HOOS GAMEDAY: No. 14 Virginia vs. Pitt
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 14 Virginia (12-3, 8-1 ACC) hosts Pitt (9-5, 5-4 ACC) in ACC action on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Radio and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• UVA is first in the ACC at 8-1, while Pitt is tied for sixth at 5-4.
• As of Feb. 4, Virginia ranks first nationally in turnovers per game (8.8), second in free throw percentage (81.7) and personal fouls per game (12.7), seventh in scoring defense (59.7) and assist/turnover ratio (1.6), 19th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.1) and 22nd in field goal percentage (49.3).
• UVA is 7-0 at JPJ, including a 4-0 mark in league play.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Pitt game will be televised on ESPN and streamed online at WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
• The game will also be broadcast on the ESPN Radio, 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 Trey Murphy III for the “Wahoo Walkthrough” at 3 p.m. on the Virginia Sports App, VirginiaSports.com and select stations on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 289-99 (.745) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 358-132 (.731) career mark in 15 seasons.
• The three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year 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 144-59 (.709) in ACC play (81-20 at home & 63-39 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 (.709) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
All-Time vs. Pitt
• UVA is 16-4 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates back to 1957-58.
• UVA has won five straight contests vs. the Panthers, including a 59-56 tilt last season at Petersen Events Center.
• The Cavaliers defeated the Panthers 73-49 in their last home meeting in 2018-19.
• Virginia has won 12 of the last 13 games and is 6-1 in Charlottesville.
• UVA is 9-1 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC.
• Tony Bennett is 9-2 all-time vs. Pitt.
Last Time vs. the Panthers
• Kihei Clark scored 17 points as Virginia edged Pitt 59-56 in ACC action Feb. 22, 2020, at Petersen Events Center.
• The Cavaliers led 54-41 with 3:51 left and needed a Braxton Key free throw with four seconds remaining to overcome a late Pitt run to seal their fifth ACC road win.
• Mamadi Diakite, Tomas Woldetensae and Key each reached double figures with 10 points.
• Diakite added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
• UVA shot 52 percent in the first half en route to a 31-29 lead.
• Xavier Johnson led Pitt with 16 points and six steals.
• UVA outrebounded Pitt 33-32 despite 10 Pitt offensive rebounds.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action at NC State.
• Clark, who dished out a season-high nine assists vs. Syracuse, has averaged 9.7 points and team-high 4.3 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg), and is shooting 50 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range.
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.3 bpg) and is second in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg) leads the team in 3-point percentage (49.3%) and is second in made 3-pointers (35).
• Reece Beekman has a team-high 22 steals, 41 assists and 45 rebounds.
Casey Morsell (6.2 ppg) is UVA’s top perimeter defender.
• Justin McKoy (3.4 ppg and 2.8 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. 14 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 14 in the latest Associated Press poll.
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 13 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
• Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy III each tallied 18 points to lead No. 14 Virginia past NC State, 64-57, on Feb. 3 in Raleigh, N.C.
• Jay Huff added 12 points and team-high six rebounds for UVA (12-3, 8-1 ACC).
• Kihei Clark added a game-high six assists and Reece Beekman chipped in eight points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
• UVA sank 20 of 22 free throws and went 19 of 41 from the field.
• Jericole Hellems had a game-high 23 points for NC State (7-7, 3-6 ACC).
On The Horizon
• No. 14 Virginia travels to Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tipoff at McCamish Pavilion is set for 7 p.m. on Regional Sports Networks and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
