Cavs in must-win situation
U.Va. looks to snap six-game slide against Terps at JPJ Arena
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 16, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At the University of North Carolina's Dean E. Smith Center, against a basketball team then ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Virginia Cavaliers led by five points early in the second half.

At Boston College's Conte Forum, U.Va. led by six early in the second half.

The Cavaliers eventually collapsed and lost each game. Still, all-ACC guard Sean Singletary believes Virginia (1-2, 9-6) benefited from the experience.

"We definitely can take stuff out of these last two games," Singletary said Saturday after a 78-73 loss at BC. "Last year when we went on the road, we lost and that was it. There was no fight in our team last year, but this year we have fight."

U.Va. also has home-court advantage tonight, and that's of special concern to Maryland coach Gary Williams. The Cavaliers are 8-1 at their new John Paul Jones Arena, where they entertain the Terrapins (1-2, 15-3) tonight.

"You're talking about a team that has beaten Arizona and Gonzaga on its home floor, so they're obviously a very good team in Charlottesville," Williams said yesterday.

"You always feel better when you go home."

The Wahoos have dropped three straight since destroying the Zags 108-87 on Jan. 3. That losing streak, which matches U.Va.'s longest in its two seasons under coach Dave Leitao, magnifies the importance of tonight's game.

"It's a must-win game," Singletary said. "We're going to be at home. That's where we're comfortable. Everybody feels down about the losses we've taken on the road, and with the type of guys we have on this team, it's definitely going to be a turnaround at home. Because we're hungry. We know the season's not over."

Maryland is coming off what Williams called "an interesting week." Three days after a stunning loss to Miami -- the only ACC team that doesn't have a winning record overall -- the Terps handed Clemson its first defeat. Both games were at the Comcast Center in College Park.

"I agree it was important that we bounced back from the Miami loss," Williams said, "but I haven't gotten over the fact that we didn't play well against Miami."

In the final men's basketball game at University Hall, Maryland blew an 18-point second-half lead but recovered to beat U.Va. 71-70 on March 1, 2006. Williams' 18th team at his alma mater includes several players who were elsewhere last season, most notably freshman point guards Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez and junior forward Bambale Osby.

Osby, a Benedictine High graduate, began his college career at New Mexico. He later transferred to a junior college in Texas and from there to Maryland.

The 6-8 250-pounder is averaging 6.1 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds in about 14 minutes per game for the Terrapins.

Osby posted modest numbers at his JC, but Williams liked his ability and willingness to work around the basket on offense.

"That was one thing we didn't have," Williams said, "and I knew he could do that."

Maryland has won six straight over U.Va., the longest such streak by either team in this series since the 1970s.

"A lot of those games have been really close," Williams said. "It's really strange how that works sometimes. It just seems like certain teams play well against certain teams."

 

Mosley picks U.Va.
Henrico star passes on Va. Tech visit, expects to play DB
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 16, 2007

With national signing day less than a month away, one of the state's top uncommitted football players finally has made his choice.

Henrico High's Corey Mosley picked the University of Virginia over Virginia Tech. Mosley, a 5-10, 193-pound senior, was scheduled to visit Tech this coming weekend, but U.Va. has long been his leader, and he decided to end his recruitment.

"I knew where I wanted to be, and I feel comfortable," Mosley said yesterday. "I trust these coaches, and I trust everything Virginia has to offer."

Mosley is the 24th player to commit to U.Va. for 2007. The Cavaliers' other recruits include Matoaca High wide receiver Kris Burd, the Central Region's offensive player of the year in 2006. Mosley was twice named to the All-Metro second team at defensive back.

At U.Va., Mosley is likely to play in the secondary and as a return man on special teams. Henrico coach Jesse Chavis used Mosley as a punt-returner, tailback, wide receiver, free safety and, occasionally, linebacker.

"I've played every position imaginable in my career, except the line," Mosley said.

Chavis said: "There's no telling how good he'll be when he's full time at a position."

In 2006, Mosley rushed 47 times for 416 yards and seven touchdowns, and he caught 21 passes for 383 yards and three TDs. He intercepted three passes and made 51 tackles.

Mosley said he has spoken about his decision with Tech assistant coach Jim Cavanaugh.

"I thanked them for giving me the opportunity they gave me, and for the offer," Mosley said, "and wished them the best of luck."
 

A home remedy?
After three consecutive losses, Virginia needs to get things back on track tonight against
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
January 16, 2007

Virginia's men's basketball team is quickly developing a reputation in the ACC, one that the Cavaliers wouldn't mind shedding.

"It's pretty obvious that they play very well at home and they don't play great on the road," Boston College sophomore point guard Tyrese Rice told reporters Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., after the Eagles beat the Cavaliers 78-73.

Virginia is 19-4 at home under second-year coach Dave Leitao. Away from Charlottesville the Cavaliers are 5-17 - and just 2-14 in true road games.

The Cavaliers (9-6, 1-2 ACC) return home tonight at 8 to play Maryland (15-3, 1-2). It is the final game of Virginia's difficult five-game stretch. The Cavaliers are 1-3 in the first four.

No one expected perfection during this two-week span, and they have played accordingly. They followed up a blowout of Gonzaga with a defensive disaster against Stanford.

They failed to rebound well enough in the second half to hang on against No. 1 North Carolina. They sent Boston College to the line for 45 free throws, 35 of which the Eagles sank.

"It's just trying to play to a higher level of consistency for longer periods of time," said. "I think that, more than anything, is what's plagued us."

The inconsistency seems to stem from Virginia's inability to maintain its intensity.

"My disappointment is not the foul shots that they took," Leitao said at Boston College. "My disappointment was our preparedness, or in this case our lack of preparedness, to play the game at the level in which it was going to be played."

Tonight's game provides a matchup of a veteran guard tandem and a young one.

Virginia senior Sean Singletary and junior J.R. Reynolds are the Cavaliers' most reliable scoring threats.

While neither Greivis Vasquez nor Eric Hayes average double-figure scoring, the Maryland freshmen have shown potential.

If Vasquez's and Hayes' names sound familiar, it's because they played together on Boo Williams' Hampton-based AAU team. Hayes began the season as the Terrapins' starting point guard, before Vasquez replaced him seven games ago.

"They see other freshmen (around the country) be successful, and I think that helps those two guys," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

Virginia gets a bit of a break after tonight, as it plays should-win games against Wake Forest on Sunday and at North Carolina State on Jan. 24.

After that, three of Virginia's next five games are on the road - Clemson, Maryland, Virginia Tech -and none will be easy on the Cavaliers' reputation. ?
 

Cavs look for answers at home vs. Terps
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
January 16, 2007

After losses, Dave Leitao typically sits upright in his chair during press conferences - in a position that suggests he would like to sprint out of the room as fast as humanly possibly.

But after his team lost at Boston College on Saturday, Leitao’s body language changed.

Sitting on a dais, the Virginia coach seemed more reflective as he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out over his head.

At one point during the session, he actually asked a reporter for his thoughts on free-throw shooting.

Yes, apparently Virginia’s three-game losing streak has Leitao looking for answers from anywhere he can find them.

Tonight, Virginia will try to avoid its first four-game losing streak of the Leitao era when it plays host to Maryland at John Paul Jones Arena.

Clearly, the topsy-turvy season is beginning to take its toll on the ultra-competitive Leitao, but what about his players?

“I don’t look at how it weighs on them, especially individually,” said Leitao, whose team had a pair of three-game losing streaks last season, “You pull guys to the side and make sure that they’re focused and their minds are on the kind of things that are important to getting better.

“We’re in a tough stretch where we haven’t really had time to evaluate where we’re at mentally - we just have to get back into the gym and continue to work to get better and find consistency that would allow us to string together games that we can play well in.”

With a 9-6 record, Virginia has the same record as it did last year at this point. However, last year UVa had already won three ACC games. This season, the Cavaliers only have one league victory - and they’ll be facing a much-improved Maryland squad that is coming off a win over previously undefeated Clemson.

The Terrapins’ victory on Saturday came on the heels of one of their most disappointing performances - a home loss to Miami.

“It was important that we bounced back from the Miami loss,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams, “but I haven’t gotten over the fact that we didn’t play well against Miami.”

Virginia will see a much different Maryland team than the one it saw in its last-ever game at University Hall last season.

Maryland has relied heavily on a pair of freshman guards - Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes.

“It’s allowed [D.J.] Strawberry to play a little bit more off the ball,” Leitao said, “so their ball-handling is improved.”

Inside, Virginia will have its work cut out in trying to contain Ekene Ibekwe.

“They have three or four different guys who come at you with shot-blocking abilities and the ability to attack the backboard,” Leitao said.

Against Boston College, Virginia did a better job rebounding than it had in its loss at North Carolina. However, turnovers were once again a major problem.

In addition, UVa’s lack of inside game led to a huge discrepancy in free-throw attempts. Boston College was 35 of 45 from the stripe, while Virginia was just 10 of 19.

Leitao said there was no “silver lining” in only losing to BC by five on the road.

“We’ve lost three games in a row and we have a difficult opponent coming up [tonight],” Leitao said, “so it doesn’t give anyone, particularly myself, a reason to look at things optimistically.”

Maryland has won the last six meetings between the schools, but Williams said you can basically throw that out the window.

“You don’t beat Gonzaga like they did, you don’t beat Arizona - at any time - without being a good basketball team,” Williams said. “You have to understand that you’re going to get Virginia’s best shot - the fact they’re going home after playing at Boston College. You always [play] better when you go home.”

Leitao certainly hopes so.

Dunks

Maryland leads the all-time series 101-64. … Leitao didn’t make it seem like Ryan Pettinella (injured knee) was very close to returning. “He’s on a four-week schedule, and this past Friday was the end of Week 2,” Leitao said. “He’s still in the rehab process. We’ve got to get the knee more movement and more strength before we can look at it from a basketball standpoint. So he’s still a ways away.”

 

Terrapins coming out of their shell
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
January 16, 2007

Scattershooting around the ACC, while hoping fans will like our new weekly page dedicated to showcasing the conference ...

Maryland, a team that slammed the door shut on Virginia’s “Last Ball in U-Hall” party last March, is hoping to break down the doors of the Cavaliers’ new home tonight when the Terps invade John Paul Jones Arena for a big ACC matchup for both teams.

The Terps are coming off a celebration of sorts after knocking off the nation’s last unbeaten team, Clemson, in College Park last Saturday. Prior to that, Maryland had gotten off to an eye-opening 0-2 start in ACC play, including a shocking home loss to Miami in a game in which the Terps hit only 22 percent of their shots.

Perhaps it was a “players only” meeting called last Thursday by guard D.J. Strawberry and forward James Gist that inspired the Terps to stop the spiral.

“That’s how we’ve done things the past two years,” Strawberry explained. “We just let it go on and on. We’d lose one and it was like, ‘OK, it’ll be all right ... we’ll get the next one.’ We said, ‘No, it has to stop now. We can’t continue to play like that and it has to stop right here. We can’t afford to keep losing.’”

Gist was particularly vocal in the 15-minute meeting and apparently the strategy worked as the Terps dismantled Clemson, 92-87.

Hmmm, do you think J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary might call a team meeting to try and stop the Cavaliers’ three-game slide? Couldn’t hurt.

Glory days

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe didn’t hesitate to ask for some help from former Wolfpack star David Thompson to inspire his current team.

After an 0-3 start in ACC play, Thompson, perhaps the conference’s greatest star ever, attended State’s game at Wake Forest on Saturday and the Wolfpack won, 88-74.

Thompson addressed the team in the locker room after the game.

“I told the guys a couple of days ago that they weren’t playing for themselves anymore,” Lowe noted about State’s 0-3 start. “They’re playing for everybody that has ever worn an N.C. State jersey. We talked about the tradition of the guys that have come before them and come before me. We represent those people, and I wanted David to come in so they could see who I was talking about.”

Injury bug

Miami has been hit the hardest this season with injuries. The Hurricanes will find out prior to tonight’s game at Boston College whether point guard Anthony Harris (pulled calf muscle) can play.

The Canes lost sophomore backup center Jimmy Graham last Wednesday with a broken right hand that will sideline him the rest of the season. He is the third frontcourt player Miami has lost for the season already, including senior center Anthony King (wrist) and sophomore forward Adrian Thomas (abdominal strain).

N.C. State’s Engin Atsur, who has struggled with a pulled hamstring all season, missed the last two games, leaving Gavin Grant to start at point guard. The Wolfpack play only one game this week, Saturday against Duke, leaving State fans hopeful of Atsur’s return.

UNC is concerned about point guard Bobby Frasor’s right foot, which has kept him at less than full strength. X-rays taken Sunday after the Tar Heels’ upset loss at Virginia Tech, revealed there was no break, however his status for Wednesday night’s game at Clemson is unknown.

Prosser feeling heat

Wake Forest fans are all over coach Skip Prosser after the Deacons’ 1-3 start in the ACC - that coming off last year’s 3-13 league record.

Message boards and talk shows are full of pot shots at Prosser, whose teams have been accused of playing less than spectacular defense. In the Deacs’ last two games, they’ve given up a total of 183 points in homecourt losses to Boston College and N.C. State.

The Deacs start three freshmen and have only two seniors in an 11-man rotation.

Dookies warming up?

While this hasn’t been a great start for Duke, the Blue Devils might be showing signs of unthawing after shooting a school-record 81 percent from the field in the first half at Miami on Sunday night.

“Isn’t that ironic?” said coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We’ve been probably the worst offensive team that I’ve had for a while - so far - and we do that in the first half.”

Coach K cautioned Duke fans not to get overly excited just yet, though.

“Everything is not calm and beautiful,” Krzyzewski said. “You have to fight to get your experience, and these first three games our kids have fought. We’re 1-2 and we have to continue to fight to get better.”

Stat of the week

Clemson’s K.C. Rivers has become the ACC’s top sixth man this season. Rivers has popped in double figures in 18 consecutive games while coming off the bench for the Tigers.

Oak Hill is coming

The nation’s No. 1-ranked high school basketball team will be making two appearances in the area in the coming weeks.

Coach Steve Smith’s Warriors will play in this weekend’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes Classic at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.

Oak Hill will play at 8 p.m. The Warriors, 20-0 as of Sunday, boasts three seniors already committed to Division I schools: 6-3 guard Nolan Smith (Duke), 6-5 guard Alex Legion (Michigan), and 6-9 forward Julian Vaughn (Florida State), and the nation’s top-rated junior point guard, Brandon Jennings of Compton, Calif.

If you can’t make it to JMU, never fear. Oak Hill is scheduled to play Montrose Christian at Charlottesville’s John Paul Jones Arena on Feb. 17 in a high school doubleheader that will also feature Blue Ridge School versus Benedictine.

More details will follow.

Virginia hosts Florida State that same day at 1 p.m., so the high school games are expected to start afterward.

Rumor of the week

We’ll have to admit some panic set in late Saturday night when a columnist from the Dallas Morning News called and said that the Dallas Cowboys had approached Virginia head coach Al Groh about becoming the NFL team’s defensive coordinator.

Coach Bill Parcells is trying to replace former coordinator Mike Zimmer, who left to take the same position with the Atlanta Falcons. Parcells wants someone familiar with the 3-4 defense, something Zimmer never fully grasped.

While Parcells, who is one of Groh’s best friends, is expected to name either Paul Pasqualoni or Todd Bowles as the Dallas coordinator, it wouldn’t be that unusual for him to at least have someone approach Groh’s agent about the possibilities of reuniting.

Groh worked under Parcells with the Giants, Patriots and Jets.

Groh is obviously not interested, but then who would be if Parcells is planning to only coach the Cowboys for one more season?

Free throws

The rafters at Florida State’s civic center arena have been somewhat empty since joining the ACC, with only Dave Cowens’ jersey hanging aloft. That’s about to change. FSU will honor (not retire) the No. 25 jersey of Hugh Durham (former Seminole player and coach) against Miami this weekend, then will do likewise for Bob Sura and Sam Cassell later this season, according to school spokesman Chuck Walsh.

... If you think the ACC won’t be another wild ride this year, think again. Nine of the league’s first 21 games have been decided by five points or less.

... The ACC, by the way, leads all conferences in teams ranked in the top 40 in RPI with eight (the Big Ten is next with six), including three teams ranked in the top 10.

... UVa’s J.R. Reynolds is on a tear again, averaging 18.2 points and 4.6 assists during his last five games, while he ranks eighth in the ACC in assists, and backcourt mate Sean Singletary is fifth (5.1).

... Virginia Tech leads the ACC in turnover margin (+6.9), led by two of the league’s quickest guards, which gave both Duke and UNC fits.

 

Groh nabs 'diamond in the rough' from Henrico
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
January 16, 2007

Even though Virginia’s latest football commitment, Corey Mosley, has been rated merely a two-star prospect by some of the national recruiting services, Henrico High School coach Jesse Chavis believes the running back is a diamond in the rough.

Mosley, considered a UVa lean for the past few months during the recruiting process, made it official Monday that he’s a Cavalier. He chose Virginia over Virginia Tech and Tennessee, although Chavis said Mosley had strong interest from other schools.

“UCLA, Maryland, Duke and some others said they wanted to offer him a scholarship, but they knew Corey wanted to stay close to home, so there was no use in pursuing him,” Chavis said. “He’s a good catch. He’s what you could classify as ‘overlooked.’”

The 5-foot-8, 190-pound all-purpose back was rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, and was ranked No. 30 on The Daily Progress Gold List, which ranks the top 50 senior prospects in the state of Virginia.

“He’s an exceptional athlete,” said Chavis. “He’s real aggressive and hasn’t even tapped into his true potential yet. Just wait until he gets in college and settles into one position.”

During his career at Henrico, Mosley was all over the place. He played wide receiver, running back, some quarterback, was a defensive back and linebacker, in addition to returning kicks.

With 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash and a 30-inch vertical leap, he is an all-around athlete.

“He’ll sacrifice his body to hit you and you’ll feel it,” Chavis said. “And in terms of the running game, he’s quick and has great lateral moves.”

Mosley accounted for more than 1,400 yards of offense as a rusher and receiver the past two seasons along with 19 touchdowns. He also recorded eight interceptions and more than 120 tackles the last two seasons.

“I think the colleges knew all about him, but in terms of getting noticed by recruiting services and those who select all-star teams, I believe he was grossly overlooked,” Chavis said. “Somewhere down the road, people are going to say, ‘Why wasn’t he all-metro? Why wasn’t he all-state?”

Mosley said that he had developed a strong relationship with Virginia offensive coordinator Mike Groh and that an in-home visit from Groh, and UVa head coach Al Groh, sealed the deal. From that point on, Mosley was convinced that he wanted to become a Cavalier. He will not take an official visit to Virginia Tech this coming weekend as was previously planned.

With UVa quickly approaching its limit of scholarships, Mosley decided to not put off his decision until after visiting both Tech and UVa, fearing that the Cavs’ complement of grants might be filled.

“I prayed about it and then called Coach Groh and gave him my news,” Mosley said. “Coach said he had been waiting for this and said he believed I could help put Virginia back where it belongs.”

Chavis said that Mosley is close to several of the Hermitage High players already on UVa’s roster, including quarterback Jameel Sewell. The Henrico back has already qualified academically.

Mosley’s commitment was the third in the last three days for the Cavaliers, who picked up a surprising one Sunday from Washington (D.C.) Ballou High star Lamar Milstead, who had previously committed to North Carolina.

Milstead, a four-star prospect by Rivals, is a 6- 6, 270-pound offensive tackle who helped feel a major need by the Cavaliers.

The big, D.C. lineman had been one of the major recruiting targets of Virginia prior to his commitment to the Tar Heels in July. However, during a recent visit to Chapel Hill, he didn’t feel as comfortable with coach Butch Davis and the new Carolina staff as he had with former coach John Bunting’s staff.

Milstead is expected to be part of UVa’s big recruiting weekend when most of the commitments will be on campus starting Friday.

 

Which way will Terps trend?
They hit heights vs. Clemson, bottom in Miami game
By Heather A. Dinich
Sun Reporter
Originally published January 16, 2007

Maryland's complete effort in its win against Clemson on Saturday afternoon came in part, junior forward James Gist said, because the Terps had something to prove - to themselves.

"We wanted to come out and show that we're a good team," Gist said. "We had something to prove to ourselves, actually, that we could play as a team and that not too many people could play with us."

By breaking Clemson's 17-game winning streak, Maryland proved it is capable of maintaining its gritty defense while showing patience on offense in a game of consequence. Against Miami last week, though, the Terps also proved they can flop. The question heading into tonight's 8 o'clock game at Virginia is which kind of performance will become the trend as the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule bears down on Maryland. This is the first of four road games for the Terps (15-3, 1-2) in the next five contests.

Not even the quick turnaround against Clemson - which was the last unbeaten Division I men's team - could squelch coach Gary Williams' memory of how poorly his team played against Miami. The Terps went from shooting a season-low 22.4 percent against the Hurricanes to a season-high 62.7 percent against Clemson.

"I agree it was important we bounced back from the Miami loss, but I haven't gotten over the fact we didn't play well against Miami," Williams said yesterday. "We played well Saturday, but that doesn't make up for not playing well. You have to be consistent and you have to play well when it's time to play."

Maryland has won the past six games against Virginia, but the Cavaliers (9-6, 1-2) are eager to put a halt to their current three-game skid. Junior guard Sean Singletary is Virginia's leading scorer and second in the ACC at 18.6 points per game.

Maryland stole a win at Virginia last year, and it was an emotional loss for the Cavaliers, who were playing their last game at University Hall. Still, the Cavaliers have gotten off to a strong start in their new arena with an 8-1 record there.

Virginia beat Gonzaga and Arizona this year on its home court - wins that impressed Williams. Virginia coach Dave Leitao said his team has shown spurts of promise on both sides of the ball but struggles to put together a complete game.

"I think what we're trying to do is get better each and every day," Leitao said. "There are times we look very good offensively, we move the ball around and make a lot of shots. Defensively, make offenses uncomfortable. Where our problems come from - it's just trying to play to a higher level of consistency for a longer period of time. More than anything, that's what's plagued us."

While Virginia has been relying on Singletary and senior guard J.R. Reynolds (16.1 points per game, 4.2 assists per game) to create offense, the Terps have four starters averaging in double digits. All five scored in double figures against Clemson.

"It shows how much as a team we can contribute and get other guys involved and score rather than having two main guys putting up most of the points and other guys doing all the rebounding," said senior guard Mike Jones. "We try to get scoring from everywhere."

Senior forward Ekene Ibekwe said the team learned a lesson from the Miami and is guarding against a letdown.

"We just tell ourselves to play hard and stay aggressive," he said. "We see how we were much more active and alert defensively against them and how it paid off. We just need to carry that same effort to Virginia."

 

Terps Open Perilous ACC Stretch on Road
By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 16, 2007; Page E01

When Ekene Ibekwe took the floor at the University of Illinois' Assembly Hall seven weeks ago, he felt as if he was playing an ACC road game. The senior forward believes that ear-splitting noise from the crowd and frenetic ambience have prepared Maryland's freshmen, as much as anything could, for the challenge they are about to confront.

Three days after a critical home game against Clemson, Maryland starts a pivotal five-game stretch. Over the next 18 days, the Terrapins will play four of five games on the road, beginning tonight at Virginia. While away-from-home experiences this season at Illinois and Boston College have helped prepare the team, Ibekwe acknowledged that the next five games are "going to be a rough stretch."

It will also be an important stretch if the Terrapins (15-3, 1-2 ACC) hope to maintain their ground in the conference. The inability to win conference road games was one reason Maryland was relegated to the National Invitation Tournament in 2005 and 2006.

Despite having veteran-laden squads the past two seasons, Maryland struggled away from Comcast Center, winning only four of 16 ACC road games. Two of those victories were against Virginia, which has lost to the Terrapins six consecutive times.

The last two games between Maryland and Virginia in Charlottesville were decided by a total of four points and played at University Hall, the Cavaliers' former home. This season, Virginia (9-6, 1-2) opened John Paul Jones Arena, where the Cavaliers have won eight of nine games, including impressive victories against Gonzaga and No. 11 Arizona.

The onus will be on two Maryland freshmen, Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, to handle the bulk of the ballhandling duties in just their second ACC road game. Ibekwe said he has already told the two about the importance of playing with poise on the road.

"Our seniors have played on the road," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "Our freshmen have played at Illinois and at Madison Square Garden, so they believe they have the experience."

The presence of Vasquez and Hayes has given D.J. Strawberry the freedom to play his more natural position on the wing. The freshmen are a better fit at point guard because they are more natural ballhandlers than Strawberry, who was forced to play point guard last season because the Terrapins did not have other options.

"Their ballhandling is tremendously improved from the last time we saw them," Virginia Coach Dave Leitao said.

But tonight Hayes and Vasquez will confront one of the nation's better back courts in Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, who combine for 34.7 points per game. Maryland must guard both against their three-point shooting as well as their penetration. Singletary, who leads the ACC in free throw percentage (92.7 percent), and Reynolds are adept at drawing fouls; they combine to shoot an average of 13 free throws per game.

An encouraging sign for Maryland is that Vasquez played his best game in the most hostile setting the Terrapins have been in this season, Assembly Hall. Vasquez scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and made a steal and a layup in the closing minutes to push Maryland's lead to five against Illinois.

Hayes, who had six assists in the game, also played well in the six-point victory that snapped Illinois' 51-game winning streak at home against nonconference opponents. Williams believes the performance of both freshmen in that game has given them confidence that they can play well on the road.

"It's all about building a foundation," Williams said. "That is what Greivis and Eric are trying to do this year. I've been really pleased with how they have played so far. They are gaining confidence that you gain from doing something. It's one thing to talk about playing in college, but you have to do things so that it is not just a bunch of talk. They have established that they can play."

Playing one road game in the ACC, let alone four in a five-game span, is a difficult endeavor. North Carolina was ranked No. 1 and had been winning most of its games handily until it played its first ACC road game of the season -- and lost, 94-88, Saturday to Virginia Tech.

Performance on the road will be one factor that the NCAA tournament selection committee uses to measure the strength of the host of ACC schools competing for at-large berths. If North Carolina is the class of the ACC, that leaves at least eight schools, including Maryland and Virginia, with realistic hopes of competing for a top-three finish in conference play.

For Maryland, three of the next five games -- at Virginia Tech on Sunday; Georgia Tech at Comcast Center on Jan. 24; and at Wake Forest on Feb. 3 -- are particularly critical because they will be the only head-to-head meetings between the schools during the regular season.

The next 18 days will be the toughest challenge the Terrapins, and especially their precocious freshmen, have faced this season.

"We have got to keep in our head," Ibekwe said, "that the season is at stake."