CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (15-5, 6-3 ACC) hosts Notre Dame (7-13, 2-7 ACC) in ACC action on Wednesday (Jan. 31). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (15-5) is tied for third in the ACC at 6-3, while Notre Dame (7-13) is tied for 13th at 2-7.
• UVA is on a four-game win streak and owns the nation’s longest home winning streak at 21 games.
• UVA has held 46 straight ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Ryan Dunn has registered back-to-back double-doubles, including a 19-point (career high) and 11-rebound performance at Louisville.
• 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 ESPN2 and streamed on 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 356-130 mark in 15 seasons at UVA and 425-163 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 (12.9 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.2 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 15 steals to pass Othell Wilson (222 steals from 1981-84) for first all-time at UVA.
• Ryan Dunn (10.2 ppg) leads UVA in rebounding (7.3 rpg), and blocked shots (2.3 bpg), and team-high five double-doubles.
• Isaac McKneely (11.6 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (49) and 3-point percentage (47.6%).
• 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 (4.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg), Jake Groves (6.8 ppg), Andrew Rohde (5.3 ppg & 3.0 apg), Leon Bond III (4.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg), Elijah Gertrude (3.6 ppg), Blake Buchanan (3.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Dante Harris (3.0 ppg), Taine Murray (3.1 ppg, 47.6% 3FG) are main contributors.
• Minor has started the past five games, averaging 10 points and five rebounds during that span.
• Harris missed 10 games with an ankle injury, and Gertrude had his redshirt lifted against Texas A&M.
• UVA is shooting 44.5 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from 3-point range and 65 percent from the free throw line.
Hoos in the National Rankings
• UVA ranks second nationally in turnovers per game (8.7), third in scoring defense (57.6 ppg), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), seventh in fouls per game (13.5), ninth in turnover margin (5.1), 14th in field goal percentage defense (39.3) and 33rd in blocks per game (4.9).
All-Time vs. Notre Dame
• Virginia is 17-4 all-time vs. Notre Dame, including a 12-2 ACC regular-season record, in the series that dates to 1980-81.
• UVA is 8-0 against the Irish in Charlottesville, including a 57-55 win in the last meeting at John Paul Jones Arena last season.
• Notre Dame defeated Virginia 76-54 earlier this season.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 13-3 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 Fighting Irish
• Notre Dame defeated Virginia 76-54 on Dec. 30, 2023.
• Carey Booth and JR Konieczny each scored 17 points for the Irish, who shot 51 percent in the win and drilled 11 of 23 3-pointers.
• Notre Dame started the game on a 13-0 run and shot 69.6 percent (16 of 23) in the first half and owned a 41-24 lead.
• Reece Beekman led Virginia with 15 points and Ryan Dunn added 13.
Last Time Out
• Ryan Dunn scored a career-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double in Virginia’s 69-52 win at Louisville on Jan. 27.
• UVA held Louisville to 4 of 20 shooting in the first half and led 41-13.
• UVA shot 50 percent and made 8 of 17 3-pointers in the win.
• Reece Beekman added nine points, nine assists and five steals, while Isaac McKneely and Jacob Groves each chipped in nine points.
• UVA converted 18 Louisville turnovers into 24 points and out-scored the Cardinals 30-18 in the paint.
On The Horizon
• Virginia travels to Clemson for an ACC battle on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff at Littlejohn Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN.