No. 11 Virginia Continues Road Swing at Pitt Tuesday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 11 Virginia (10-2, 2-1 ACC) continues its road swing at Pitt (10-2, 3-0 ACC) Tuesday (Jan. 2). Tipoff at Petersen Events Center is set for 9 p.m. on ACC Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (10-2, 2-1 ACC) has an eight-game winning streak vs. Pittsburgh.
• UVA is 4-1 away from home, including a 2-1 true road record.
• Tony Bennett needs one win to become UVA’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach.
• Jayden Gardner needs four rebounds to become the only active player in Division I with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
• UVA ranks fifth nationally in turnovers per game (9.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.62), 11th in scoring defense (58.3 ppg), 19th in free throw attempts per game (23.4) and 22nd in free throws made per game (16.5).
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Pitt 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 326-119 (.733) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 395-152 (.722) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett needs one win to pass Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as the all-time winningest coach at UVA.
• Bennett needs five 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. 11 in Latest AP Poll
• UVA is ranked No. 11 in the latest AP national poll and has been ranked in the top-20 in all nine 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 (11.5 ppg, 5.8 apg), Reece Beekman (9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5 apg, 1.4 spg), Jayden Gardner (12 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Kadin Shedrick (9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg) and Armaan Franklin (10.8 ppg, 39.7% 3FG) have started 11 of 12 games. Clark, Gardner, Franklin, Ben Vander Plas (7.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Isaac McKneely (5.3 ppg, 34.8% 3FG) started vs. UAlbany. Beekman missed his first career game vs. UAlbany due to injury.
• Ryan Dunn (2.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Francisco Caffaro (2.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and Taine Murray (1.7 ppg) provide depth off the bench.
Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III are redshirting this season.
All-Time vs. Pittsburgh
• Virginia is 19-4 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates to 1957-58.
• UVA has won eight straight contests vs. the Panthers, including a two-game sweep in 2021-22.
• Virginia has won 15 of the last 16 games against Pitt, including an 8-3 record in Pittsburgh.
• UVA is 12-1 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC.
• The Cavaliers have a three-game winning streak against the Panthers at Petersen Events Center.
• Tony Bennett is 12-2 all-time vs. Pitt.
Last Time vs. The Panthers
• Reece Beekman scored a team-high 19 points and added eight assists to lead Virginia to a 66-61 victory at Pitt on Jan. 19, 2022.
• Virginia utilized a 10-0 run in the first half and scored nine unanswered in the second half.
• Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro fouled out down the stretch, but Virginia led for the final 16:52.
• Virginia’s victory marked the eighth consecutive win over the Panthers as the Cavaliers also swept the season series.
• Jayden Gardner scored 14 points and Kadin Shedrick matched a career best with 12 points on 6 of 6 shooting.
• Both teams shot 50 percent and the Hoos outscored the Panthers 36-30 in the paint.
• John Hugley led Pitt with a game-high 23 points.
Hot and Cold
• UVA is averaging 70.2 points per game, most since averaging 71.4 points in 2018-19.
• UVA scored 70 or more points in its first six games (7 overall) for the first time since 2003-04 (eight games).
• UVA has scored 66 or fewer points in the five of its past six games.
• UVA shot 45.2 percent (47 of 104) from distance in its first six games.
• UVA scored at least 70 points in six straight games for the first time since December of 2014.
• UVA is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, including 36.7 percent from 3-point range and 70.5 percent free throws.
• UVA shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 32.3 percent from 3-point range, last season.
Last Time Out
• Then-No. 13 Virginia (10-2) closed 2022 with a 74-56 win at Georgia Tech on Dec. 31.
• UVA used a 25-0 run spanning halftime and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for 8:36 during the run to gain the win.
• Kihei Clark led the Cavaliers with 15 points and eight assists, and Jayden Gardner (14), Kadin Shedrick (11) and Armaan Franklin also reached double figures.
• UVA drilled 10 of 22 3-pointers and posted a season-high 14 steals, most since 16 vs. NC State in 2008.
• The Cavaliers scored 30 points off 23 Georgia Tech turnovers.
On The Horizon
• No. 11 Virginia hosts Syracuse in ACC action on Saturday, Jan. 7. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 5 p.m. on ACC Network.