HOOS GAMEDAY: No. 18 Virginia vs. Notre Dame

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 18 Virginia (7-2, 3-0 ACC) hosts Notre Dame (3-7, 0-4 ACC) on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.

For Openers
• No. 18 Virginia (7-2, 3-0 ACC) meets Notre Dame (3-7, 0-4 ACC) for the second time in 2020-21.
• As of Jan. 10, Virginia ranks 10th in the nation in scoring defense (59.4), 11th in free throw percentage (79.5), 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), and 25th in field goal percentage (49.2).
• Sam Hauser has registered three straight double-doubles, most at Virginia since Mike Scott had five straight in 2010-11.
• The Cavaliers aim for their 200th win at John Paul Jones Arena.

Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Notre Dame 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 Jason Williford for the “Wahoo Walkthrough” at 3:30 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 284-98 (.743) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 353-131 (.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 138-58 (.704) in ACC play (77-20 at home & 61-38 away), 159-29 (.846) at home and 145-40 (.784) in non-conference action (82-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage at .704, among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.

All-Time vs. Notre Dame
• Virginia is 15-2 all-time vs. Notre Dame, including a 10-0 ACC regular-season record, in the series that dates back to 1980-81.
• UVA is 6-0 against the Irish in Charlottesville, including a 50-49 OT win last season at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA has limited Notre Dame to 58 or fewer points in nine of the last 11 meetings, including its 66-57 road win on Dec. 30.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 11-1 all-time against Notre Dame, including a 61-41 win over the Fighting Irish as head coach at Washington State in the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colo.

Last Time vs. the Fighting Irish
• Kihei Clark tallied 19 points and five assists to lead then-No. 23 Virginia to a 66-57 win at Notre Dame on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
• Sam Hauser added 13 points and team-high 10 rebounds, and Jay Huff chipped in 15 points and five rebounds as the Cavaliers won their 13th straight ACC opener.
• Justin McKoy added six points and six rebounds as UVA overcame a game-high 28 points from Notre Dame’s Nate Laszewski.
• UVA shot 46.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Fighting Irish 35-31, and committed a season-low five turnovers.

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action against Boston College.
• Clark, who has recorded 15 points and 3.8 assists per game the past four games, has averaged 10.7 points and team-high 3.3 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg), and is shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3-point range (16 of 47).
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.6 bpg) and is second in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (11 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (21) and 3-point percentage (48.8%).
• Reece Beekman has 20 assists and team-high 14 steals.
• Justin McKoy has started four games and is averaging 4.7 points and 3.7 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 and Boston College contests.

UVA Ranked No, 18 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 18 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 10 straight weeks over the past two seasons.

Last Time Out
• Jay Huff matched a career high with 18 points along with five blocked shots to guide then-No. 22 Virginia to a 61-49 win at Boston College on Jan. 9.
• Sam Hauser added 17 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double, and Kihei Clark chipped in 12 points.
• UVA overcame an 8:44 scoring drought in the first half and committed just seven turnovers.
• The Hoos limited the Eagles to 30.9 percent shooting.
• DeMarr Langford led Boston College (2-9, 0-4 ACC with 14 points.

On The Horizon
• No. 18 Virginia travels to No. 12 Clemson on Saturday, Jan. 16. Tipoff at Littlejohn Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN and Virginia Sports Radio Network.