Men's Basketball Opens Season Against Tarleton State
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia hosts Tarleton State in its 2023-24 season opener on Monday, Nov. 6. Tipoff for the non-conference game at John Paul Jones Arena is slated for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
For Openers
• UVA begins its 119th season of men’s basketball, sporting a 1,720-1,204 (.588) all-time record.
• Virginia meets Tarleton State for the first time.
• UVA is 23-2 in its last 25 season-opening games.
• UVA is 12-2 in season openers under head coach Tony Bennett.
• The Cavaliers are 95-23 all-time in 118 season-opening games.
• UVA is 91-10 at JPJ in non-conference action under Bennett.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Tarleton State game will be carried 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 341-125 (.732) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 410-158 (.722) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett passed Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as UVA’s all-time winningest coach 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 six ACC regular-season titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023), 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 11th consecutive postseason berth in 2022-23.
Season Storylines
• Virginia returns one starter (Reece Beekman) from last season’s team that won the ACC regular season title (15-5) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Cavaliers return 28.1 percent of their scoring from last season compared to 91.4 percent from 2021-22.
Virginia’s roster includes eight newcomers, including transfers Jake Groves (Oklahoma), Jordan Minor (Merrimack) and Andrew Rohde (St. Thomas), and freshman Blake Buchanan, Elijah Gertrude, Anthony Robinson, Christian Bliss (redshirt) and Desmond Roberts.
• Leon Bond III and Dante Harris (Georgetown) will make their UVA debuts after redshirting last season.
• In addition to head coach Tony Bennett (Green Bay), UVA’s roster includes Wisconsin natives Beekman (Milwaukee), Bond III (Wauwatosa) and Rohde (Milwaukee).
• Bennett begins his 15th season at Virginia and 18th overall. He is 341-125 at UVA and 410-158 overall.
• Associate head coach Ron Sanchez returns to Virginia after serving the last five seasons as head coach at Charlotte from 2018-23. Sanchez served nine seasons on Bennett’s staff from 2009-18, the last three as associate head coach.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
• We play defense, take quality shots, pass the basketball, limit turnovers and transition points, rebound and play more defense.
• UVA returns one starter – Reece Beekman (9.5 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.0 rpg & 1.8 spg) – from last season’s ACC regular-season champion and NCAA tournament team that finished 25-8.
• Beekman, who earned All-ACC third-team honors last season, needs 63 steals to pass Othell Wilson (222 steals from 1981-84) for first all-time at UVA.
• In 2021-22, Beekman became the first ACC player since Grant Hill (1993-94) to register at least 175 assists, 50 steals and 25 blocks in a season.
• Isaac McKneely, Ryan Dunn and Taine Murray also return. McKneely averaged 6.7 points and shot a team-best 39.2 percent from 3-point range, while Dunn tallied 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game.
• Transfers Andrew Rohde (17.9 ppg), Jake Groves (6.8 ppg) and Jordan Minor (17.4 ppg), redshirts Leon Bond III and Dante Harris (11.9 ppg at Georgetown in 2021-22) and newcomer Blake Buchanan will contribute immediately.
• Elijah Gertrude, Anthony Robinson, Christian Bliss and recruited walk-ons Desmond Roberts and Tristan How round out the roster.
There’s No Place Like Home
• UVA is 231-54 (.811), including a 15-1 mark (10-0 ACC) in 2022-23, in 17 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Virginia finished 10-0 at home in ACC league play last season for the first time since the ACC expanded to a 20-game schedule.
• UVA is 193-38 (.836), including a 158-23 (.873) mark the past 11 seasons, at JPJ under Bennett.
• UVA has an ACC-leading 88 wins in league home games over the past 11 seasons. Duke is second at 87.
• UVA has won 10+ home games for 13 straight seasons.
Virginia Receives Votes in AP Preseason Rankings
• UVA received votes in the AP preseason top-25 poll.
• UVA is not ranked in the AP preseason top-25 poll for the first time since 2017-18 when it received votes.
• Prior to this year, UVA was ranked in the preseason AP top-25 five consecutive seasons and nine of the last 10 seasons under Tony Bennett.
On The Horizon
• Virginia battles Florida in a Hall of Fame Series contest on Friday, Nov. 10 in Charlotte, N.C. Tipoff at Spectrum Center is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.