Virginia Basketball | Virginia Opens ACC Play at SMU Saturday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (5-3) travels to SMU (7-2) for its ACC opener on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff at Moody Coliseum is ready for two:15 p.m. ET on The CW.

For Openers
• Virginia opens its 72nd season of ACC motion vs. SMU.
• The Cavaliers have a 16-game successful streak in ACC openers.
• Former head coach Tony Bennett by no means misplaced an ACC opener, posting an ideal 15-0 report.
• Virginia is 36-35 all-time in ACC openers.
• Isaac McKneely posted 22 factors on 8-for-11 capturing with six 3-pointers in Virginia’s 84-62 victory over Syracuse in final season’s ACC opener.
• UVA ranks thirty first nationally in 3-point accuracy at 38.7 %.
• Isaac McKneely leads the staff in scoring at 13.1 factors per sport, capturing 50 % from 3-point vary and scoring in double figures in seven video games.
• UVA is capturing 44.9 % from the sphere and 38.7 % from 3-point vary, up from 42.8 % and 35.8 %, respectively, final season.

Broadcast Data
• The Virginia-SMU sport might be televised on The CW.
• The sport may even be broadcast on Virginia Sports activities Radio Community, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports activities app.
• Reside statistics might be positioned on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports activities app.

The Interim Head Coach
• Ron Sanchez was named Dean and Markel Households Males’s Interim Head Basketball Coach on Oct. 18 after three-time Nationwide Coach of the Yr Tony Bennett retired.
• Sanchez is 5-3 as interim head coach at Virginia.
• Sanchez, who spent 10 seasons on Bennett’s workers at UVA in two totally different stints (2009-19 & 2023-24), posted a 72-78 report as head coach at Charlotte from 2018-23.
• He served 9 seasons on Bennett’s workers from 2009-18, the final three as affiliate head coach. Throughout his time on Grounds, the Cavaliers gained 212 video games, three ACC regular-season titles and two ACC Match titles whereas making six appearances within the NCAA Match and one NIT look. The Cavaliers earned three No. 1 seeds within the NCAA Match and gained 29 or extra video games 4 instances. UVA gained 31 video games and reached No. 1 within the AP rankings for the primary time since 1982-83 throughout Sanchez’ final season at UVA in 2017-18.
• He returned to UVA as affiliate head coach in 2023-24 because the Cavaliers posted a 23-11 report and 13-7 mark within the ACC.
• Beneath Sanchez’ management at Charlotte, the 49ers gained 16 or extra video games in three seasons, together with a 22-14 report in 2022-23. His final season at Charlotte was highlighted by the 49ers’ first-ever postseason event title after they gained 4 video games in 5 days in Daytona Seaside, Fla., on the 2023 Low cost Tire School Basketball Invitational.
• Sanchez additionally served as an assistant coach on Tony Bennett’s workers for 3 seasons at Washington State from 2006-09, serving to the Cougars to a pair of NCAA Match appearances and one NIT berth. Washington State reached the second spherical of the NCAA Match in 2007 and Candy 16 in 2008. The Cougars tied the varsity report with 26 wins in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

The Virginia Means
• The Virginia Means is constructed on former head coach Tony Bennett’s 5 pillars of humility, ardour, unity, servanthood and thankfulness.
• The Virginia Means is enjoying protection, taking high quality pictures, sharing and taking good care of the basketball, stopping transition, rebounding and enjoying extra protection.
• UVA has completed within the prime six nationally in scoring protection in every of the previous 13 seasons and led the nation within the class six instances.

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• Virginia returns two starters (Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde) together with Blake Buchanan and Taine Murray from final season’s staff that completed third within the ACC (13-7) and superior to the NCAA First 4.
• In 2023-24, McKneely began 33 video games and averaged 12.3 factors and shot 44.5 % from 3-point vary, whereas Rohde began 27 video games and averaged 4.3 factors and a couple of.7 assists.
• Buchanan averaged 3.4 factors and three.1 rebounds in quarter-hour per sport, whereas Murray netted 3.3 factors per sport.
McKneely leads UVA in scoring at 13.1 factors per sport, whereas capturing 50 % (25 of fifty) from 3-point vary.
Andrew Rohde (9.1 ppg, 3.0 apg) has been UVA’s most improved participant, capturing 53.5 % from the sphere and 47.6 % from 3-point vary. Rohde shot 29.3 % from the sphere and 25.7 % from 3-point land final season.
Elijah Saunders (10.3 ppg, 5 rpg), Jacob Cofie (8.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Buchanan (6.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) have held down the frontcourt.
• Dai Dai Ames (8.9 ppg, 92.3 FT%) has began the final seven video games at level guard and TJ Energy (2.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg) began the primary 5 video games.
• Ishan Sharma, Taine Murray and Anthony Robinson have seen motion off the bench.
• The Cavaliers have made six or extra 3-pointers in every sport, together with a season-high 14 in opposition to Villanova.
• UVA has dedicated 15 or extra turnovers in its three losses.
• UVA dedicated 11 or extra turnovers in its first 5 video games, however has 14 turnovers in its previous two video games (8 vs. Manhattan and 6 vs. Holy Cross).

Final Time Out
• Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 27 factors to steer No. 13 Florida to an 87-69 win over Virginia in a SEC/ACC Problem contest on Dec. 4 on the O’Connell Heart.
• Clayton shot 10 of 19 from the sphere, together with 5 of 12 from 3-point vary, and added 4 assists because the Gators stayed undefeated at 9-0.
• Virginia held an early 20-14 lead, however Florida used a 15-0 run and by no means seemed again.
• Elijah Saunders scored a career-high 19 factors and Isaac McKneely added 12 as UVA (5-3) fell to 0-3 in opposition to ranked foes.
• Florida scored 20 factors off of 15 UVA turnovers.

McThreely: UVA’s Prime Lengthy Distance Shooter
• Junior Isaac McKneely is UVA’s all-time 3-point share chief at 43.4 %.
• McKneely has made 157 of 362 profession 3-pointers, together with 81 final season which ranks ninth on UVA’s single-season checklist.
• McKneely’s 6 of 6 effort from 3-point vary vs. Villanova marked a Cavalier single-game report for many made 3’s with no miss.
• McKneely’s 12 3-pointers in back-to-back video games in opposition to Syracuse and NCCU (career-best 6 in every sport) final season had been probably the most at UVA in a two-game span since Kyle Man made 13 in 2019.

Seattle’s Greatest Cofie
• Seattle, Wash., native Jacob Cofie has loved a stable begin to his collegiate profession.
• Cofie leads UVA in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and is second in blocks (1 bpg) and steals (1 spg) and fifth in scoring (8.4 ppg).
• He’s the primary UVA freshman to achieve double figures in scoring in every of his first three video games since Sylven Landesberg in 2008-09.
• Cofie’s 16 factors (7 of 8 FGs) in his collegiate debut had been probably the most in a UVA debut since switch Jayden Gardner had 18 vs. Navy in 2021-22.
• Cofie’s 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in opposition to Coppin State was the primary by a UVA freshman since redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter had 14 factors and 10 rebounds vs. Pitt on Feb. 24, 2018.
• He has reached double figures in scoring in 4 video games.

On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Bethune-Cookman in non-conference motion on Thursday, Dec. 12. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Enviornment is ready for 7 p.m. on ACC Community.