Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
Virginia Forward Ben Vander Plas Suffers Season-Ending Hand Injury
Virginia forward Ben Vander Plas suffered a fractured right hand in practice on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season, the UVA men's basketball team announced in a release on Thursday. The news of the injury to Vander Plas came just over an hour before the Cavaliers were set to tip off against North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday at Greensboro Coliseum.
A graduate transfer from Ohio, Vander Plas appeared in all 29 games for UVA this season and started the last 14 games for the Cavaliers, averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Vander Plas had struggled to shoot the ball over the last several games as he dealt with some back issues, but he had continued to fulfill a critical role on both ends of the floor during that period as Virginia's starting center. As this is his final season of collegiate eligibility, Ben Vander Plas has played his final game in a Virginia uniform.
With Vander Plas out for the North Carolina game, expect UVA to lean more heavily on freshman Ryan Dunn, redshirt senior Francisco Caffaro, and possibly redshirt junior Kadin Shedrick, although Shedrick did not play in either of Virginia's last two games of the regular season.
No. 2 seed Virginia (23-6) is set to face No. 7 seed North Carolina (20-12) in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at 7pm at Greensboro Coliseum on ESPN.
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
