Men’s Basketball Plays at Wake Forest Wednesday Night
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (13-14, 6-10 ACC) plays at Wake Forest (19-8, 11-5 ACC) on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Tipoff at Joel Coliseum is set for 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
For Openers
• Wake Forest (19-8) is tied for fourth in the ACC at 11-5, while Virginia (13-14) is tied for 12th in the ACC at 6-10.
• Isaac McKneely (1,001 points) scored 17 points at North Carolina to become the 52nd Cavalier to reach 1,000 career points.
• Dai Dai Ames has averaged 15.7 points during his six-game double-figure streak.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Wake Forest game will be televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN.com/watch and ESPN+.
• The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
The Interim Head Coach
• Ron Sanchez was named Dean and Markel Families Men’s Interim Head Basketball Coach on Oct. 18 after three-time National Coach of the Year Tony Bennett retired.
• Sanchez is 13-14, 6-10 ACC as interim head coach at Virginia.
• Sanchez, who spent 10 seasons on Bennett’s staff at UVA in two different stints (2009-19 & 2023-24), posted a 72-78 record as head coach at Charlotte from 2018-23.
• He served nine seasons on Bennett’s staff from 2009-18, the last three as associate head coach. During his time on Grounds, the Cavaliers won 212 games, three ACC regular-season titles and two ACC Tournament titles while making six appearances in the NCAA Tournament and one NIT appearance. The Cavaliers earned three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and won 29 or more games four times. UVA won 31 games and reached No. 1 in the AP rankings for the first time since 1982-83 during Sanchez’ last season at UVA in 2017-18.
• Sanchez returned to UVA as associate head coach in 2023-24 as the Cavaliers posted a 23-11 record and 13-7 mark in the ACC.
• Under Sanchez’ leadership at Charlotte, the 49ers won 16 or more games in three seasons, including a 22-14 record in 2022-23. His last season at Charlotte was highlighted by the 49ers’ first-ever postseason tournament title when they won four games in five days in Daytona Beach, Fla., at the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational.
• Sanchez also served as an assistant coach on Tony Bennett’s staff for three seasons at Washington State from 2006-09, helping the Cougars to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT berth. Washington State reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and Sweet 16 in 2008. The Cougars tied the school record with 26 wins in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
All-Time vs. Wake Forest
• Virginia is 71-72 all-time vs. Wake Forest, including an 18-42 mark in Winston-Salem, in the series that dates to 1910-11.
• UVA has won 12 of the last 14 meetings in the series.
• UVA has won five of the last six games between the teams at Joel Coliseum, where UVA 8-18 all-time vs. the Demon Deacons.
• UVA suffered a 66-47 loss at Wake Forest last season.
• Ron Sanchez posted a 1-2 mark against Wake Forest as head coach at Charlotte.
Last Time vs. The Demon Deacons
• Reece Beekman scored 20 points and Isaac McKneely added 12 as then-No. 21 Virginia held off Wake Forest 49-47 in ACC action on Feb. 17, 2024, at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Ryan Dunn blocked a career-high seven shots as UVA registered an ACC-high 13 rejections.
• Hunter Sallis scored 12 points for Wake Forest and Efton Reid added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
• UVA went 1 of 11 from the free throw line.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Virginia returns two starters (Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde) along with Blake Buchanan and Taine Murray from last season’s team that finished third in the ACC (13-7) and advanced to the NCAA First Four.
• In 2023-24, McKneely started 33 games and averaged 12.3 points and shot 44.5 percent from 3-point range, while Rohde started 27 games and averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 assists.
• Buchanan averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15 minutes per game, while Murray netted 3.3 points per game.
• McKneely leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg), 3-pointers (84) and 3-point percentage (41.8%).
• Saunders ranks second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg).
• Andrew Rohde (9.1 ppg, 4.4 apg) leads the team in assists and ranks third in scoring.
• Jacob Cofie (7.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) leads the team in steals (28) and ranks second in blocks (21) and third in rebounding.
• Dai Dai Ames (8.2 ppg, 39.3% 3FGs) scored a career-high 27 points at Pitt and is shooting 61.9 percent during his six-game double-figure streak.
• Blake Buchanan (5.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has recorded 10 or more rebounds in three contests.
• Taine Murray (4.3 ppg, 43.2% 3FG), Ishan Sharma (3.7 ppg, 33.3% 3FG), Anthony Robinson (3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and TJ Power (1.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg) round out the rotation.
• The Cavaliers have made six or more 3-pointers in 25 games, including a season-high 14 against Villanova and 10 or more in eight games.
• UVA is 10-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
• UVA is shooting 44.6 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from 3-point range (36th nationally) and 75.6 percent from the free throw line (42.8% FG, 35.8% 3FG, 63.7% FT last season).
Last Time Out
• Jae’lyn Withers tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead North Carolina to an 81-66 win on Feb. 25 at Smith Center.
• Ian Jackson added 16 points off the bench as five Tar Heels landed in double figures.
• UNC (17-11, 10-6 ACC) jumped to a 21-2 lead and never trailed.
• Isaac McKneely led UVA (13-14, 6-10 ACC) with 17 points and Dai Dai Ames chipped in 12.
• The Tar Heels shot 48.2 percent from the field and made 9 of 16 3-pointers.
• UNC outrebounded UVA 35-21 and scored 36 points in the paint.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts No. 13 Clemson on Saturday, March 1. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for Noon on ESPN/2.