No. 13 Virginia Hosts Clemson Tuesday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 13 Virginia (21-6, 13-5 ACC) hosts Clemson (21-8, 13-5 ACC) Tuesday (Feb. 27). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.
For Openers
• No. 13 Virginia (21-6) and Clemson (21-8) are tied for third in the ACC at 13-5.
• A Virginia win vs. Clemson clinches a top-4 seed and double bye at the ACC Tournament.
• UVA ranks first nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.82), second in turnovers per game (8.7), 10th in scoring defense (60.6 ppg), 19th in fouls per game (14.1), 20th in turnover margin (3.8) and 25th in assists per game (15.8).
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Clemson 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 337-123 (.733) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 406-156 (.722) 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. 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 17 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 (11.5 ppg, 5.7 apg), Reece Beekman (9.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.9 apg), Jayden Gardner (11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Armaan Franklin (12.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Ben Vander Plas (7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg) have started the past 12 games.
• Isaac McKneely (6.4 ppg, 39.6% 3FG), Ryan Dunn (2.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg), Kadin Shedrick (6.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 bpg), Francisco Caffaro (1.6 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. Clemson
• Virginia is 80-53 all-time vs. Clemson, including a 46-17 home record, in a series that dates to 1935-36.
• Clemson ended UVA’s 11-game winning streak in the series in its last visit to Charlottesville, posting a 67-50 win at John Paul Jones Arena on Dec. 22, 2021.
• UVA earned a 75-65 win at Clemson to split the season series.
• UVA has won 12 of the last 13 meetings in the series.
• UVA is 14-3 in its last 17 meetings against the Tigers.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 14-4 all-time vs. Clemson.
Last Time vs. The Tigers
• Jayden Gardner scored a game-high 23 points to lead Virginia to a 75-65 ACC road win at Clemson on Jan. 4, 2022.
• Gardner went 7 of 11 from the field and 9 of 10 from the line.
• Armaan Franklin added 13 points and Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman, Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro each added eight points.
• UVA shot 54.3 percent and drilled 21 of 24 free throws.
• The Hoos outrebounded the Tigers 28-23.
• Hunter Tyson led four Tigers in double figures with 15 points.
Player Notes
• Shooting guard Armaan Franklin (26, 25, 23, 21, 20, 20) leads Virginia with six 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 10 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 three double-doubles (12 points, 11 rebounds at Michigan, 20 points and 10 rebounds at Virginia Tech and 19 points and 12 rebounds at North Carolina).
• Gardner scored his 2,000th point vs. NC Central and snared his 1,000th career rebound vs. Syracuse on Jan. 3.
• Gardner has led UVA in scoring in seven contests and has reached double figures in scoring in eight of the last 11 games.
• Isaac McKneely has made at least one 3-pointer in 20 games and two or more 3-pointers in 14 contests.
• Vander Plas recorded his first double-double at UVA (15th career) with 10 points and 11 rebounds at Louisville.
• Reece Beekman is shooting career bests from 3-point range (36.9%) and charity stripe (79.2%).
• Ryan Dunn has registered five multi-block games, including four games with three blocks.
Last Time Out
• Then-No. 6 Virginia (21-6, 13-5 ACC) lost their second straight road game, falling 71-63 at North Carolina (18-11, 10-8) on Feb. 25.
• Jayden Gardner led the Cavaliers with his third double-double of the season, recording 19 points and 12 rebounds, while also chipping in a block and a steal.
• UNC shot 46 percent and hit 10 of 22 3-pointers, outscoring the Hoos 30-12 from distance.
• Pete Nance led UNC with a game-high 22 points and RJ Davis added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
On The Horizon
• No. 13 Virginia hosts Louisville during Senior Day on Saturday, March 4. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN2.