in scoring in two games and is third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game.
• Reece Beekman has six assists and team-high seven steals.
• Justin McKoy has started four games and is averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.
• Casey Morsell (5.0 ppg), Tomas Woldetensae (41.7% 3FG) and Kody Stattmann (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg) have shared minutes on the perimeter, while Kadin Shedrick (3.5 ppg & 2.8 rpg) has averaged 10.5 minutes off the bench in the frontcourt.
UVA Ranked No, 16 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 16 in the latest Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll.
• UVA was ranked No. 4 in both preseason polls, marking its third AP preseason top-5 ranking in school history (No. 1 in 1982-83 and No. 5 in 2018-19).
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 in the preseason rankings in nine of the past 10 seasons.
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for the eighth straight week over the past two seasons.
Last Time Out
• Jay Huff tallied a career-high 18 points and added 11 rebounds for his fifth career double-double in Virginia’s 71-64 overtime win against Kent State on Dec. 4.
• Sam Hauser added 18 points, including a huge 3-pointer in overtime, and Kihei Clark scored 14.
• Kent State’s Danny Pippen sent the game to overtime with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
• Virginia shot 48 percent for the game and had the edge in rebounds, 32-30.
• Kent State, which scored 17 points off 12 UVA turnovers, was led by Michael Nuga’s game-high 20 points.
On The Horizon
• No. 16 Virginia plays No. 1 Gonzaga in a nonconference showdown on Saturday, Dec. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas. Tipoff at Dickies Arena is set for 4 p.m. on CBS and the Virginia Sports Radio Network.
