CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 13 Virginia (9-2, 1-1 ACC) returns to ACC action at Georgia Tech (7-5, 0-2 ACC) Saturday (Dec. 31). Tipoff for the New Year’s Eve clash is set for Noon on ACC Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (9-2, 1-1 ACC) has a nine-game winning streak vs. Georgia Tech.
• UVA is 3-1 away from home, including a 1-1 true road record.
• UVA ranks fifth nationally in turnovers per game (9.6), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.59), 11th in scoring defense (58.5 ppg), 18th in free throws made per game (17.1) and 19th in free throw attempts per game (24.1).
• Jayden Gardner needs six rebounds to become the only active player in Division I with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Georgia Tech game will be televised on ACC Network and streamed online at WatchESPN.com.
• The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 325-119 (.732) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 394-152 (.722) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett needs two wins to pass Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as the all-time winningest coach at UVA.
• Bennett needs six wins to reach 400 career wins.
• Bennett has guided the Cavaliers to five ACC regular-season titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021), two ACC Tournament titles (2014 and 2018) and one NCAA national championship (2019).
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided UVA to its 10th consecutive postseason berth in 2021-22.
UVA Ranked No. 13 in Latest AP Poll
• UVA is ranked No. 13 in the latest AP national poll and has been ranked in the top-20 in all eight polls.
• UVA’s No. 2 ranking was UVA’s highest since spending the last four weeks at No. 2 in 2018-19.
• UVA returned to the top-5 for the first time on Nov. 21 since a No. 4-preseason ranking in 2020-21.
• Prior to this season, the Cavaliers’ last top-5 ranking during the regular season was on Dec. 2, 2019.
• The Cavaliers were ranked No. 18 in the AP Preseason poll.
• UVA was ranked in the preseason AP top-25 for the fifth straight year and ninth in the last 10 seasons.
About The Cavaliers
• UVA returns all five starters from last season’s team, which finished 21-14, 12-8 in the ACC (sixth) and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
• We play defense, take quality shots, pass the basketball, limit turnovers and transition points, rebound and play more defense.
• The Cavaliers return 91.4 percent of its scoring from last season, most among all NCAA Division I teams (Portland 91.1%, Dayton 89.4% and Penn 88.5%).
• Returning starters Kihei Clark (11.2 ppg, 5.6 apg), Reece Beekman (9.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.3 spg), Jayden Gardner (11.8 ppg, 6 rpg), Kadin Shedrick (9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.7 bpg) and Armaan Franklin (10.7 ppg, 40.8% 3FG) started the first 10 games for the Cavaliers. Clark, Gardner, Franklin, Ben Vander Plas (7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Isaac McKneely (4.9 ppg, 31.7% 3FG) started vs. UAlbany.
• Beekman missed his first career game vs. UAlbany due to injury.
• Ryan Dunn (2.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Francisco Caffaro (2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and Taine Murray (2.0 ppg) provide depth off the bench.
• Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III are redshirting this season.
All-Time vs. Georgia Tech
• Virginia is 46-40 all-time vs. Georgia Tech, including a 15-24 mark in Atlanta, in the series that dates to 1947-48.
• The Cavaliers have a nine-game winning streak in the series, including a three-game winning streak at McCamish Pavilion.
• Georgia Tech’s last win vs. the Cavaliers in the series was a 68-64 decision in Atlanta on Jan. 9, 2016.
• Virginia is 17-2 in its last 19 games against Georgia Tech, including a 16-2 mark under head coach Tony Bennett.
Last Time vs. The Yellow Jackets
• 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, 2022.
• 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.
Hot and Cold
• UVA is averaging 69.8 points per game, most since averaging 71.4 points in 2018-19.
• UVA scored 70 or more points in its first six games for the first time since 2003-04 (eight games).
• UVA has scored 66 or fewer points in the past five games.
• UVA is shooting 26.2 percent (27 of 103) from 3-point range during the past five games after shooting 45.2 percent (47 of 104) from distance the first six games.
• UVA scored at least 70 points in six straight games for the first time since December of 2014.
• UVA is shooting 45.7 percent from the field, including 35.7 percent from 3-point range and 70.9 percent free throws.
• UVA shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 32.3 percent from 3-point range, last season.
Last Time Out
• No. 13 Virginia closed non-conference play with a 66-46 win over UAlbany (5-10) on Dec. 28 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Cavaliers (9-2) were led by Armaan Franklin (20 points, 7-13 FG) Jayden Gardner (16 points, 7-11 FG, 7 rebounds) and Kihei Clark (8 points, 10 assists).
• With help of 34 points in the paint, UVA shot 48 percent from the field and held the Great Danes to just 31 percent shooting.
• The Cavaliers grasped their largest lead of the game [60-32] with 4:30 to play and shot over 50 percent in the second half.
On The Horizon
• No. 13 Virginia returns to ACC action at Georgia Tech on Saturday, Dec. 31. Tipoff at McCamish Pavilion is set for Noon on ACC Network.