CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 16 Virginia (4-1) battles top-ranked Gonzaga (6-0) in nonconference action 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.
For Openers
• No. 16 Virginia (4-1) aims for its second win against a top-ranked opponent in school history.
• The Cavaliers return to the Lone Star state for the first time since posting wins over SMU (76-73) and Missouri State (83-63) at the 2013 Corpus Christi Challenge.
• UVA is 145-39 against nonconference foes under Tony Bennett.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Gonzaga game will be televised on CBS and streamed live on CBSSports.com.
• 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.
• Join the Voice of the Cavaliers Dave Koehn and special guest Tomas Woldetensae for the “Wahoo Walkthrough” at 1 p.m. on the Virginia Sports App, VirginiaSports.com and select stations on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.
The Head Coach
• Three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett has a 281-97 (.743) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 350-130 (.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), 159-29 (.846) at home and 145-39 (.788) in non-conference action (82-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
All-Time vs. Gonzaga
• Virginia is 1-2 all-time in the series that dates back to the 2000-01 season.
• The Cavaliers defeated the Bulldogs 108-87 in the last meeting on Jan. 3, 2007, in Charlottesville.
• Gonzaga earned an 86-85 first-round victory in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and an 80-69 win on Dec. 17, 2005, in Spokane, Wash.
• Tony Bennett was 2-1 all-time vs. Gonzaga as head coach at Washington State, including wins in 2006 (77-67) and 2007 (51-47) and a loss in 2008 (74-52).
All-Time vs. Top-Ranked Opponents
• Virginia is 1-30 all-time vs. top ranked opponents.
• The Cavaliers posted an 86-73 against then-No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 30, 1986, at University Hall in Charlottesville.
• UVA is meeting its first top-ranked opponent since dropping a 72-70 decision at then-No. 1 Duke on Jan. 19, 2019.
• Tony Bennett is 0-3 vs. top-ranked foes at Virginia with losses coming to then-No. 1 Duke (76-60 in 2011), Villanova (61-59 in 2017) and Duke (72-70 in 2019).
• Bennett was 0-2 against top-ranked opponents at Washington State, dropping a 55-52 decision to then-No. 1 UCLA in 2006 and 68-47 loss top-ranked North Carolina in the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Sam Hauser leads the team in scoring (13.0), second in rebounding (6.0) and is shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from 3-point range (10 of 23).
• Kihei Clark has chipped in 7.2 points per game and a teamleading 3.0 assists.
• Jay Huff is averaging 11.6 points, a team-high 6.2 rebounds and team-best 2.6 blocks per game.
• Trey Murphy III has reached double figures in scoring in three games and is third on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game.
• Reece Beekman has 10 assists and team-high eight steals.
• Justin McKoy has started four games and is averaging 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds.
• Casey Morsell (5.2 ppg), Tomas Woldetensae (37.5% 3FG) and Kody Stattmann (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg) have shared minutes on the perimeter, while Kadin Shedrick (4.9 ppg & 3.6 rpg) has averaged 11.6 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
• Trey Murphy III scored 15 points and Kadin Shedrick added 10 as No. 16 Virginia rolled to a 76-40 win over William & Mary on Dec. 22 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Sam Hauser and Jay Huff each added nine points in the win.
• The Cavaliers jumped to a 36-14 halftime lead on 55.6 percent shooting.
• UVA limited William & Mary to 28 percent shooting, including 3 of 17 from 3-point range.
• Yuri Covington led the Tribe (2-3) with 12 points.
On The Horizon
• No. 16 Virginia opens ACC action at Notre Dame on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Tipoff at Purcell Pavilion is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network and the Virginia Sports Radio Network.