Virginia Travels to Notre Dame Saturday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (12-8, 6-4 ACC) travels to Notre Dame (13-6, 6-2 ACC) for an ACC contest on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tipoff at Purcell Pavilion is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (12-8, 6-4 ACC) has a six-game winning streak vs. Notre Dame (13-6, 6-2 ACC).
• Virginia is sixth in the ACC at 6-4, while Notre Dame is tied for second at 6-2.
• The Virginia coaching staff will wear pullovers and sneakers in support of The American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer – Suits And Sneakers Week (Jan. 24-30).
• The nationwide event unites basketball coaches, players and communities representing college and high school programs for a common cause – saving lives from cancer.
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 Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 307-111 (.734) mark in 13 seasons at UVA and 376-144 (.723) career mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett won his 300th game at Virginia with the 61-43 victory against Lehigh on Nov. 26, 2021.
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided the Cavaliers to their 10th ACC regular-season championship in 2020-21.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and a school-record 35 wins.
• Bennett has led UVA to 10 consecutive postseason appearances (2012-21) and seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (2014-21).
• UVA is 155-66 (.701) in ACC play (87-23 at home & 68-43 away), 174-34 (.837) at home and 152-45 (.772) in non-conference action (86-9 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks third all-time in winning percentage (.701) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC wins.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• The Cavaliers play defense, take good shots, share and take care of the basketball, rebound, and play more defense.
• UVA is led by its returning backcourt of Kihei Clark (9.2 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.8 rpg & 2.3 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (14 ppg & 6.7 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (12.2 ppg).
• The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
• Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
• Kadin Shedrick (6.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg & 2.7 bpg) and Francisco Caffaro (4.2 ppg & 4 rpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick started the first 16 games, while Caffaro has started the last four contests.
• Kody Stattmann (38.9% 3FGs), Taine Murray (38.1% 3FGs), Igor Miliĉić Jr. (36.4% 3FGs) and Carson McCorkle (33.3% 3FGs) provide perimeter shooting off the bench.
Virginia All-Time vs. Notre Dame
• Virginia is 16-2 all-time vs. Notre Dame, including an 11-0 ACC regular-season record, in the series that dates back to 1980-81.
• UVA is 6-0 against the Irish in Notre Dame, including a 66-57 win last season at Purcell Pavilion.
• UVA has limited Notre Dame to 58 or fewer points in nine of the last 12 meetings.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 12-1 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
• Jay Huff scored 18 points for the second straight game as then-No. 18 Virginia rolled to an 80-68 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 13, 2021, at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Sam Hauser and former Cavalier Casey Morsell each added 15 points, and Kihei Clark and Trey Murphy III chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
• Morsell shined with 6 of 7 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, after missing the past two games.
• Hauser added a game-high nine rebounds and Reece Beekman chipped in three steals.
• Virginia shot 54.4 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Last Time Out
• Kihei Clark tallied 15 points to lead Virginia to a 64-52 win over Louisville on Jan. 24 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Jayden Gardner added 14 points and Kadin Shedrick (11) and Armaan Franklin (10) reached double figures for the Cavaliers, who improved to 12-8, 6-4 ACC.
• UVA jumped to a 22-5 lead and shot 47.1 percent (24 of 51) in its third straight win over the Cardinals.
• Reece Beekman handed out a career-high 11 assists.
• UVA outrebounded Louisville 37-26.
• Jarrod West led Louisville (11-9, 5-5 ACC) with 14 points.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Boston College in ACC action on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network.