Men’s notebook: No. 16 Cavaliers face 5th-ranked Baylor Friday in Vegas

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 16 Virginia plays No. 5 Baylor at the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas on Friday. Tipoff at T-Mobile Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

For Openers

• Virginia (2-0) meets Baylor (3-0) for the second time.
• The Cavaliers meet their first top-five opponent since dropping a 98-75 decision to then-No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 26, 2020.
• The Cavaliers have captured championships in seven of their last eight November tournaments (Emerald Coast Classic, Charleston Classic, Barclays Center Classic, Corpus Christi Challenge, NIT Season Tip-Off, Battle 4 Atlantis and Legends Classic).
• UVA has made 11 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 13-16, 2021 (12 vs. Notre Dame & 15 at Clemson).
• UVA ranks second nationally in turnovers per game (7), third in assist/turnover ratio (2.79), 11th in 3-point percentage (48%), 16th in 3-pointers per game (12) and 18th in scoring defense (51.5).

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Baylor game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed online at WatchESPN.com.
• 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 318-117 (.731) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 387-150 (.721) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett needs nine wins to pass Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as the all-time winningest coach at UVA.
• Bennett needs 13 wins to reach 400 career wins.
• Bennett has guided the Cavaliers to five ACC regular-season titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021), two ACC Tournament titles (2014 and 2018) and one NCAA national championship (2019).
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided UVA to its 10th consecutive postseason berth in 2021-22.

About The Cavaliers

• Virginia returns all five starters from last season’s team, which finished 21-14 overall, 12-8 in the ACC (sixth) and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
• We play defense, take quality shots, pass the basketball, limit turnovers and transition points, rebound and play more defense.
• The Cavaliers return 91.4 percent of its scoring from last season, most among all NCAA Division I teams (Portland 91.1%, Dayton 89.4% and Penn 88.5%).
• Returning starters Kihei Clark (8.5 ppg, 6 apg), Reece Beekman (8.5 ppg, 5.5 apg), Jayden Gardner (6 ppg, 7 rpg), Kadin Shedrick (9.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg) and Armaan Franklin (14.5 ppg) lead the way for the Cavaliers.
• Transfer Ben Vander Plas (8.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), freshmen Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn (13 ppg, 6 rpg), Francisco Caffaro (10 ppg, 4 rpg) and Taine Murray (3.5 ppg) provide quality play off the bench.
• Newcomers Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III are redshirting the 2022-23 season.

📍 Las Vegas

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/F1onqeE1D5

— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) November 18, 2022

Our Defense Never Rests

• UVA ranks 18th nationally in scoring defense at 51.5 ppg.
• The Cavaliers ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense in 2021-22 at 60.1 ppg.
• UVA has limited its opponents to 40.5 percent field goal shooting, including 36.5 percent from 3-point range.
• The Cavaliers have forced two shot clock violations and have averaged 28 shot clock violations since 2019.
• UVA has outrebounded both opponents.

Last Time Out

• Isaac McKneely scored 15 points to ignite No. 18 Virginia (2-0) to an 89-42 win over Monmouth on Friday, Nov. 11 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA held Monmouth scoreless for the last 4:33 of the first half and started the second half with a 19-4 run to ice the win.
• Ryan Dunn added 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks in his collegiate debut.
• UVA went 13 of 25 from 3-point range and outrebounded Monmouth 35-21.
• Virginia’s game against Northern Iowa on Monday, Nov. 14 was canceled.

Last Time vs. Baylor

• Baylor defeated Virginia 79-61 in a neutral-site tilt on Dec. 28, 1968, in Greenville, N.C.
• Larry Gatewood scored a game-high 26 points and Richard Scallom added 21 for the Bears.
• John Gidding led the Cavaliers with 20 points and Mike Wilkes added 12 points.
• Norm Carmichael chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds.
• Baylor shot 45.8 percent from the field, while UVA shot 39.3 percent.
• The Bears took advantage of 18 UVA turnovers and converted 25 of 33 free throw attempts.

UVA Ranked No. 16 in Latest AP Poll

• UVA is ranked No. 16 in the latest AP national poll.
• The Cavaliers were ranked No. 18 in the AP Preseason poll.
• UVA was ranked in the preseason AP top 25 for the fifth straight year and ninth in the last 10 seasons under Tony Bennett.

UVA vs. Ranked Opponents

• UVA is 48-41 against ranked foes in the Tony Bennett era.
• UVA was 1-3 vs. ranked opponents in 2021-22.
• UVA’s 11 ranked wins in 2018-19 marked a school record.
• UVA is 161-335 vs. ranked opponents since 1953-54.
• UVA is 1-31 all-time vs. No. 1-ranked opponents (86-73 win vs. No. 1 North Carolina on Jan. 30, 1986).

On The Horizon

No. 16 Virginia battles No. 8 UCLA or No. 19 Illinois in the Continental Tire Main Event on Sunday, Nov. 20 in Las Vegas, Nev. Tipoff at T-Mobile Arena is set for 3 or 5:30 p.m.