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Game Notes: #2 Virginia hosts #18 Clemson on Tuesday

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uva clemsonNo. 2 Virginia (18-1, 7-0 ACC) hosts No. 18 Clemson (16-3, 5-2 ACC) in ACC men’s basketball action on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m.

For Openers

  • Virginia has a six-game winning streak vs. Clemson.
  • UVA is first in the ACC at 7-0 and Clemson is tied for third at 5-2.
  • The Cavaliers are riding a 10-game winning streak and are 7-0 in the ACC for the first time since starting 7-0 in 2014-15.
  • UVA’s 10-game winning streak is its longest since an 11-game winning streak in 2015-16.
  • UVA meets its third ranked foe and is 1-1 vs. ranked opponents.
  • As of Jan. 22, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (52.4 ppg), second in field goal percentage defense (36.6%), third in turnovers per game (9.4) and fouls per game (13.9), seventh in turnover margin (4.9) and scoring margin (17.2), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.9%), 11th in free throw percentage (77.6%) and 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.52).

Broadcast Information

  • The Virginia-Clemson contest will be televised on the Regional Sports Network and streamed on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3.com) and ESPN App, and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.
  • Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.

The Head Coaches

  • Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 206-84 in nine seasons at UVA and 275-117 in 12 seasons overall.
  • Clemson: Brad Brownell (DePauw, 1991), 140-106 in eight seasons at Clemson and 307-191 in 16 seasons overall.

UVA Remains No. 2 in Latest National Polls

  • UVA is ranked No. 2 for the second straight week in the latest national polls.
  • The No. 2 ranking is UVA’s highest since March 2, 2015 (No. 2).
  • UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for nine straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past five polls.
  • Virginia is the fifth team in ACC history to move from unranked in preseason to the top 3, joining Miami (2012-13), Georgia Tech (2003-04), Wake Forest (1980-81) and North Carolina (1972-73).
  • UVA is the lone ACC team to be ranked in the top 3 in four of the past five seasons.
  • The Cavaliers received votes in the first three AP polls, snapping a streak of 64 consecutive weeks in the AP rankings since Feb. 3, 2014.
  • UVA was ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls from 2014-16.

UVA in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings

  • As of Jan. 22, UVA ranks Nos. 1, 3 and 38 in the KenPom.com adjusted defense, overall and adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
  • UVA is shooting 47 percent, 39.4 percent from 3-point range (2nd best in school history) and 77.6 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
  • UVA has shot 50 percent or better in eight games and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in all 19 games.

Last Time Out

  • Kyle Guy scored 17 points, and No. 2 Virginia beat Wake Forest 59-49on Sundaynight for its 10th straight win.
  • De’Andre Hunter added 16 points to help the first-place Cavaliers (18-1, 7-0 ACC) extend their longest winning streak since 2015-16 and open league play with seven victories for the second timein four years.
  • Virginia shot nearly 46 percent in the second half while holding Wake Forest to 30 percent shooting after halftime.
  • Bryant Crawford scored 11 points, and Mitchell Wilbekin and Brandon Childress added 10 apiece for the Demon Deacons (8-11, 1-6), who kept it close but still managed to lose their fifth straight.
  • Devon Hall added 12 points to help the Cavaliers win a tight one in which there were nine lead changes and five ties.
  • Neither team led by more than seven until Hunter hit an important 3-pointer to extend Virginia’s lead to 53-45 with3:44remaining.

All-Time Against Clemson

  • Virginia is 74-52 all-time vs. Clemson, including a 44-16 home mark, in the series that dates back to 1935-36.
  • UVA posted a 77-73 win at Clemson last season.
  • UVA has a six-game winning streak in the series and six-game winning streak against the Tigers in Charlottesville.
  • The Cavaliers are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings against the Tigers.
  • Head coach Tony Bennett is 8-3 all-time vs. Clemson.

Last Time Against the Tigers

  • Senior point guard London Perrantes tallied a season-high 25 points to lift then-No. 19 Virginia to a 77-73 win at Clemson on Jan. 14, 2017.
  • Perrantes broke a 70-70 tie with a 3-pointer with2:05remaining and added a twirling layup moments later to seal the victory.
  • Marial Shayok scored 17 points for the second straight contest.
  • Isaiah Wilkins added eight points and matched a then-career high 13 rebounds for UVA.
  • Jaron Blossomgame tallied a team-high 22 points for Clemson and Avry Holmes and Gabe DeVoe each had 15 points.
  • UVA drilled 10 3-pointers and owned a 30-25 rebounding edge.
  • The Cavaliers allowed 42 points in the paint, 23 points off turnovers (23) and 10 fast break points.

Getting Defensive

  • UVA has limited its foes to 52.4 points per game (2nd best in school history) and has held nine opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest).
  • UVA has held 16 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
  • UVA has held 16 foes to less than 43 percent shooting.
  • The Cavaliers have held 10 opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from 3-point range.
  • The Cavaliers are 73-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (9-0 in 2017-18).
  • Bennett-coached teams are 98-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points during his 12-year coaching career.
  • In 2016-17, Virginia led the nation in scoring defense (56.4 ppg) for the third time under Bennett.
  • Bennett-coached teams have led the nation in scoring defense four times (2008-09, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17) and finished in the top-five nationally in eight of 11 seasons.

About the Cavaliers

  • UVA is led by tri-captains Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt.
  • The announcement of Hall, Wilkins and Salt marked the first time in Bennett’s 12-year head coaching career where he officially named team captains.
  • UVA has averaged 69.6 points per game (second most under Bennett) on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 52.4 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
  • UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 19 games.
  • Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has reached double figures in 16 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17), 22 vs. Syracuse (1/9/18) and 21 vs. Lehigh (12/2/17)
  • Hall has averaged 12.6 points, which is 4.2 points higher than last year’s average of 8.4 points.
  • Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (7.0), blocked shots (1.68) and steals (1.47).
  • Jerome is averaging 9.4 points and Salt has chipped in 3.9 rebounds per game and 17 blocked shots.
  • Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.0 ppg) has reached double figures in five of the last six games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17) and Virginia Tech (14).
  • Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.8 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 5.1 ppg & 3.3 rpg.
  • Jay Huff and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is redshirting the 2017-18 season.

There’s No Place Like Home

  • Virginia is 162-40 (.802), including a 12-0 mark in 2017-18, in 12 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • UVA’s 14-game home winning streak dating back to last year is currently tied for the eighth longest in NCAA Division I.
  • The Cavaliers finished undefeated at home (15-0) in 2015-16.
  • UVA is 124-24 (.837), including an 88-9 (.906) mark the past six seasons, at home under head coach Tony Bennett.
  • Virginia is an ACC-leading 45-4 (.918) in league home games over the past six seasons. Duke is second at 43-5 (.896).
  • UVA has won 11 or more home games for nine straight seasons.

On the Horizon

  • No. 2 Virginia travels to No. 4 Duke on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff at Cameron Indoor Stadium set for2 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.

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