No. 1 Virginia (23-2, 12-1 ACC) plays at Miami (18-6, 7-5 ACC) in ACC men’s basketball action on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Tipoff at Watsco Center (8,000) is set for 9 p.m.
For Openers
- UVA is first in the ACC at 12-1 and Miami is tied for fifth at 7-5.
- UVA is ranked No. 1 for the first time since Dec. 21, 1982.
- Virginia is 1-7 vs. Miami in Coral Gables and seeks its first road win in the series since an 89-80 double overtime win on Jan. 3, 2015.
- UVA’s 15-game winning streak was its longest since winning 19 straight to start the 2014-15 season.
- Virginia’s recent 15-game regular-season ACC winning streak was the ninth-longest in league history and the longest since Duke’s record of 31, set between 1998-2000.
- Virginia’s 12-0 start in the ACC matched its best start in league play (12-0 in 1980-81).
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Miami contest will be televised on ESPN and streamed online 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.
The Head Coaches
- Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 211-85 in nine seasons at UVA and 280-118 in 12 seasons overall.
- Miami: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971), 157-75 in seven seasons at Miami and 627-409 in 34 seasons overall.
UVA Ranked No. 1 in Latest AP Poll
- Virginia is ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since Dec. 21, 1982.
- UVA is 20-3 all-time in the 12 weeks as the top-ranked team.
- UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for 12 straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past eight 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 in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings
- UVA ranks No. 1 in the KenPom.com overall and adjusted defense efficiency ratings and No. 45 in the adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
- UVA is shooting 46.1 percent, 38.2 percent from 3-point range and 76.9 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
- UVA has shot 50 percent or better in nine games and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in 24 of 25 games.
Last Time Out
- Then-No. 2 Virginia fell 61-60 in overtime to Virginia Tech on Feb. 10 in a Commonwealth Clash match at John Paul Jones Arena.
- Kerry Blackshear rebound basket gave Tech the one-point lead, but Ty Jerome misfired on a 28-footer at the other end to secure the win for the Hokies (18-7, 7-5 ACC).
- Robinson led the Hokies with 20 points and seven assists, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 12 points.
- Devon Hall had 16 points for Virginia (23-2, 12-1), but missed a pair of free throws in the final 31 seconds.
- De’Andre Hunter added 14 points and Kyle Guy 13 for the Cavaliers, who shot a season-low 34.4 percent, making 21 of 61 shots.
All-Time Against Miami
- UVA is 9-12 all-time vs. Miami in the series that began in 1965-66.
- Miami defeated Virginia 54-48 in overtime in Charlottesville last season.
- UVA is 1-7 all-time against the Hurricanes in Coral Gables, including a 64-61 loss in its last trip to Watsco Center on Feb. 22, 2016.
- Nine of the last 10 meetings between the teams have been decided by nine points or less.
- Overtime has decided two of the last five meetings between the teams.
- Head coach Tony Bennett is 6-6 all-time against Miami.
Last Time Against the Hurricanes
- Devon Hall scored 15 points to lead the Cavaliers, but then-No. 18 Virginia fell to Miami 54-48 in overtime on Feb. 20, 2017.
- Bruce Brown scored 14 points to lead the Hurricanes and Kamari Murphy and Dejan Vasiljevic added 10 points each.
- Isaiah Wilkins added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Virginia, including two free throws with four seconds left in regulation to tie it.
- A putback by Marial Shayok with 39 seconds left gave UVA a 48-47 lead, but Brown made his only 3-pointer of the game on the Hurricanes’ ensuing possession, and Miami sealed it at the free-throw line.
- Miami converted 20 of 22 free throws and out-rebounded UVA 34-31.
The Long and Winning Road
- Virginia is 7-1, including a 6-0 mark in ACC play, in true road games.
- UVA has posted wins at VCU, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke, Syracuse and Florida State and a loss at West Virginia.
- UVA has its first six-game ACC road winning streak since winning eight straight road league games in 2014-15.
- The six-game road winning streak is currently the eighth longest in Division I.
- UVA’s 32-19 (.627) ACC road record over the past six seasons ranks first ahead of North Carolina (30-21, .588) and Duke (28-24, .538).
Getting Defensive
- UVA has limited its foes to 52.8 points per game (2nd best in school history) and has held 11 opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson and Syracuse).
- Six opponents (UNCG, Austin Peay, Savannah State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech & Clemson) have committed more turnovers than made field goals.
- UVA has held 19 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
- UVA has held 19 foes to less than 43 percent shooting.
- The Cavaliers have held 14 opponents to 30 percent or less shooting from 3-point range.
- The Cavaliers are 75-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (11-0 in 2017-18).
- 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 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 68 points per game on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 52.8 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
- UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 25 games.
- UVA is one of eight schools to have the same starting five this season (Army West Point, Duke, Elon, Nebraska, Purdue, UNLV and UTSA).
- Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has reached double figures in 22 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17).
- Hall has averaged 12.5 points and Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (6.6) and blocked shots (1.6).
- Jerome is averaging 9.9 points and team highs in assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.6 spg).
- Salt has chipped in 3.8 rebounds per game and 20 blocked shots.
- Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.4 ppg) has reached double figures in eight ACC games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17), Virginia Tech (14) and Syracuse (15).
- Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson is averaging 5.2 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 5.0 ppg & 3.0 rpg.
- Jay Huff and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is redshirting the 2017-18 season.
On the Horizon
- No. 1 Virginia hosts Georgia Tech onWednesday, Feb. 21. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for7 p.m. on ESPN2.
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