UVA hosts Kent State tonight at JPJ

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It will be interesting to see what starting lineup Tony Bennett decides on for tonight’s home game against Kent State (6 p.m., ACC Network).

Bennett shook up his lineup after the San Francisco loss a week ago and went with true freshman Reece Beekman at point guard instead of veteran Kihei Clark, and Tomas Woldetensae rather than Casey Morsell.

Kent State comes into John Paul Jones Arena with a 1-0 record, having routed Point Park, 90-41, two nights ago. Coach Rob Senderoff relies heavily on two seniors, Danny Pippen, a 6-9 forward who scored 13 points in the opener, and guard Mike Nuga, who scored a game-high 17 points coming off the bench.

For Virginia, it will be more about the Cavaliers. In Tuesday night’s 76-51 win over visiting Saint Francis, fans saw Bennett not only change his starting lineup, but also used a more traditional mover-blocker offense than the 5-out strategy used in UVA’s first two games against Towson and San Francisco last week at the Mohegan Sun event.

The Cavaliers are ranked No. 15 nationally.