From virginiasports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 8 Virginia (12-1, 1-0 ACC) battles in-state rival Virginia Tech (11-3, 0-1 ACC) in ACC action on Wednesday, Jan. 3. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 9 p.m. Coverage on WINA begins at 8:30 p.m.
For Openers
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529, which is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams of the Cavaliers and Hokies. • Virginia is 5-3 in ACC road openers under head coach Tony Bennett.
• Bennett became the third fastest Virginia head coach to achieve 200 wins (284 games) after UVA’s 59-58 victory over Boston College.
• As of Jan. 2, the Cavaliers rank first nationally in scoring defense (52.8 ppg), second in turnovers per game (9.2), third in field goal percentage defense (36.4%), eighth in fouls per game (14.8), 12th in scoring margin (18.3), 16th in turnover margin (4.7), 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and 29th in free throw percentage (76.1%).
Listen to Virginia Tech analyst Chris Coleman on WINA’s Best Seat in the House.
The Head Coaches
Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 200-84 in nine seasons at UVA and 269-117 in 12 seasons overall.
Virginia Tech: Buzz Williams (Oklahoma City University, 1994), 64-51 in four seasons at Virginia Tech and 217-137 in 11 seasons overall.
More on the Commonwealth Clash
• The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy.
• The UVA-VT game is worth a half point in the Clash and the Hokies lead this year’s Clash 4-1.
• UVA captured the Clash in 2015 and 2016.
UVA Ranked No. 8 in Latest AP Poll
• UVA is ranked a season-high No. 8 in the Jan. 1 AP poll and No. 9 in the Dec. 25 USA Today Coaches’ poll. • UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for six straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in the past two polls.
• The Cavaliers received votes in the first three AP polls, snapping a streak of 64 consecutive weeks in the AP rankings since Feb. 3, 2014. • UVA was ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls from 2014-16.
