Virginia Returns to ACC Play at Notre Dame on Saturday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (10-2, 1-0 ACC) returns to ACC action at Notre Dame (5-7, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday (Dec. 30). Tipoff at Purcell Pavilion is set for Noon on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• The Cavaliers are 6-1 vs. the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame.
• Notre Dame associate head coach Kyle Getter spent five years at UVA, serving three seasons as the Cavaliers’ director of recruiting/player development and the final two as an assistant coach.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Notre Dame 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 351-127 (.734) mark in 15 seasons at UVA and 420-160 (.724) career mark in 18 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett passed the late 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.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and a school-record 35 wins.
Hoo Are These 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 (12.9 ppg, 5.7 apg, 3.4 rpg & 2.4 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 34 steals to pass Othell Wilson (222 steals from 1981-84) for first all-time at UVA.
• Ryan Dunn (9.0 ppg) leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), and blocked shots (2.3 bpg).
• Isaac McKneely (11.2 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (29) and 3-point percentage (48.3%).
• McKneely averaged 6.7 points and shot a team-best 39.2 percent from 3-point range last year, while Dunn tallied 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game.
• Jake Groves (8.3 ppg), Andrew Rohde (6.0 ppg & 3.5 apg), Leon Bond III (7.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 56.5% FG), Elijah Gertrude (5.3 ppg), Blake Buchanan (4.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Dante Harris (3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Taine Murray (2.4 ppg, 35.7% 3FG) and Jordan Minor (1.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg) are main contributors.
• Harris has missed the last six game with an ankle injury and Gertrude had his redshirt lifted against Texas A&M.
• UVA is shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from 3-point range and 65.4 percent from the free throw line.
All-Time vs. Notre Dame
• Virginia is 17-3 all-time vs. Notre Dame, including a 12-1 ACC regular-season record, in the series that dates to 1980-81.
• UVA is 6-1 against the Irish in Notre Dame, including a 69-65 loss in the last meeting at Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 29, 2022.
• UVA has limited Notre Dame to 58 or fewer points in 10 of the last 14 meetings, including a 57-55 win in the last meeting between the teams on Feb. 18, 2023, at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 13-2 all-time against Notre Dame, including a 61-41 win over the Fighting Irish as head coach at Washington State in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Last Time vs. the Irish
• Notre Dame missed a potential game-winning 3-point try at the buzzer as then-No. 7 Virginia held on to defeat the Fighting Irish, 57-55, at John Paul Jones Arena Feb. 18, 2023.
• With his 133rd career start and after dishing out his third assist of the game, Kihei Clark (15 points, 4-7 FG, 6-8 FT) became UVA’s all-time leader in both categories.
• Armaan Franklin (12 points) and Reece Beekman (11 points, 5 assists) also scored in double figures for the Hoos.
• Jayden Gardner and Ben Vander Plas added eight points each, and Gardner’s 12 rebounds were a game high.
• Nate Laszewski led the Irish with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Last Time Out
• Reece Beekman scored 17 points and added seven assists as Virginia topped Morgan State 77-44 on Dec. 27 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Leon Bond III, Jake Groves and Andrew Rohde each added 10 points as the Cavaliers (10-2) concluded non-conference action.
• Ryan Dunn added a game-high 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers out-rebounded the Bears 39-33.
• UVA owned a commanding 43-16 lead at the half and drilled 10 of 23 3-pointers in the game.
• UVA dominated the paint, outscoring the Bears 38-12.
Hoos in the National Rankings
• UVA ranks second nationally in scoring defense (54.5 ppg) and turnovers per game (8.6), sixth in turnover margin (6.0) and field goal percentage defense (36.7), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.87), 10th in fouls per game (13.3), 13th in blocks per game (5.8) and 26th in 3-point percentage defense (28.1).
Stock Up
• UVA has totaled 178 stocks (109 steals + 69 blocks).
• UVA is averaging a school-record 14.8 stocks per game (5.8 blocks and 9.1 steals) since 1976 when steals and blocks were first recorded at Virginia and 1985-86 when recognized by the NCAA.
• The school-record for stocks in a season is 13.8 in 1998-99.
• UVA could break school records for blocks (5.5 bpg in 1979-80) and steals (8.8 spg in 1999-2000).
• UVA averaged 11.1 stocks per game last season (6.8 steals + 4.3 blocks).
• Ryan Dunn leads UVA with 55 stocks, ranking 16th nationally in blocks (2.3 bpg) and 37th in steals (2.3 spg).
• Dunn is the lone player in NCAA Division I ranked in the top 40 in both steals and blocks.
• Reece Beekman ranks 11th in assist/turnover ratio (3.8) and 22nd in steals (2.4 spg).
Virginia Receives Votes in Latest AP Poll
• UVA received votes in the latest AP top-25 poll.
• The Cavaliers were ranked No. 22 from Dec. 11-24.
• UVA was ranked No. 24 in the Nov. 20 AP poll.
• UVA was not ranked in the AP preseason top-25 poll for the first time since 2017-18 when it received votes.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Louisville in ACC action on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.