Virginia battles Iowa in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia (5-2) hosts Iowa (6-0) in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge contest on Monday. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

For Openers

• The Cavaliers and Hawkeyes meet for the first time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and fourth overall.
• UVA is 151-43 (.778) in nonconference action under Bennett.
• UVA’s Reece Beekman ranks fourth nationally with 20 steals, while Kadin Shedrick ranks fifth nationally with 23 blocks.
• UVA has limited its opponents to 47.5 ppg, 31.7 percent field goal shooting and 19.4 percent 3-point shooting during its season-high four-game winning streak.

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Iowa game will be televised on ESPN2, streamed online at WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
• The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.

The Head Coach

• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 300-105 (.741) mark in 13 seasons at Virginia and 369-138 (.729) career mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett won his 300th game at Virginia with the 61-43 victory against Lehigh on Nov. 26, 2021.
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided the Cavaliers to their 10th ACC regular-season championship in 2020-21.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and a school-record 35 wins.
• Bennett has led UVA to 10 consecutive postseason appearances (2012-21) and seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (2014-21).

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?

• UVA is led by its returning backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.3 ppg & 3.9 apg) and Reece Beekman (6.7 ppg, 4.3 apg & 2.9 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (13.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (13 ppg).
• Clark has played 100 games at UVA and was an All-ACC honorable mention selection last season, while Beekman had a team-high 30 steals and was second with 75 assists.
• The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
• Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range for the Hoosiers in 2020-21.
• Kadin Shedrick (6.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 bpg) and Francisco Caffaro (4.7 rpg) anchor the paint, while Kody Stattmann, Carson McCorkle, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Malachi Poindexter provide perimeter depth.

Virginia All-Time In The Big Ten/Acc Challenge

• UVA has a 13-7 record in the Challenge.
• UVA’s five-game winning streak in the Challenge ended at Purdue in 2020.
• The Cavaliers have won eight of their last 10 Challenge games and Virginia is 7-2 all-time at home in the event.
• Virginia’s 2020 Challenge contest vs. Michigan State was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Cavaliers’ program.

All-Time vs. Iowa

• Virginia is 1-2 all-time against Iowa in the series that dates back to the 1996-97 season.
• The Cavaliers meet the Hawkeyes for the first time since posting a 74-41 win in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., on Nov. 25, 2016.
• Iowa defeated recorded a 75-64 win over the Cavaliers in the quarterfinals of the 2013 NIT at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Iowa defeated Virginia 73-60 in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Last Time vs. the Hawkeyes

• Jarred Reuter scored 14 points and added nine rebounds as then-No. 7 Virginia defeated Iowa 74-41 in the first game of the 2016 Emerald Coast Classic.
• London Perrantes (12), current graduate assistant Isaiah Wilkins (11) and Darius Thompson (10) also landed in double figures as UVA scored 19 points off 18 Iowa turnovers.
• UVA dominated the paint, outscoring the Hawkeyes 32-12.
• The Cavaliers shot 48.3 percent and made eight 3-pointers.
• Peter Jok led Iowa with 13 points.

Last Time Out

• Reece Beekman tallied 11 points and four steals and Kihei Clark added 10 points as Virginia defeated Lehigh 61-43 on Nov. 26.
• UVA went on a 14-2 run and shot 59.3 percent in the second half to gain the win.
• The Cavaliers limited the Mountain Hawks to 35.3 percent shooting, including 18.8 percent (3 of 16) from 3-point range.
• UVA outrebounded Lehigh 35-32 and scored 19 points off 15 Lehigh turnovers.

On The Horizon

• Virginia hosts Pitt in its ACC opener on Friday, Dec. 3. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.