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NCAA Tournament Preview: #1 UVa. vs. #8 Memphis

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uva-logo-new2memphisNo. 1 seed UVa. (29-6) will play No. 8 seed Memphis (24-9) in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 23. Tipoff at PNC Arena (19,700) is set for approximately 8:40 p.m.

Broadcast Information
The Virginia-Memphis game will be televised by TNT and online at NCAA.com. The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network and Sirius (Channel 93) and XM (Channel 192) satellite radio stations. Live statistics and full media coverage 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. 8 seed Memphis (24-9) in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 23 at approximately 8:40 p.m. UVa advanced to the third round with a 70-59 win over Coastal Carolina, while Memphis advanced with a 71-66 win over George Washington.
Virginia seeks its first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance since 1994-95 when the Cavaliers beat No. 1 seed Kansas 67-58 in the Midwest Regional in Kansas City, Mo.
• UVa is one win shy of tying the school record for most victories in a season (30 in 1981-82)
• The Cavaliers rank No. 1 nationally in scoring defense at 55.4 ppg.

A Win vs. Memphis Would…
• Give Virginia 15 combined road/neutral wins for the first time since 18 in 1982-83.
• Give Virginia 76 wins over the last three seasons, its most in a three-year period since 80 wins from 1982-84.
• Give Virginia an 8-0 record at neutral sites.
• Improve UVa head coach Tony Bennett’s record to 5-0 at PNC Arena.

All-Time in the NCAA Tournament
Virginia is 23-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• UVa reached the NCAA Final Four in 1981 and 1984.
• UVa is 2-3 in its last five NCAA Tournament contests.

All-Time vs. Memphis
Virginia meets Memphis for the first time.

Last Time Out
• UVa overcame a five-point halftime deficit and defeated Coastal Carolina 70-59 in second-round NCAA Tournament action Friday night.
Anthony Gill led the Cavaliers with 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 14 points, five assists and five rebounds.
London Perrantes had 12 points, six assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes. Perrantes was also 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Joe Harris added 11 points and Evan Nolte added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting off the bench.
Virginia limited Coastal Carolina to 32 percent shooting in the second half after allowing the Chanticleers to shoot 52 percent in the first half.
• The Cavaliers shot 65 percent (13-of-20) in the second half and went 8-of-17 from 3-point range overall.

Embrace The Pace
• As of March 22, the Cavaliers rank in the top 10 nationally in nine defensive categories: points per game (1st – 55.4 ppg), possessions per 40 minutes (3rd – 60.7), rebounds per game (4th – 29.3), points per possession (4th – .91), true shooting percentage (7th – 47.5%), and field goal percentage (9th – 38.6%).
Virginia has held 33 of its 35 opponents below 50 percent shooting from the floor and opponents are shooting 38.5 percent (9th nationally) from the floor and 32.4 percent from 3-point range overall.
• The Cavaliers have held 22 straight opponents and 37 straight ACC opponents under 50 percent shooting from the field.
Virginia has limited its opponents to a combined 114 fast break points for an average of 3.3 per game.

Player Notes
• Anthony Gill’s game-high 17 points marked the eighth time a bench player and ninth time a post player has led Virginia in scoring.
London Perrantes’ 134 assists rank third all-time among UVa freshmen in a single season. (Cory Alexander 145 in 1991-92 and Jeff Jones 136 in 1978-79).
Joe Harris (1,665) needs 19 points to pass J.R. Reynolds (1,683 points from 2004-07) for 11th on Virginia’s all-time scoring list.
• Akil Mitchell (787 rebounds) needs one rebound to pass Ted Jeffries (787 rebounds from 1990-93) for sole possession of seventh on UVa’s all-time rebounding list. Mitchell needs 13 boards to move past Steve Castellan (799 rebounds from 1976-79) into sixth on UVa’s all-time rebounding list.

Team Notes
• Virginia’s 10-0 run vs. Coastal Carolina marked the 18th game UVa has had a 10-0 run or better.
• UVa overcame a double-digit deficit for the second time this season in its win vs. Coastal Carolina.
Virginia improved to 7-4 when trailing at the half.
• Virginia’s 80 percent (20-of-25) effort from the charity stripe vs. Coastal Carolina marked the 16th time UVa has shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line.
Virginia has scored at least 70 or more points in each of its last two games and is 13-1 when scoring 70 or more.

Up Next
The winner of the Virginia-Memphis game advances to the East Region semifinals against the Harvard-Michigan State winner on Friday, March 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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