Game Notes: Virginia hosts Florida State on Senior Day

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia (17-11, 11-7 ACC) hosts Florida State (14-13, 7-10 ACC) on Saturday. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

For Openers

• UVA (11-7) is tied for fifth in the ACC, while FSU (7-10) is ninth.
• The Cavaliers will honor Kihei Clark, Jayden Nixon and Kody Stattmann, and managers Chris McGahren and Shane Nelson in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
• A win over Florida State would give the Cavaliers 12 or more ACC wins for the fourth straight year.
• In the 53-game series with Florida State, 20 of the 53 games have been decided by 5 points or less.

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Florida State game will be televised on ESPN2 and 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 available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.

The Head Coach

• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 312-114 (.732) mark in 13 seasons at UVA and 381-147 (.722) 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).
• UVA is 160-69 (.699) in ACC play (90-24 at home & 70-45 away), 177-35 (.835) at home and 152-45 (.772) in non-conference action (86-9 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage (.699) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC wins.

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?

• The Cavaliers play defense, take good shots, share and take care of the basketball, rebound, and play more defense.
• UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.5 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (7.9 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.5 rpg & 2.0 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 7.0 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (11.4 ppg).
• 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 in 2020-21.
• Francisco Caffaro (4.5 ppg & 4.5 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg & 2.2 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick started the first 16 games, while Caffaro has started the last 12 contests.
• Kody Stattmann (37.8% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.

Virginia All-Time vs. Florida State

• Virginia is 26-27 all-time vs. Florida State, including a 16-9 mark in Charlottesville, in a series that began in 1991-92.
• UVA dropped an 81-60 decision to FSU last season.
• The Cavaliers have a two-game winning streak against FSU in Charlottesville and are 5-1 in their last games vs. the Seminoles at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA has limited Florida State to fewer than 70 points in 19 of the last 20 meetings.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 10-9 all-time vs. Florida State.

Last Time vs. The Seminoles

• M.J. Walker scored 17 points and RaiQuan Gray added 15 as then-No. 16 Florida State defeated then-No. 7 Virginia 81-60 in ACC action on Feb. 15, 2021, in Tallahassee.
• The Seminoles jumped to a 45-25 halftime lead before Kihei Clark led Virginia’s 16-3 run to start the second half.
• Clark scored all 12 of his points in the second stanza, joining Trey Murphy III (13), Tomas Woldetensae (12) and Sam Hauser (11) in double figures.
• FSU outrebounded UVA 31-25 and drilled 13 of 24 3-pointers.
• FSU’s 81 points were its most against Virginia since scoring 87 in an overtime win against the Cavaliers on Jan. 11, 2006.
• UVA shot 46.8 percent and 9 of 23 from 3-point range.

Last Time Out

• Kihei Clark scored a career-high 25 points, but No. 7 Duke edged Virginia 65-61 in ACC action on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• Jeremy Roach scored 15 points off the bench for the Blue Devils (24-4, 14-3 ACC) and A.J. Griffin added 13.
• Jayden Gardner tallied 16 points and Reece Beekman chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers (17-11, 11-7 ACC).
• Duke outrebounded UVA 33-31 and owned a 28-20 advantage in the paint.

On The Horizon

• Virginia closes the regular season at Louisville on Saturday, March 5. Tipoff at KFC Yum! Center is Noon on ESPN2.