No. 8 Virginia Hosts No. 22 NC State Tuesday Night
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 8 Virginia (17-4, 9-3 ACC) hosts No. 22 NC State (19-5, 9-4 ACC) in ACC action Tuesday (Feb. 7). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 9 p.m. on ACC Network.
For Openers
• No. 8 Virginia (17-4) is tied for second in the ACC at 9-3, while No. 22 NC State (18-5) is tied for fourth at 9-4.
• NC State has won three of the last four meetings in the series.
• Jayden Gardner has led the Cavaliers in scoring in the each of the past three games and is averaging 18.3 points and 8.0 rebounds during that span.
• UVA has limited 37 consecutive ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.
• NC State guard Casey Morsell played two seasons at Virginia from 2019-21.
• UVA ranks first nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.76), fourth in turnovers per game (9.3), 10th in scoring defense (60.9 ppg), 17th in assists per game (16.4), 19th in 3-point percentage (38.3%), 22nd in fouls per game (14.3), 32nd in turnover margin (3.0) and 41st in scoring margin (9.5).
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-NC State 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 333-121 (.733) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 402-153 (.724) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett passed Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as the all-time winningest coach at UVA with the win over Syracuse (1/7/23).
• Bennett recorded his 400th career win at Wake Forest (1/21/23).
• 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. 8 in Latest AP Poll
• UVA is ranked No. 8 in the latest AP national poll and has been ranked in the top-20 in all 14 polls.
• UVA’s No. 2 ranking on Dec. 12 as 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.
• 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 returned all five starters from last season’s team, which finished 21-14, 12-8 ACC (sixth) and advanced to the NIT.
• 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.
Kihei Clark (11.6 ppg, 6.0 apg), Reece Beekman (10 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.1 apg), Jayden Gardner (11.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Armaan Franklin (12.7 ppg, 39.8% 3FG) and Ben Vander Plas (7.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) have started the past six games.
• Isaac McKneely (6.6 ppg, 43.9% 3FG), Ryan Dunn (2.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg), Kadin Shedrick (7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg), Francisco Caffaro (1.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg) and Taine Murray (1.5 ppg) provide depth off the bench.
• UVA used the starting lineup of Clark, Beekman, Franklin, Gardner and Shedrick in 14 games.
• Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III are redshirting this season.
All-Time vs. NC State
• Virginia is 68-85 all-time vs. NC State in the series that dates to 1912-13.
• NC State ended UVA’s seven-game road winning streak in the series with its 77-63 win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 22, 2022.
• NC State has won three of the last four games in the series.
• UVA is 41-25, including an 8-2 mark at John Paul Jones Arena, against NC State in Charlottesville.
• Tony Bennett is 14-5 vs. NC State as head coach at Virginia.
Last Time vs. The Wolfpack
• Jericole Hellems scored 21 points and Terquavion Smith added 20 as NC State downed Virginia 77-63 on Jan. 22, 2022, at PNC Arena.
• The Wolfpack shot 60 percent and drilled 12 3-pointers, including nine from Hellems (5) and Smith (4).
• Armaan Franklin led the Cavaliers (11-8, 5-4 ACC) with 14 points, while Jayden Gardner added 13 points and Reece Beekman chipped in 12 points.
• The loss ended UVA’s 11-game winning streak at PNC Arena.
• NC State’s 77 points were its most vs. UVA since scoring 79 in the ACC Tournament on March 9, 2007
• Former Cavalier Casey Morsell added 10 points for NC State.
Player Notes
• Shooting guard Armaan Franklin (26, 25, 21, 20, 20) leads Virginia with five 20-point games, while Jayden Gardner (26, 20), Kihei Clark (20) and Ben Vander Plas (20) have also registered 20-point efforts.
• Franklin has led UVA in scoring in eight contests this season and reached 1,000 career points vs. Boston College.
• Franklin registered his first career double-double with 25 points and career-best 10 rebounds at Wake Forest.
• Gardner has a pair of double-doubles (12 points, 11 rebounds at Michigan and 20 points and 10 rebounds at Virginia Tech).
• Gardner scored his 2,000th point vs. NC Central and snared his 1,000th career rebound vs. Syracuse on Jan. 3.
• Gardner has registered double figures in scoring in four of the last five games.
• Isaac McKneely matched a career high with four 3-pointers vs. Syracuse and has made at least one 3-pointer in 17 games.
• McKneely has a scored six or more points in each of the past five games and is shooting 58.9 percent (23 of 39) from 3-point range during his 10-game 3-pointer streak.
• Reece Beekman registered his fifth career game with five or more steals vs. North Carolina (1/10).
• Beekman is shooting career bests from 3-point range (43.1%) and charity stripe (84.2%).
• Ryan Dunn has registered four games with three blocks.
Last Time Out
• Then-No. 6 Virginia (17-4, 9-3 ACC) had its seven-game win streak snapped at Cassell Coliseum Feb. 4 as Virginia Tech (14-9, 4-8 ACC) defeated the Cavaliers, 74-68.
• Virginia Tech earn half a point in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, but UVA leads the Hokies 5.0-2.0 in the standings.
• Jayden Gardner registered his 38th career double-double with 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Kihei Clark (17 points, 5 rebounds) and Reece Beekman (15 points, 5 assists) also scored in double figures for the Cavaliers.
• Virginia Tech’s Sean Pedulla tied his career high with 22 points and Justin Mutts finished with 17 points and eight assists.
• The Hokies, which never trailed in the contest, shot 50.9 percent and scored 40 points in the paint.
On The Horizon
• No. 8 Virginia hosts Duke on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN.