Cavaliers Battle Hokies in Smithfield Commonwealth Clash
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (16-9, 10-5 ACC) travels to Virginia Tech (15-10, 7-7 ACC) in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Monday, Feb 14. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
For Openers
• UVA is tied for fifth in the ACC at 10-5, while Virginia Tech is tied for seventh at 7-7.
• The Cavaliers have averaged 66.7 points per game and allowed 55 points per game in their 16 wins.
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is part of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, which is a head-to-head, points-based athletics competition between the schools.
• UVA defeated the Hokies 54-52 in the first meeting on Jan. 12.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be televised on ESPN 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 311-112 (.735) mark in 13 seasons at UVA and 380-145 (.724) 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 159-67 (.704) in ACC play (90-23 at home & 69-44 away), 177-34 (.839) at home and 152-45 (.772) in non-conference action (86-9 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage (.704) 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 (9.8 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (7.9 ppg, 5 apg, 3.4 rpg & 2.2 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (14.5 ppg & 6.8 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.
• Francisco Caffaro (4.8 ppg & 4.3 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7 ppg, 5.2 rpg & 2.3 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick started the first 16 games, while Caffaro has started the last eight contests.
• Kody Stattmann (38.5% 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. Virginia Tech
• Virginia is 96-57 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 40-13 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates back to 1914-15.
• Virginia defeated Virginia Tech 54-52 at JPJ this season.
• The Cavaliers are 23-31 all-time at Cassell Coliseum and have won three of their last four games at Virginia Tech.
• The Cavaliers are 4-1 in their last five games against the Hokies.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 17-7 all-time vs. Virginia Tech.
Last Time vs. The Hokies
• The Cavaliers held Virginia Tech scoreless in the in the final 3:13 and the Hokies missed a pair of potential game-winning 3-pointers as Virginia held on to win 54-52 in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Jan. 12, 2022.
• UVA center Francisco Caffaro scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to lead the Cavaliers.
• Armaan Franklin (15 points) and Reece Beekman (11 points) also scored in double figures for Virginia.
• The Cavalier defense forced 12 Virginia Tech turnovers.
• Keve Aluma led the Hokies with 22 points.
More on The Commonwealth Clash
• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner of the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy.
• The UVA-VT game is worth a half point in the Clash and the Hokies lead this year’s Clash 4.5-1.5.
• UVA captured the Clash in 2015, 2016 and 2019, while Virginia Tech has won the Clash in 2017 and 2018. The 2020 and 2021 clashes were canceled due to the pandemic.
Last Time Out
• Jayden Gardner scored 26 points and Kihei Clark added 15 to lead Virginia to a 63-53 home win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 12.
• Gardner was 10 of 19 from the field and 6 of 6 from the charity stripe for his fifth 20-point game at UVA.
• Clark scored seven of his 15 points in the final 2:32 of UVA’s fourth straight win.
• UVA went 21 of 23 from the free throw line and outrebounded Georgia Tech 32-24.
• Michael Devoe led Georgia Tech with 17 points.
On The Horizon
• Virginia travels to Miami on Saturday, Feb. 19. Tipoff at Watsco Center is set for 5 p.m. on ACC Network.