No. 21 Virginia Hosts Wake Forest in Saturday Matinee
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 21 Virginia (19-6, 10-4 ACC) hosts Wake Forest (16-8, 8-5 ACC) in ACC action on Saturday (Feb. 17). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for Noon on ESPN2 and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• No. 21 Virginia (19-6) is third in the ACC at 10-4, while Wake Forest (16-8) is fourth at 8-5.
• UVA’s eight-game win streak 23-game home win streak ended with the loss to Pittsburgh.
• The Cavaliers are one win shy of their 12th (3rd consecutive) 20-win season under Tony Bennett.
• Wake Forest defeated Virginia 66-47 earlier this season.
• All six of the UVA’s six losses have been by 11 or more points.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Wake Forest 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 360-131 mark in 15 seasons at UVA and 429-164 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 (14.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.1 rpg & 2.3 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 five 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 (7.0 rpg), and blocked shots (2.2 bpg), and team-high five double-doubles.
• Isaac McKneely (12.5 ppg) leads the team in 3-pointers (61) and 3-point percentage (47.3%).
• 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.
• Jordan Minor (4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg), Jake Groves (8.0 ppg, 50% 3FG), Andrew Rohde (4.8 ppg & 3.0 apg), Blake Buchanan (3.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg), Dante Harris (2.4 ppg), Taine Murray (3.0 ppg, 46.2% 3FG), Leon Bond III (4.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and Elijah Gertrude (3.5 ppg), are main contributors.
• UVA is 8-2 in its last 10 games with Minor in the starting lineup (8-3 overall with Minor as a starter).
• Harris missed 10 games with an ankle injury, and Gertrude had his redshirt lifted against Texas A&M.
• UVA is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 37.8 percent from 3-point range and 65.7 percent from the free throw line.
Hoos in the National Rankings
• UVA ranks first nationally in turnovers per game (8.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.95), third in scoring defense (58.3 ppg), eighth in turnover margin (4.8), 12th in fouls per game (13.8), 14th in field goal percentage defense (39.6), 19th in 3-point percentage (37.8), 28th in blocks per game (4.9) and 37th in assists per game (16.0).
All-Time vs. Wake Forest
• Virginia is 70-72 all-time vs. Wake Forest, including a 42-22 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates to 1910-11.
• UVA has won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series.
• The Cavaliers have scored 65 or more points in eight of their last 12 games (7-2 in those games) vs. the Demon Deacons.
• Tony Bennett is 11-6 vs. Wake Forest as head coach at Virginia.
Last Time vs. the Demon Deacons
• Hunter Sallis scored 21 points to lead Wake Forest to a 66-47 win over Virginia on Jan. 13 at Joel Coliseum.
• Andrew Carr added 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Demon Deacons shot 50 percent in the win.
• Sallis buried five 3-pointers as Wake Forest finished 10 of 21 from long distance.
• Reece Beekman led UVA with 10 points as the Cavaliers suffered their fifth loss of 16 or more points.
• Jordan Minor had nine points and five rebounds in his first start.
Last Time Out
• Blake Hinson scored a game-high 27 points to lead Pittsburgh (16-8, 7-6 ACC) to a 74-63 win over Virginia in ACC action on Feb. 13 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Panthers drilled 14 of 32 3-point attempts to end UVA’s 48-game home streak of limiting ACC foes to less than 70 points.
• Ishmael Leggett added 13 points and Jaland Lowe chipped in 12.
• Reece Beekman led UVA with 19 points and Isaac McKneely added 15.
• UVA shot 50 percent (25 of 50) and was 4 of 14 from distance and 9 of 13 from the free throw line in the loss.
On The Horizon
• Virginia plays in-state rival Virginia Tech in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Monday, Feb. 19. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.