No. 21 Virginia Welcomes Pitt to JPJ Tuesday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 21 Virginia (19-5, 10-3 ACC) hosts Pittsburgh (15-8, 6-6 ACC) in ACC action on Tuesday (Feb. 13). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• Virginia (19-5) is second in the ACC at 10-3, while Pittsburgh (15-8) is tied for seventh at 6-6.
• UVA is on an ACC-high eight-game win streak and owns the nation’s longest home winning streak at 23 games.
• UVA has held 48 straight ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Cavaliers are one win shy of their 12th (3rd consecutive) 20-win season under Tony Bennett.
• Jake Groves is 16 of 22 from 3-point range the past five games.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Pittsburgh game will be televised on ACC Network 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 360-130 mark in 15 seasons at UVA and 429-163 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 (13.8 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.0 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 six steals to pass Othell Wilson (222 steals from 1981-84) for first all-time at UVA.
• Ryan Dunn (9.0 ppg) leads UVA in rebounding (7.1 rpg), and blocked shots (2.1 bpg), and team-high five double-doubles.
• Isaac McKneely (12.3 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (59) and 3-point percentage (48%).
• 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 (4.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Jake Groves (8.0 ppg, 51.4% 3FG), Andrew Rohde (4.9 ppg & 2.9 apg), Blake Buchanan (3.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Dante Harris (2.6 ppg), Taine Murray (3.0 ppg, 48% 3FG), Leon Bond III (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and Elijah Gertrude (3.5 ppg), are main contributors.
• UVA is 8-1 in its last nine games with Minor in the starting lineup.
• Harris missed 10 games with an ankle injury, and Gertrude had his redshirt lifted against Texas A&M.
• UVA is shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from 3-point range and 65.6 percent from the free throw line.
Hoos in the National Rankings
• UVA ranks first nationally in turnovers per game (8.4) and assist/turnover ratio (1.90), second in scoring defense (57.6 ppg), ninth in turnover margin (4.8), 10th in fouls per game (13.8), 12th in field goal percentage defense (39.4), 15th in 3-point percentage (38.1) and 34th in blocks per game (4.9).
All-Time vs. Pittsburgh
• UVA is 19-5 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates to 1957.
• UVA has won eight of the last nine contests in the series.
• Virginia has won 15 of the last 17 games against Pitt, including a six-game win streak in Charlottesville.
• UVA is 12-2 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC.
• Tony Bennett is 12-3 all-time vs. Pitt.
Last Time vs. the Panthers
• Pittsburgh snapped then-No. 11 Virginia’s eight-game series win streak, defeating the Cavaliers 68-65 at the Peterson Events Center on Jan. 3, 2023.
• The Panthers outscored UVA 45-32 in the second half, including a decisive 14-0 run.
• Kihei Clark scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, dished out eight assists and added four rebounds.
• Armaan Franklin (14), Reece Beekman (12) and Kadin Shedrick (10) also scored in double figures for the Hoos.
• UVA attempted a season-low four free throws in the loss.
Last Time Out
• Isaac McKneely scored a career-high 29 points and Reece Beekman tied a career best with 21 as Virginia defeated Florida State 80-76 in Tallahassee on Feb. 10.
• McKneely was 8 for 12 from the floor, including 5 for 7 from behind the arc, and Beekman added a game-high five assists to go with his 21 points.
• Jake Groves came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
• UVA shot 50 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent (10 of 18) from 3-point range.
• Jamir Watkins led FSU (13-10, 7-5 ACC) with 21 points.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Wake Forest in ACC action on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for Noon on ESPN2.