UVa. men’s basketball travels to NC State on Saturday

UVa. (11-4) plays at NC State (11-4) in ACC action on Saturday, Jan. 11. Tipoff at PNC Arena (19,700) is set for 5 p.m.

 

Broadcast Information

The Virginia-NC State game will be televised on ESPN2 and online at WatchESPN.com. The game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network and Sirius (Channel 113) and XM (Channel 190) satellite radio stations. Live statistics (GameTracker) 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.

 

Ticket Information

Tickets for the Virginia-NC State game may be purchased online at GoPack.com.

For Openers

• Virginia meets NC State for the 142nd time.

• As of Jan. 10, Virginia is tied for first in the ACC with a 2-0 record, while NC State is tied for fifth at 1-1.

• The Cavaliers aim for their third straight win and first 3-0 ACC start since 2009-10.

• The Cavaliers rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense at 55.9 points per game.

• Cavaliers Akil Mitchell (Charlotte), Anthony Gill (High Point), Teven Jones (Kannapolis) and Caid Kirven (Raleigh) hail from North Carolina.

 

The Head Coaches
Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 87-57 in five seasons at UVa and 156-90 in eight seasons overall.

NC State: Mark Gottfried (Alabama, 1987), 59-28 in three seasons at NC State and 337-183 in 17 seasons overall.

 

All-Time vs. NC State

• Virginia is 59-82 all-time vs. NC State in the series that dates back to 1912-13.

• The Cavaliers are 3-2 in their last five games vs. the Wolfpack and 6-4 in their last 10.

• UVa went 1-1 against NC State last season, winning 58-55 in Charlottesville and losing 75-56 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

• Virginia is 2-0 in its last two games against the Wolfpack in Raleigh, including wins on Jan. 28, 2012 (61-60) and Jan. 9, 2010 (70-62).

 

Last Time vs. NC State

• NC State defeated Virginia, 75-56, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

• Scott Wood had 23 points and seven 3-pointers to lead NC State, while C.J. Leslie added 17 points and 11 rebounds with three blocks.

• Akil Mitchell scored 19 to lead Virginia and Joe Harris had 13.

 

Last Time Out

• The Cavaliers defeated Wake Forest 74-51 to improve to 4-1 in ACC home openers under head coach Tony Bennett.

• Malcolm Brogdon scored 14 points, Joe Harris and Justin Anderson each added 11 points and Anthony Gill had 10 points as four Cavaliers landed in double figures.

• Akil Mitchell had a game-high seven rebounds as the ‘Hoos outrebounded Wake Forest, 38-25.

• Virginia shot 50 percent from the floor (26-of-52) and 50 percent from 3-point range (7-of-14).

 

About the Cavaliers

Virginia has won a pair of games after losing by 35 points at Tennessee on Dec. 30. The Cavaliers re-established their identity with wins over Florida State (62-50) and Wake Forest (74-51) to begin ACC play.

 

The Cavaliers’ success has been highlighted by its fourth-ranked defense, rebounding and balanced scoring. The Cavaliers are yielding 55.9 points per game and grabbing 55.5 percent of the rebounds, ruling the glass in 12 of 15 games and enjoying a +8.5 average rebound margin per game. UVa also ranks 10th in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 37.4 percent.

 

Virginia is averaging 65.2 points per game, marking their second-highest total under head coach Tony Bennett. Virginia is averaging 26.7 bench points and has scored 42.7 percent of its points in the paint.

 

UVa sports a balanced scoring attack, led by All-ACC performer Joe Harris at 10.3 points per game. Harris suffered a concussion at Florida State, but returned to action against Wake Forest. Versatile guard Justin Anderson, who has led Virginia in scoring in four of the last five games, has recorded 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Malcolm Brogdon is second on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) and has added a team-leading 1.2 steals per game. Anthony Gill, who has led the team in scoring in four games, has registered 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Mike Tobey has chipped in 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while Akil Mitchell has added 6.4 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game. Freshman point guard London Perrantes leads the Cavaliers with 3.3 assists per game.

 

Up Next

Virginia plays at Duke on Monday, Jan. 13. Tipoff at Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN as part of ACC Big Monday.