No. 22 Cavaliers Travel to Boston College for Saturday Matinee
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 22 Virginia (6-2, 2-0 ACC) travels to Boston College for an ACC contest on Saturday, Jan. 9. Tipoff at Conte Forum is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• No. 22 Virginia (6-2, 1-0 ACC) takes its two-game winning streak to Boston College (2-8, 0-4 ACC).
• Virginia ranks 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), 15th in free throw percentage (78.6) and 22nd in field goal percentage (49.7) and scoring defense (60.8).
• Sam Hauser (16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists vs. Wake Forest) became the first Cavalier to lead team in all three categories since Ty Jerome tallied 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists vs. Auburn in the NCAA Final Four on April 6, 2019.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Boston College game will be televised on ACC Network and streamed online at 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.
• Join the Voice of the Cavaliers Dave Koehn and special guest Reece Beekman for the “Wahoo Walkthrough” at 8 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 282-98 (.742) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 351-131 (.728) 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 137-58 (.703) in ACC play (77-20 at home & 60-38 away), 159-29 (.846) at home and 145-40 (.784) in non-conference action (82-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
All-Time vs. Boston College
• Virginia is 16-8 all-time vs. Boston College, including a 12-8 ACC mark, in the series that dates back to 1971-72.
• The Cavaliers split a two-game series against the Eagles last season, including a 78-65 win in Charlottesville and 60-53 loss in Chestnut Hill.
• UVA has won nine of the last 11 games in the series.
• UVA is 4-5 against Boston College in Charlottesville.
• UVA has limited BC to 58 or fewer points in five of the last seven meetings.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 10-5 all-time against Boston College.
Last Time vs. the Eagles
• Kihei Clark and Braxton Key each tallied 17 points to lead Virginia to a 78-65 win over Boston College at John Paul Jones Arena on Feb. 19, 2020.
• Tomas Woldetensae and Jay Huff each had 14 points and Mamadi Diakite added 10.
• UVA shot a season-high 58.8 percent, including a blistering 68.4 percent (13 of 19) in the second half.
• Clark dished out a game-high eight assists and Key added a career-high four blocks as the Cavaliers tied a season high with nine rejections.
• Nik Popovic had a game-high 22 points and Jay Heath added 18 for the Eagles.
• The 78 points and 58.8 percent 3-point shooting (10 of 17) were also season bests for the Cavaliers.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action against Boston College.
• Clark, who has recorded 16 points and 4.0 assists per game the past three games, has averaged 10.5 points and team-high 3.4 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg), and is shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from 3-point range (14 of 41).
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.3 bpg) and is second in scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (11.4 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (19) and 3-point percentage (51.4%).
• Reece Beekman has 17 assists and team-high 14 steals.
• Justin McKoy has started four games and is averaging 5.0 points and 3.6 rebounds.
• Casey Morsell (5.7 ppg), Tomas Woldetensae (34.8% 3FG) and Kody Stattmann (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg) have shared minutes on the perimeter, while Kadin Shedrick (3.5 ppg & 2.9 rpg) has averaged 10.3 minutes off the bench in the frontcourt.
• Stattmann is out with a non-COVID-19 related cardiac issue, while Morsell was not available for the Wake Forest contest.
UVA Ranked No, 22 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 22 in the latest Associated Press 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 nine straight weeks over the past two seasons.
Last Time Out
• Sam Hauser tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds to guide No. 22 Virginia to a 70-61 win over Wake Forest on Jan. 6.
• Reece Beekman added career highs in points (12) and steals (5), and Trey Murphy (13 points), Jay Huff (11 points) and Kihei Clark (10) also reached double figures.
• Wake Forest led 39-34 on 62.5 percent shooting in the first half, but UVA outscored the Demon Deacons 36-22 in the second stanza.
On The Horizon
• No. 22 Virginia hosts Notre Dame on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2:30 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.