Tony Bennett had no update on the status of injured point guard Ty Jerome or his availability for Virginia’s upcoming game against Duke on Saturday during Monday’s ACC teleconference
”Not so much [of an update] yet,” Bennett said. “We decided to take off, of course, yesterday … and then today to let all the guys recover. Ty, I think, is improving, but he had a sprained back. … [Once] we start practicing we’ll have a better feel. Of course he’s been very faithful to his treatments and all of that stuff. I think it’s going in the right direction, but we’ll have to see, once we get on the floor, what he’s allowed to do and how he’s feeling.”
Jerome suffered the back injury in Virginia’s 66-65 win at NC State last Tuesday, Jan. 29. He did not play in the Cavaliers’ most recent game, a 56-46 win over Miami on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Jerome, an All-ACC third team selection last season, is averaging 13.0 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting this season. He is shooting over 40 percent from three and averaging 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game.
In Jerome’s stead on Saturday, freshman Kihei Clark got the start and played a career-high 37 minutes with mixed results. He scored nine points and tied career highs in assists (six) and rebounds (five) but also turned the ball over six times.
“[Kihei] made some good plays at times, and at times he certainly looked like a first year,” Bennett said.
No. 3 Virginia (20-1, 8-1 ACC) faces a tough road ahead. After facing the No. 2 Blue Devils in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers will have a quick turnaround, taking on No. 8 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Monday night.
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