No. 8 Virginia Travels to No. 20 Virginia Tech
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 8 Virginia (11-2, 7-0 ACC) travels to in-state rival No. 20 Virginia Tech (12-3, 6-2 ACC) for an ACC contest on Saturday, Jan. 30. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• No. 8 Virginia (11-2, 7-0 ACC) travels to No. 20 Virginia Tech (12-3, 6-2 ACC) in ACC action on Saturday, Jan. 30.
• As of Jan. 28, Virginia ranks second nationally in personal fouls per game (12.5) and turnovers per game (8.5), third in free throw percentage (80.5), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.71), eighth in scoring defense (59.5), 15th in field goal percentage (50.4) and 20th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.6).
• The Cavaliers have a seven-game winning streak and have started 7-0 in the ACC for the first time since starting 12-0 in 2017-18.
• UVA has a 15-game ACC winning streak dating back to 2019-20.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech 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 Kihei Clark for the “Wahoo Walkthrough” at 5 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 288-98 (.746) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 357-131 (.732) 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 143-58 (.711) in ACC play (81-20 at home & 62-38 away), 161-29 (.847) 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 .711, among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
All-Time vs. Virginia Tech
• Virginia is 95-56 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 40-13 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates back to 1914-15
• UVA has a four-game winning streak in the series and two-game winning streak at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Cavaliers are 4-1 in their last five games against the Hokies.
• UVA posted a pair of wins against its in-state rival last season (65-39 in Charlottesville and 56-53 in Blacksburg).
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 16-6 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
Last Time vs. the Hokies
• Kihei Clark’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining lifted Virginia to a 56-53 win at Virginia Tech on Feb. 26, 2020.
• Mamadi Diakite led the Cavaliers with a game-high 19 points and six rebounds, and Braxton Key and Clark each chipped in 10 points, respectively.
• Virginia led 26-11 at the half, but the Hokies gained a 47-46 lead by making seven of 11 3-pointers in the second half.
• The Cavaliers shot 42.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the Hokies 34-23.
• Landers Nolley II led Virginia Tech with 13 points.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action against Virginia Tech.
• Clark, who dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Syracuse, has averaged 9.7 points and team-high 4.5 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), and is shooting 51 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point range (32 of 74).
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.5 bpg) and is second in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (10.4 ppg) leads the team in 3-point percentage (49.2%) and is second in 3-pointers (31).
• Reece Beekman has a team-high 22 steals, 37 assists and 39 rebounds.
• Casey Morsell (6.9 ppg) has averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in four games after missing a pair of contests.
• Justin McKoy (3.8 ppg and 3.1 rpg), Tomas Woldetensae (38.7 3FG%) and Kadin Shedrick (3.5 ppg & 2.9 rpg) have added depth, while Kody Stattmann (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg) remains sidelined with a non-COVID-19 related cardiac issue.
UVA Ranked No. 8 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 8 in the latest Associated Press poll.
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 12 straight weeks over the past two seasons.
• 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.
Last Time Out
• Jay Huff scored a career-high 21 points and Sam Hauser added 21 points on seven 3-pointers as No. 8 Virginia beat Syracuse 81-58 on Jan. 25.
• Huff tied a career high with 12 rebounds and UVA made 14 3-pointers in the win.
• Trey Murphy III chipped in 16 points and Reece Beekman added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Kihei Clark had a game-high nine assists for UVA.
On The Horizon
• No. 8 Virginia travels to NC State on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Tipoff at PNC Arena is set for 9 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.