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Preview: #1 UVa. faces #5 Pitt in ACC Tournament semifinals

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uva-logo-new2pittNo. 1 seed UVa. (26-6) will play No. 5 seed Pittsburgh (25-8) in the 61st Annual ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 15. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum (23,500) is set for 1 p.m.

Broadcast Information
The Virginia-Pittsburgh game will be televised by ESPN and the ACC Network and online at WatchESPN.com. The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network and SiriusXM (Channel 84) satellite radio. Live statistics are located on VirginiaSports.com, as well as the Virginia Sports app, which is available free of charge through iTunes. Fans can also follow the game via Twitter at @UVaMensHoops.

For Openers
• No. 1 seed Virginia plays No. 5 seed Pittsburgh (25-8) in the 61st Annual ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m.
• The Cavaliers are playing in their first ACC Tournament semifinal since 1995 (Wake Forest).
Virginia went 1-0 vs. No. 5 seed Pittsburgh in the regular season.
• The Cavaliers rank No. 1 nationally in scoring defense at 55.3 ppg.
• UVa’s 26-6 record is its best through 32 games since 1982-83 (28-4).

A Win vs. Pittsburgh Would…
• Give UVa its first ACC Tournament final appearance since 1994 when the Cavaliers lost 73-66 to North Carolina.
• Give Virginia 27 wins for the first time since winning 29 in 1982-83.
• Give Virginia 12 combined road/neutral wins for the first time since 18 in 1982-83.

2013-14 Virginia Accomplishments
Virginia won its sixth ACC regular-season title (second outright) and gained its second No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament.
• Virginia’s 16-2 ACC record is a program-best and ties the ACC record for most league wins in a season (1998-99 Duke).
• With 26 wins, Virginia is one of three teams (NC Central & Southeast Missouri State) in the nation to improve its win total in each of the past five seasons.
Virginia secured its third consecutive ACC winning season (16-2, 11-7, 9-7) for the first time since 1981-83.
Virginia secured its third straight 20-win season for the first time since 1991-93.
• UVa set a school record with 12 ACC wins by 10 or more points.
• With 16 ACC wins, Virginia became the second ACC school to improve its ACC record in five consecutive seasons (Georgia Tech under Bobby Cremins from 1982-86).
• UVa has won a school-record 18 straight ACC home games.
• UVa set a school record with 13 consecutive ACC wins.
Virginia won a school-record seven ACC road contests.

Virginia All-Time in the ACC Tournament
Virginia is 32-59 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
• UVa snapped a four-game losing streak in the ACC Tournament with its win over Florida State.
Virginia is 14-24 in ACC Tournament games in Greensboro.
• The Cavaliers are 6-14 all-time in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
• UVa captured the 1976 ACC Tournament title with a 67-62 win over North Carolina.

All-Time vs. Pittsburgh
• UVa will meet the Panthers for the first time in the ACC Tournament.
• UVa is 8-3 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates back to 1957-58.
• The Cavaliers have a four-game winning steak against Pittsburgh.
• The Cavaliers defeated the Panthers 48-45 in Pittsburgh in the lone meeting between the teams this season.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 1-1 all-time against Pittsburgh, including a 1-0 mark at Virginia.

Last Time vs. Pittsburgh
Malcolm Brogdon came off a screen and drained a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to lift the Cavaliers to a 48-45 victory over Pittsburgh on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2 earlier this season.
• Brogdon tallied a game-high 16 points and Jamel Artis led Pitt with 11 points.
Akil Mitchell had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Joe Harris added 11 points for the Cavaliers.
Virginia held Pitt’s leading scorer Lamar Patterson to 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.

Last Time Out
Joe Harris tied a season high with 20 points and Anthony Gill added 16 points off the bench in Virginia’s 64-51 win over Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Friday.
• UVa shot 48 percent, forced 15 turnovers and earned their third double-digit victory over the Seminoles this season.
Okaro White led Florida State with 17 points.

Team Notes
• Virginia’s 26 wins are its most since 29 in 1982-83.
• The Cavaliers’ 11 road/neutral wins are its most since 11 in 1994-95.
• UVa has held 20 consecutive opponents under 50 percent shooting.

Player Notes
Joe Harris moved into 13th place on Virginia’s all-time scoring list with 20 points in the win over Florida State.
• Harris (1,627 points) needs 20 points to pass John Crotty (1988-91, 1,646 points) for 12th place on UVa’s all-time scoring list.
• Anthony Gill’s 16 points are a career high against an ACC opponent. Gill is averaging 15.5 points per game over the last two games.
• Malcolm Brogdon’s 18-game double-figure scoring streak ended in the win over Florida State.
Akil Mitchell (758 rebounds) needs four rebounds to pass Scott McCandlish (761 from 1970-72) for 10th place on UVa’s all-time rebounding list.

Up Next
The Virginia-Pittsburgh winner advances to the ACC Tournament final on Sunday, March 16. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 1 p.m. ET.

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