Virginia Hosts NC State Wednesday Night at JPJ
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (13-5, 4-3 ACC) hosts NC State (13-5, 5-2 ACC) in ACC action on Wednesday (Jan. 24). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (13-5) is tied for sixth in the ACC at 4-3, while NC State (13-5) is tied for second at 5-2.
• UVA owns the nation’s longest home win streak at 20 games.
• UVA has held 45 straight ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.
• ACC Player of the Week Reece Beekman has a career-high nine-game double figure scoring streak and became the third Cavalier with 200 career steals with two at Georgia Tech.
• Beekman earned the ACC honor after averaging 17.5 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals last week.
• NC State guard Casey Morsell played two seasons at Virginia from 2019-21.
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.
Suits and Sneakers/Shoes 4 Hope
• Head coach Tony Bennett and staff will wear basketball shoes painted by cancer patients at UVA Children’s Hospital (from the Shoes 4 Hope event) and suits as part of the annual American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers Week. The shoes will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for Coaches vs. Cancer.
• Bennett and his staff join coaches nationwide in raising funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society and their efforts to prevent and fight cancer in every person.
• Visit Coaches.Cancer.org to learn more about how we are making a difference in the fight against cancer.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 354-130 mark in 15 seasons at UVA and 423-163 career mark in 18 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett passed the late Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as UVA’s winningest coach with the win over Syracuse (1/7/23) and recorded his 400th 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 (13.2 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.1 rpg & 2.2 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 23 steals to pass Othell Wilson (222 steals from 1981-84) for first all-time at UVA.
• Ryan Dunn (9.5 ppg) leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), and blocked shots (2.1 bpg).
• Isaac McKneely (11.9 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (44) and 3-point percentage (48.9%).
• 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.
• Jordan Minor (3.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg), Jake Groves (7.1 ppg), Andrew Rohde (5.4 ppg & 3.1 apg), Leon Bond III (5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Elijah Gertrude (3.8 ppg), Blake Buchanan (3.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Dante Harris (3.8 ppg), Taine Murray (2.6 ppg, 44.4% 3FG) are main contributors.
• Minor has started the past three games, averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 24.3 minutes per game during that span.
• Harris missed 10 games with an ankle injury, and Gertrude had his redshirt lifted against Texas A&M.
• UVA is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from 3-point range and 65.3 percent from the free throw line.
Hoos in the National Rankings
• UVA ranks first nationally in turnovers per game (8.2), second in scoring defense (58.1 ppg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.91), sixth in turnover margin (5.6), seventh in fouls per game (13.3), 27th in field goal percentage defense (39.7), 44th in blocks per game (4.7), 52nd in assists per game (15.7) and 59th in steals per game (8.3).
All-Time vs. NC State
• Virginia is 69-86 all-time vs. NC State in the series that dates to 1912-13.
• NC State defeated UVA 76-60 earlier this season.
• NC State has won three of the last five games in the series.
• UVA is 42-25 against the Wolfpack in Charlottesville, including a 9-2 mark at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Tony Bennett is 15-6 vs. NC State as head coach at Virginia.
Last Time vs. the Wolfpack
• Jayden Taylor and Dennis Parker, Jr. each scored 15 points to lead NC State past Virginia, 76-60, in ACC action on Jan. 6.
• Isaac McKneely led UVA with 18 points, while Ryan Dunn added a career-best 16 points.
• Reece Beekman chipped in 12 points and 10 assists for the Cavaliers, who yielded 10 3-pointers in the loss.
• NC State shot 49.1 percent and had 21 bench points.
• The Wolfpack out-rebounded the Cavaliers 32-31.
Last Time Out
• Isaac McKneely scored 20 points and Reece Beekman added 19 points and career-high tying 11 assists to lead Virginia (13-5, 4-3 ACC) to a 75-66 win at Georgia Tech on Jan. 20.
• The Cavaliers gained their first road win by shooting 50 percent from the field, including 47.8 percent (11 of 23) from distance.
• McKneely matched a career high with six 3-pointers and Ryan Dunn chipped in nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
• UVA’s 17-0 run spanning halftime stopped its four-game road losing streak.
• Nathan George and Baye Ndongo led Georgia Tech with 15 points apiece.
On The Horizon
• Virginia travels to Louisville for an ACC contest on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff at KFC Yum! Arena is set for Noon on The CW.