No. 2 Virginia (16-1, 5-0 ACC) hits the road for a game an ACC men’s basketball game at Georgia Tech (10-7, 3-1 ACC) on Thursday, Jan. 18. Tipoff at McCamish Pavilion is set for 8 p.m.
For Openers
- Virginia has a two-game winning streak vs. Georgia Tech.
- UVA is first in the ACC at 5-0 and Georgia Tech is third at 3-1.
- The Cavaliers are riding an eight-game winning streak and are 5-0 in the ACC for the first time since starting 7-0 in 2014-15.
- As of Jan. 16, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (52.9 ppg), second in turnovers per game (9.4) and field goal percentage defense (36.4%), fifth in fouls per game (14.2), eighth in turnover margin (4.9) and scoring margin (17.6), ninth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.4%) and 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54).
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Georgia Tech contest will be televised on the ACC 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), 204-84 in nine seasons at UVA and 273-117 in 12 seasons overall.
- Georgia Tech: Josh Pastner (Arizona, 1997), 31-23 in two seasons at Georgia Tech and 198-96 in nine seasons overall.
UVA Ranked No. 2 in Latest National Polls
- UVA is ranked a season-high No. 2 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 eight straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past four 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. 17, UVA ranks Nos. 1, 3 and 30 in the KenPom.com adjusted defense, overall and adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
- UVA is shooting 47.4 percent, 39.9 percent from 3-point range (2nd best in school history) and 76.7 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
- UVA has shot 50 percent or better in eight games (one ACC contest) and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in all 17 games.
Last Time Out
- Devon Hall scored a career-best 25 points and No. 3 UVA pushed its winning streak to eight with a 68-51 victory over NC State on Jan. 14.
- Kyle Guy added 17 points for the Cavaliers (16-1, 5-0 ACC)
- Virginia has won 11 straight regular-season meetings against the Wolfpack.
- Torin Dorn scored 16 points to lead N.C. State (12-6, 2-3), which arrived with a 3-0 record against ranked teams.
- N.C. State scoring leader Allerik Freeman (15.2 points per game) did not scorein 29 minutes, missing all five of his shots from the field.
- Virginia led 30-20 at the break and quickly built its margin to 37-20 in the opening minutes after halftime. The lead grew as high as 21.
All-Time Against Georgia Tech
- Virginia is 39-40 all-time vs. Georgia Tech, including a 12-24 road record, in the series that dates back to 1947-48.
- The Cavaliers are 4-2 in their last six games against the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, but have dropped two of the last three games at McCamish Pavilion.
- Virginia is 9-2 in its last 11 games against Georgia Tech.
- Head coach Tony Bennett is 9-2 all-time vs. Georgia Tech.
Last Time Against the Yellow Jackets
- Marial Shayok scored 19 points to lead then-No. 16 Virginia to a 62-49 win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 21, 2017.
- London Perrantes added 11 points and Devon Hall had 10.
- Jack Salt held Georgia Tech leading scorer Ben Lammers to seven points on 3 of 12 shooting.
- Salt and Perrantes each tallied six rebounds as UVA held a 32-24 advantage on the glass.
- Josh Okogie led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points and Quinton Stephens snared a game-high 13 rebounds.
Getting Defensive
- UVA has limited its foes to 52.9 points per game (2nd best in school history) and has held seven opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton and North Carolina).
- UVA has held 14 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
- UVA has held 14 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 71-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (7-0 in 2017-18).
- Bennett-coached teams are 96-3 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 70.5 points per game (second most under Bennett) on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 52.9 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
- UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 17 games.
- Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game and has reached double figures in 14 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 12.7 points, which is 4.3 points higher than last year’s average of 8.4 points.
- Wilkins is averaging 6.9 points and team-highs in rebounds (7.3), blocked shots (1.5) and steals (1.4).
- Jerome is averaging 9.6 points and Salt has chipped in 3.9 rebounds per game and 15 blocked shots.
- Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (7 ppg) has reached double figures in three of the last four games, including a team-high 14 points at Virginia Tech (1/3/18).
- Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.9 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 5.6 ppg & 3.5 rpg.
- Jay Huff (3.7 ppg) and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is expected to redshirt the 2017-18 season.
On the Road Again
- Virginia will play five of its next seven ACC contests on the road.
- The Cavaliers are 2-1 in true road games, posting wins at VCU (76-67) and Virginia Tech (78-52) and a loss at West Virginia (68-61).
- UVA’s 27-19 (.587) ACC road record over the past six seasons ranks first ahead of North Carolina (28-20, .583) and Duke (26-23, .531).
On the Horizon
- No. 2 Virginia travels to Wake Forest onSunday, Jan. 21. Tipoff at the Joel Coliseum is set for6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
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