NIT Second Round Preview: Virginia at North Texas

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia (20-13) travels to No. 2 seed North Texas (25-6) for a second round NIT contest on Sunday. Tipoff at Super Pit is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

For Openers

• Virginia meets North Texas for the first time since defeating the Mean Green 80-64 on Nov. 20, 2012.
• The Cavaliers are making its 14th NIT appearance and first since advancing to the quarterfinals in 2013.

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-North Texas will be streamed online at ESPN+ via WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
• The ESPN+ video streaming subscription service is available for a $6.99 monthly fee.
• 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 315-116 (.731) mark in 13 seasons at UVA and 384-149 (.721) 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 UVA to its 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 (2012-22) and guided the Hoos to seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (2014-21).
• UVA is 161-70 (.700) in ACC play (90-25 at home & 71-45 away), 178-36 (.832) at home and 154-46 (.770) in non-conference action (87-9 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage (.700) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC wins.

UVA All-Time in the NIT

• The Cavaliers are 18-11 all-time in 14 NIT appearances, including a pair of championships in 1980 and 1992.
• UVA is 4-3 all-time in the NIT second round.
• The Cavaliers are 3-5 on the road in the NIT.
• Virginia associate head coach Jason Williford was a member of the 1992 NIT champion Cavaliers.
• The Cavaliers are 16-8 in NCAA/NIT postseason play under Bennett, including a 3-1 mark in the NIT.
• Bennett is 3-2 all-time in the NIT, including a 68-57 loss at St. Mary’s as head coach at Washington State in 2009.

Hoo Are These Cavaliers?

• UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.2 ppg & 4.3 apg) and Reece Beekman (8.1 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.7 rpg & 2.1 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 6.5 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (10.8 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 (4.4 ppg & 4.7 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg & 2.0 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick has started 18 contests, while Caffaro has started 15.
• Kody Stattmann (35.3% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.

Virginia All-Time vs. North Texas

• The Cavaliers are 1-2 all-time vs. Mississippi State in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1928.
• UVA meets the Bulldogs for the first time since an 86-84 loss on Dec. 29, 1988, in New Orleans.
• UVA defeated Mississippi State 81-68 on Dec. 27, 1963, in Owensboro, Ky.
• The Bulldogs topped the Cavaliers 44-28 on Feb. 25, 1928, in Atlanta, Ga.

Last Time vs. The Mean Green

• Justin Anderson scored 14 points off the bench to lead five players in double figures in Virginia’s 80-64 win over North Texas on Nov. 20, 2012.
• Evan Nolte (13), Teven Jones (13), Joe Harris (12) and Darion Atkins (10) each scored in double figures as Virginia improved to 4-2 in the NIT Tip-Off consolation win.
• Future NBA second-round draft pick Tony Mitchell led the Mean Green with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
• UVA shot 58.7 percent and made 18 free throws in the win.
• Atkins added a team-high nine rebounds for the Hoos.

Last Time Out

• Jayden Gardner scored 16 points and Reece Beekman added 14 as Virginia topped No. 3 seed Mississippi State 60-57 in NIT first-round action at John Paul Jones Arena on March 16.
• UVA led 27-19 at the half and held off the Bulldogs’ 7 of 7 field goal shooting at the start of the second stanza.
• Tolu Smith had 16 points for the Bulldogs and Garrison Brooks and Iverson Molinar each added 13, respectively.
• Both teams shot 50 percent from the field and UVA owned a 12-7 made free throw advantage.

On The Horizon

• The winner of the Virginia/North Texas NIT second round game advances to the quarterfinals vs. No. 1 seed Oklahoma or St. Bonaventure on March 22 or 23. Tipoff, location and television designation is TBD.