Virginia (19-13) hosts No. 3 Seed Mississippi State (18-15) in the first round of the 2022 National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Mississippi State game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed online at WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
- The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
- Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
Virginia Notes
- UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.3 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (7.9 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.8 rpg & 2.1 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 6.6 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (10.9 ppg).
- The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
- Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
- Francisco Caffaro (4.3 ppg & 4.7 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg & 2.0 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick has started 17 contests, while Caffaro has started 15.
- Kody Stattmann (36.5% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.
Next Up
- The winner of the Virginia/Mississippi State NIT first round game advances to the second round vs. No. 2 seed North Texas or Texas State on March 19 or 20. Tipoff, location and television designation is TBD.
Share
Chris Graham
