Wahoo Preview: No. 16 Virginia vs. No. 19 Illinois

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Posted on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, 12:43 pm

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By Scott Ratcliffe

No. 16 Virginia will be battling for its eighth November tournament championship in the last nine years Sunday, when the Cavaliers go up against No. 19 Illinois at 3 p.m. (ESPN) for the Continental Tire Main Event title in Las Vegas.

The Cavaliers (3-0) are coming off of a convincing, 86-79 win over fifth-ranked Baylor on Friday, while the Fighting Illini (4-0) are also fresh off a top-10 upset, as they knocked off No. 8 UCLA, 79-70, on Friday.

It’ll be the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.

UVA senior guard Armaan Franklin poured in a career-high 26 points — including three 3-pointers — in the win over the Bears. He’s leading the Wahoos in scoring through three games with an average of 18.3 points a night.

The Hoos, who shot 56 percent (25 of 45) from the field and a scorching 64 percent (9 for 14) from 3-point land on Friday, also had three other players in double figures. Junior big man Kadin Shedrick had 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals; grad transfer Ben Vander Plas added 14 off the bench; Reece Beekman had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

The Cavaliers got hot in the second half against Baylor and will look to keep the momentum rolling into Sunday’s championship game.

The Illini have one of the top transfers in the country in former Texas Tech guard Terrence Shannon Jr., who’s leading his new team in scoring with 24.3 points per game. Shannon was one point shy of matching his season high, finishing with 29 in the win over the Bruins Friday.

Sophomore forward Dain Dainja is a transfer from Baylor who is averaging 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds a game for the Illini.