CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (VirginiaSports.com) – No. 15 Virginia (15-6, 11-4 ACC) hosts Miami (7-15, 3-14 ACC) in its home finale on Monday, March 1. Tipoff for Senior Day at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 6 p.m.
For Openers
• Seniors Jay Huff, Sam Hauser, Tomas Woldetensae and Austin Katstra, and managers Matt Palumbo and Carter Furr will be honored prior to the game.
• UVA is second in the ACC at 11-4, while Miami is 15th at 3-14.
• UVA aims for its fourth consecutive win in the series.
• As of Feb. 28, Virginia ranks third nationally in personal fouls per game (13.1) and turnovers per game (9.6), fifth in free throw percentage (80.1%), seventh in scoring defense (60.6), eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.3%), 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.47) and 28th in field goal percentage (48.4%).
• Tomas Woldetensae returns to action after missing two games due to contact tracing.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 292-102 (.741) mark in 12 seasons at Virginia and 361-135 (.728) 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 147-62 (.703) in ACC play (83-21 at home & 64-41 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 (.703) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
All-Time vs. Miami
• Virginia is 12-12 all-time vs. Miami in the series that began in 1965-66.
• The Cavaliers are 7-4 against the Hurricanes in Charlottesville, including a 56-46 win at JPJ in 2018-19.
• Eleven of the last 12 meetings between the teams have been decided by 10 points or less.
• Virginia has limited Miami to 54 or fewer points in the last four meetings.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 9-6 all-time against Miami.
Last Time vs. the Hurricanes
• Jay Huff scored then-No. 22 Virginia’s first 17 points in a 46-44 win at Miami on March 4, 2020.
• Mamadi Diakite added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double as the Cavaliers improved to 22-7, 14-5 ACC.
• Chris Lykes led Miami (14-15, 6-13 ACC) with 16 points before leaving the second half with an injury.
• Huff made seven of his first nine shots, and added nine boards.
• Kihei Clark’s (7 points, 4 assists) two free throws with 8.6 seconds left gave UVA the win.
• UVA outrebounded Miami 33-30.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff lead the Cavaliers into action against Miami.
• Clark, who has handed out six or more assists in six contests, has averaged 10.2 points and team-high 4.5 assists.
• Hauser leads the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg), and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from 3-point range and 85.3 percent from the foul line.
• Huff leads the team in blocked shots (2.4 bpg) and is second in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg).
• Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg) leads UVA in free throw shooting (90.3%) and 3-point shooting (48.3%), and is second with 42 3-pointers.
• Reece Beekman has a team-high 26 steals.
• Tomas Woldetensae (44.4 3FG%) provides bench scoring, while Casey Morsell (5.1 ppg) is UVA’s top perimeter defender.
• Justin McKoy (3.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (2.5 ppg & 2.2 rpg) have added depth.
UVA Ranked
• UVA has been ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll for 16 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
• Cam Hayes tallied 16 points and DJ Funderburk added 14 as NC State defeated No. 15 Virginia 68-61 on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Sam Hauser led Virginia (15-6, 11-4 ACC) with 21 points, while Jay Huff added 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
• NC State raced to a 17-4 lead, but the Cavaliers pulled ahead 35-33 before the Wolfpack pulled away for the win.
• NC State outrebounded Virginia, 31-30, and made 23 of 28 free throws in the win.
• UVA shot 37 percent from the field, but was 14 of 14 from the foul line.
On The Horizon
• No. 15 Virginia closes out the regular season at Louisville on Saturday, March 6. Tipoff at KFC Yum! Arena is set for 4 p.m.
