Bennett: ‘You have to protect the program’
Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The Love Affair with Tony Bennett hit a rocky point for Cavalier fans, looking back on it now, sometime around the snowstorm that sent the 14-7 UVa. team back home from Maryland and set up a killer stretch of games that eventually knocked the ‘Hoos from NCAA Tournament contention.
Losing 10 of the last 11, then losing star sophomore Sylven Landesberg and heralded freshman Tristan Spurlock, has pushed some in Wahoo Nation to the brink of wanting to maybe re-evaluate the ol’ relationship.
But the cool Bennett is taking things to that end in stride. Read more
Live Blog: UVa. vs. Duke
Moderated by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
ACCVirginia.com is live at the John Paul Jones Arena for tonight’s men’s basketball game between the University of Virginia (14-12, 5-8 ACC) and #5 Duke (24-4, 11-2 ACC).
The opening tip is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. The game is being broadcast on Fox SportsNet.
Editor Chris Graham is courtside and will provide score updates and analysis and commentary during the game.
Zzzzz … UVa. sleeps through another one
Cavs have hit the wall in back-to-back blowout losses
Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Yeah, I’m Master of the Obvious for pointing this out, I know, but somebody’s gotta say it.
Three games in five nights, two on the road, all against teams trying to build their resumes for NCAA Tournament bids. Yeah, you’re going to have a hard time facing those odds.
“I do not think we were fatigued. Our minds were fatigued,” said junior forward Mike Scott, echoing his teammates and coach after the Cavs went down to their fourth straight loss, 69-50 on Wednesday night at home against Florida State.
The snowstorm that moved UVa.’s game at Maryland from last week to Monday night has to be part of the equation as to explaining the recent struggles. You can’t say that the ‘Hoos would have be guaranteed to have won the Maryland and FSU games if only they’d had fresh legs, but back-to-back 19-point losses are out of character for this group, which as recently as last week appeared to be a solid NCAA Tournament team. Read more
UVa. women knock off UNC in double-OT
Staff Report
UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com
No. 21 Virginia defeated No. 20 North Carolina, 82-78, in double overtime on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) led all scorers with 33 points, while Telia McCall (Marietta, Ga.) hauled down 20 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Virginia improved to 19-6 overall and 8-3 in the conference. The Cavaliers snapped a 13-game losing streak to the Tar Heels, winning for the first time since March 2, 2003 (a 69-59 victory at University Hall). UNC dropped its fifth-straight contest, making its record 16-8 overall and 4-6 in the ACC.
Wright was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line, and added nine rebounds in addition to her 33 points. It was her league-leading sixth 30-point game of the season and she moved up another spot on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. With 2,384 points for her career, she passed NC State’s Genia Beasley (1977-80; 2,367 points) and now is in third place. Read more
UVa. basketball: Back to reality
Choke points at point, center put Cavs’ NCAA run on the ropes
Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
All season long I’ve been saying the same thing about the Virginia basketball team that for a good run had everybody thinking, improbably, that the Cavs were headed back to the NCAA Tournament in Tony Bennett’s first year in Charlottesville.
How are they doing it?
Seems like opposing coaches are starting to figure out that this year’s UVa. group, at least, has not one, but two, choke points – at one and five.
“They’re leaving Jontel Evans all alone out there,” broadcaster Dan Bonner observed in the first half of Virginia’s 61-55 loss at Virginia Tech Saturday night, observing astutely that opponents aren’t all that concerned about the freshman starting point guard on the perimeter, nor should they be.
Evans is shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 18.2 percent (2-for-11) from three-point range and 50 percent (5-for-10) from the free-throw line in 2009-2010, horrific numbers across the board for a guard in the Bennett motion offense, which is designed first and foremost to get players open looks from the mid-range and from three. Read more
UVa.-Maryland game moved due to winter storm
Staff Report
UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com
The Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball game between Maryland and Virginia scheduled at the Comcast Center for Wednesday, Feb. 10, has been postponed until Monday, Feb. 15.
The game’s starting time and television broadcast information will be announced at a later time. All tickets for the originally scheduled game will be honored on the 15th.
Due to the area’s continuing unprecedented winter weather conditions and historic snow accumulations, the University of Maryland, University of Virginia and ACC have agreed that the rare postponement is in the best interest of all involved, after consultation with the campus chief of police and the University’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management.
The University of Maryland has been closed since Friday, Feb. 5, due to the conditions created by the past weekend’s blizzard. While University crews continue to work hard to remove snow from campus roads, sidewalks, steps and parking lots, there are still large portions of gameday parking lots and sidewalks which remain impassable due to the historic snow totals, to date.
An approaching storm is projected to dump more than a foot of new snow across the region, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing well into Wednesday, resulting in conditions that preclude the game from being played as originally scheduled.
