Home Game Notes: #11 UVA plays at Pitt on Wednesday
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Game Notes: #11 UVA plays at Pitt on Wednesday

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uva pittNo. 11 UVA (11-2, 1-1 ACC) travels to Pitt (11-3, 0-1) for an ACC game on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tipoff at Petersen Events Center is set for 9 p.m. ET.

 

For Openers

  • Virginia meets Pitt in the first of two meetings in 2016-17.
  • The Cavaliers have a seven-game winning streak vs. Pitt.
  • UVA ranks first in the nation in scoring defense at 48.6 points per game and has held 10 of its 13 opponents to 53 or fewer points.
  • London Perrantes leads UVA in scoring at 9.9 points per game, marking the lowest scoring average to lead any UVA team in a single season (Malcolm Brogdon 12.7 ppg in 2013-14).

 

Broadcast Information

  • The Virginia-Pitt game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network, streamed online on ACC Network Extra 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), 176-74 in eight seasons at UVA and 245-107 in 11 seasons overall.
  • Pitt: Kevin Stallings (Purdue, 1982), 11-3 in one season at Pitt and 466-286 in 24 seasons overall.

 

In The National Rankings

  • As of Jan. 2, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (48.6 ppg), second in field goal percentage defense (35.2%), fourth in turnovers per game (9.7), sixth in scoring margin (+19.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.61), 15th in fouls per game (15.6), 18th in field goal percentage (49.4%) and 21st in turnover margin (+4.3).
  • UVA has held four opponents to fewer than 40 points and was the first team in Division I to hold three straight opponents (St. Francis Brooklyn, Yale and Grambling State) to fewer than 40 points in the last 20 years.
  • UVA was also the first team in ACC history (1953-present) to hold three straight opponents to fewer than 40 points.

 

UVA Ranked No. 11/12 in Latest Polls

  • UVA is ranked No. 11 in the latest Associated Press and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll.
  • UVA has been ranked in the top 15 in each of the first nine polls this season and was ranked in the top 10 in the first four polls.
  • UVA was ranked in top 10 in the preseason rankings (No. 8/7) for the third straight season, matching a school-best from 1981-83.
  • UVA has been ranked in 53 consecutive AP polls since Feb. 3, 2014.
  • UVA has finished in the top 10 (No. 3 in 2014 & No. 6 in 2015 and No. 4 in 2016) in the final AP rankings in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-83.

 

All-Time vs. Pitt

  • Virginia is 11-3 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates back to 1957-58.
  • UVA is 4-0 against the Panthers since 2013-14 when Pitt joined the ACC.
  • The Cavaliers have a seven-game winning streak against Pitt, including a 64-50 win in Pittsburgh last season.
  • The Cavaliers are 5-2 against the Panthers in Pittsburgh, including a three-game winning streak (2-0 at Petersen Events Center).
  • Tony Bennett is 4-0 vs. Pitt as head coach at Virginia and 4-1 career.
  • Bennett suffered a 57-43 loss to Pitt in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 29, 2008, as head coach at Washington State.
  • London Perrantes is averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 assists in four career games against Pitt, while Marial Shayok is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games.

 

Last Time Against The Panthers

  • Malcolm Brogdon tallied a game-high 21 points and London Perrantes added 14 to send then-No. 9 Virginia to a 64-50 win at Pitt on Feb. 6, 2016.
  • With the scored tied at 31-31, Virginia drained three straight 3-pointers and Devon Hall converted a 3-point play to cap a 12-0 run early in the 2nd half.
  • The Cavaliers went 9-16 from 3-point range and limited Pitt to 39.1 percent field goal shooting.
  • UVA owned the paint with a 28-14 scoring advantage and scored 20 points off of 11 Pitt turnovers.
  • Jamel Artis lead Pitt with 17 points and Michael Young added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Last Time Out

  • Dwayne Bacon drilled a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to lift then-No. 20 Florida State to a 60-58 win over then-No. 12 Virginia on Dec. 31.
  • Bacon went 11-of-18, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, en route to a game-high 29 points.
  • Kyle Guy tallied 14 points for Virginia, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds left prior to Bacon’s heroics.
  • Virginia held a 30-23 halftime edge, but Bacon scored 26 second half points as FSU outscored the Cavaliers 37-28 in the second stanza.
  • FSU out-rebounded UVA 35-34 and forced 13 Cavalier turnovers.
  • Devon Hall, London Perrantes and Marial Shayok had 10 points each for the Cavaliers.

 

Hoo Are These Wahoos?

  • Virginia is led by senior point guard London Perrantes, who is a Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year candidate.
  • Perrantes is averaging team highs in points (9.9 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg).
  • Isaiah Wilkins (5.9 ppg & 4.9 rpg) leads the team in rebounds (64) and steals (20) and is second in blocked shots (17).
  • Newcomer Kyle Guy is averaging 9.7 points on 57.9 percent 3-point shooting and Marial Shayok is averaging 8.1 points.
  • Darius Thompson has added 7.3 points in 13 starts, while Jarred Reuter leads the team in field goal percentage (66%).
  • Jack Salt, who is UVA’s most improved player, is averaging 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game. Salt averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.6 minutes per game last season.
  • Mamadi Diakite is averaging 6.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 15.3 minutes per game off the bench.

 

On The Horizon

  • No. 11 Virginia hosts Wake Forest on Sunday, Jan. 8. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

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