CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (VirginiaSports.com) – No. 9 Virginia (15-3, 11-1 ACC) plays at No. 17 Florida State (11-3, 7-2 ACC) in ACC action on Monday, Feb. 15. Tipoff for the Big Monday contest at Donald L. Tucker Center is set for 7 p.m.
• No. 9 Virginia (15-3, 11-1 ACC) travels to No. 17 Florida State (11-3, 7-2 ACC) in ACC action on Monday, Feb. 15.
• UVA is first in the ACC at 11-1, while FSU is second at 7-2.
• UVA makes its second appearance on ESPN/ACC Big Monday, defeating Syracuse 81-58 on Jan. 25.
• As of Feb. 14, Virginia ranks second nationally in personal fouls per game (12.7), third in turnovers per game (9.3), fourth in scoring defense (58.8) and 3-point field goal percentage (39.9), fifth in free throw percentage (80.0%), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 18th in field goal percentage (49%).
• UVA is 5-1 in true road games (all in league play).
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 292-99 (.747) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 361-132 (.732) career mark in 15 seasons.
• With the Feb. 13 win over North Carolina, Bennett became just the third coach in ACC men’s basketball history to lead his program to 10-straight winning conference seasons, joining Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and school-record 35 wins.
• The three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year led the Cavaliers to their eighth straight season with 23 or more wins in 2019-20.
• UVA is 147-59 (.714) in ACC play (83-20 at home & 64-39 away), 163-29 (.849) at home and 145-40 (.784) in non-conference action (82-7 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks third all-time in winning percentage (.714) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
All-Time vs. Florida State
• Virginia is 26-26 all-time vs. Florida State, including an 8-16 mark in Tallahassee, in a series that began in 1991-92.
• UVA split a two-game series last season against the Seminoles, losing 54-50 in Tallahassee and winning 61-56 at JPJ.
• The Cavaliers are 2-3 in their last five games at Tucker Center.
• UVA has won eight of the last 12 meetings between the teams.
• UVA has limited Florida State to fewer than 70 points in each of the last 19 meetings.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 9-9 all-time vs. Florida State.
Last Time vs. the Seminoles• Mamadi Diakite scored 19 points and Kihei Clark added 15 as Virginia upset then-No. 5 Florida State 61-56 on Jan. 28 at JPJ.
• Braxton Key added 13 points and nine rebounds as Virginia (14-6, 6-4 ACC) improved to 2-1 against ranked foes.
• Florida State started the game on an 8-0 run and led 28-27 at halftime.
• Virginia limited the Seminoles to 38.9 percent field goal shooting and owned a 24-20 advantage on points in the paint.
• Virginia converted a season-high 20 free throws in the win.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action at Florida State.
• Clark, who has handed out six or more assists in six contests, has averaged 9.8 points and team-high 4.6 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg), and is shooting 51 percent from the field, 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 82.8 percent from the foul line.
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.4 bpg) and is second in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (11.5 ppg) leads UVA in free throw shooting (90.3%) and 3-point shooting (48.8%), and is second with 39 3-pointers.
• Reece Beekman has a team-high 25 steals, 52 assists and 58 rebounds.
• Tomas Woldetensae (41.5 3FG%) provides bench scoring, while Casey Morsell (5.1 ppg) is UVA’s top perimeter defender.
• Justin McKoy (3.4 ppg and 2.8 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (2.8 ppg & 2.3 rpg) have added depth, while Kody Stattmann (4.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg) remains sidelined with a non-COVID-19 related cardiac issue.
UVA Ranked No. 9 in Latest AP Poll
• Virginia is ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press poll.
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 14 straight weeks over the past two seasons.
• UVA was ranked No. 4 in both preseason polls, marking its third AP preseason top-5 ranking in school history (No. 1 in 1982-83 and No. 5 in 2018-19).
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 in the preseason rankings in nine of the past 10 seasons.
Last Time Out
• Jay Huff had 18 points and 12 rebounds as No. 9 Virginia beat North Carolina 60-48 at John Paul Jones Arena on Feb. 13.
• Sam Hauser added 17 points and Trey Murphy III chipped in 12 as the Cavaliers improved to 15-3, 11-1 ACC.
• UVA jumped to a 21-4 advantage and held the Tar Heels to 2 of 16 3-point shooting.
• Walker Kessler led UNC (12-7, 7-5) with nine points, first time no Tar Heel scored in double figures since March 4, 1966.
On The Horizon
• No. 9 Virginia travels to Duke on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff at Cameron Indoor Stadium is set for 8 p.m.
