2/4/02 - Sinking Feeling

Mistake-prone Virginia suffers third straight loss; Missouri takes advantage for 81-77 win

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

COLUMBIA, Mo. — It was believed that the No. 8 Virginia men’s basketball team would be emotionally fragile for Sunday’s game against No. 24 Missouri because of its late-game meltdown against Maryland on Thursday.
Instead, it was the Cavaliers’ fragile physical state that hampered them most against the Tigers. Kareem Rush and key turnovers did not exactly aid the Virginia cause, either.
Rush scored 26 points as the Tigers downed Virginia, 81-77, as three UVa starters battled flu-like symptoms and another was limited with a painful foot injury.
Arthur Johnson added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Rickey Paulding had 14 and Clarence Gilbert finished with 11 as Missouri won the battle of desperate teams and posted an NCAA tournament resume-building victory that both teams entered the game needing.
“Today was about our guys playing with a tremendous amount of heart,” said Missouri coach Quin Snyder, whose program notched its first-ever win over Virginia after holding an 0-4 mark against UVa previously.
Chris Williams led Virginia with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Roger Mason Jr. and J.C. Mathis each had 13. Freshman forward Elton Brown reached double figures for the sixth straight game.
“I’m obviously disappointed in losing but I’m proud of my team for their character, effort and courage,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen, whose team has now lost three straight contests. “We had guys injured and guys sick. With those circumstances I could not have asked any more of them.”
The list of medical woes for the Cavaliers (14-5) likely made trainer Sue Saliba as busy as Gillen and his assistants.
Roger Mason Jr. and Chris Williams both played through flu-like symptoms. Travis Watson did not start the game and was limited to four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes as the injury-plagued center now is suffering from pain in the arch of his left foot. In the past two seasons, Watson has been bothered from injuries ranging from knee and ankle problems to a hip pointer and now this foot injury. Freshman forward Elton Brown, who was also suffering from the flu, started in Watson’s place.
“Their noses were running. They are on some kind of medication to stop the congestion and all,” said Gillen, whose team was also without senior swingman Adam Hall. A nagging foot injury forced Hall out of the lineup one game after breaking a five-game absence against Maryland.
Injuries and illness aside, the Cavaliers still found themselves in a game it could have won. Actually, if one glances at the statistics it’s hard to understand how the Cavaliers lost. Virginia outshot Missouri — 55.2 percent to 48.8 percent — and outrebounded the Tigers, 35-30.
Those, however, were not the statistics that determined the game. Rather, it was 3-pointers and turnovers. Virginia turned over the ball 20 times and made three treys in eight attempts. Missouri made just 10 turnovers and connected on eight of their 17 3-pointers.
“The turnovers killed us. We dribbled too much and we didn’t take care of it,” Gillen said. “It was a physical game and you have to be tough with the ball. The turnovers really just killed us.”
No one play typified those disparities than the play that occurred with just more than 12 minutes remaining and Virginia maintaining what would be its final lead of the game, 54-53. The Cavaliers came down the court looking to build on their lead, but an errant pass by Williams was picked off by Clarence Gilbert, who pulled up for a 3-pointer that gave Missouri the lead for good at 56-54. It was the last lead change in a game that featured 24 of them.
The Tigers would twice build their advantage to as many as eight, but Virginia continued to pick away at that lead as the Tigers were not able to secure the win until the final minute.
Trailing 76-72 with 1:06 remaining, Williams nearly brought Virginia within one but his shot attempt as he was fouled rolled off the rim and converted only one of his two foul shots to make it 76-73.
The Cavaliers’ strategy to foul the Tigers in the final minute had mixed results. The Tigers made seven of their 12 attempts from the stripe in the last two minutes but in that process two key Cavaliers — freshman point guard Keith Jenifer and Mason — both fouled out of the game.
After Jenifer exited with his fifth with 1:19 left, Gillen inserted seldom-used Jason Dowling into the game as basically a designated fouler. The strategy did not work, however, as Dowling collected no fouls while he was in the game. Instead, Mason collected his fifth fouling 80 percent free-throw shooter Gilbert with 25.9 seconds remaining. The foul actually could have just as easily gone against Gilbert as it was Mason, not Gilbert, who ended up on the ground after the call.
“That was a judgment call. I think he [the referee] was anticipating us fouling in that situation. I did not want to foul because I had four fouls. I really just stood there,” said Mason, in a murmured voice that showed the strains of his illness.
Without Mason, Virginia’s chances of making the 3-point shots it needed in the waning seconds was greatly hampered.
“We were trying to give fouls on one of their other guys but we just couldn’t get the referee’s attention,” Gillen said.
Gilbert made his two from the stripe, and after freshman Jermaine Harper made it 79-77 with a layup, Rush made two more free throws with 14 seconds left to account for the final margin.
Virginia now enters its second rotation through the ACC with a road contest at N.C. State on Wednesday. The Cavaliers likely will have to go at least 4-4 or perhaps even 5-3 in their final eight games in order to feel comfortable about their NCAA chances.
“That N.C. State game is important because we have to end this bleeding right now,” Mason said.

By JERRY RATCLIFFE
Daily Progress sports editor

COLUMBIA, Mo.
Super Sunday turned into a day of super frustration for Virginia’s basketball team as it dropped a third straight game in a slide that could begin to have an effect on the Cavaliers’ postseason status.

On this late-season trip to America’s heartland, the Wahoos collided with a team equally desperate for a win. Quin Snyder’s Missouri team was blown out at No. 2 Kansas in the second half of its last outing and had lost at No. 6 Oklahoma just a week before.

The Cavaliers had played well but lost at No. 1 Duke, then blew a nine-point lead with three minutes to play at home against No. 3 Maryland.

But the difference on this day was a matter of health care. Virginia’s bench looked like a M*A*S*H unit, missing two starters with injuries, while three others were hampered by a virus that has half of Charlottesville calling in sick.
ACC leading rebounder Travis Watson, who missed an earlier start with a hip-flexor, finally brushed off that pain just as he fought through a rash of injuries last season. But this time, he was grounded with an injury that can’t be ignored, a strain or sprain to the arch of his left foot that took away his ability to jump.
Without Watson in the middle, the Cavaliers were as defenseless as a battleship with no ammunition. UVa was already missing wing forward Adam Hall, who saw only limited time against Maryland on Thursday after missing five straight games.
Making matters worse, Roger Mason Jr., the team’s leading scorer, felt so bad that if he had stayed home in bed, nursing flu symptoms, no one would have complained. Mason, Chris Williams and Elton Brown, were all under the weather.
The fact that Virginia took the Tigers to the wire on the road under the conditions was somewhat impressive. The way the Cavaliers dropped their third straight game wasn’t.
Twenty turnovers, a dozen more than UVa committed against Maryland’s pressure a few nights ago, killed the Cavaliers’ chances much more than any flu germ could have. Virginia still outrebounded Mizzou (35-30), still outshot the Tigers (55.2 percent to 46.8), was better at the free-throw line (10-13 to 15-22).
But in a game that was played so close most of the way, every mistake became magnified. The later the mistake, the more critical it appeared as the two teams leapfrogged one another in a battle that featured 24 lead changes and 11 tie scores.
This time, it all came down to turnovers. In most games, only a few turnovers prove to be that costly. Not on this chilly, midwestern afternoon.
Coach Quin Snyder’s Tigers converted UVa’s 20 mistakes into 24 Missouri points.
“Turnovers killed us,” a frustrated coach Pete Gillen said. “We were dribbling too much [something he has complained about most of the season] and it was a very physical game on the perimeter.”
While Gillen wasn’t happy, he was careful not to go overboard with his criticism. He realizes how fragile his team is and how much the losses to Maryland and Missouri have hurt the grand plan.
All of a sudden, the Wahoos have plummeted from the top 10 to a 14-5 record with eight ACC games to play. Slipped from a top-10 team and a near shoo-in for a second straight NCAA tournament bid to perhaps a bubble team, carefully balancing itself on the fence as every February game becomes a “must win.”
“I think there’s more pressure for us to get a win after losing three in a row than to worry about the NCAAs,” said sophomore forward J.C. Mathis, who had 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
That puts the spotlight on Virginia’s trip to Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday where the Cavs try to steal back a win against N.C. State after the Wolfpack beat UVa in Charlottesville last month. A fourth straight loss could really put Gillen’s Hoos in a jam.
Still, the coach believed the team gave him everything it had. He wasn’t going to doubt their effort, especially in such a tough place to play. Missouri has now won 25 of its last 27 games at the Hearnes Center.
“It has been as brutal a week as anybody in the country has faced,” said Gillen, referring to losses against the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country and a challenging road game at No. 22 Missouri. “Without two starters, and all the sickness, I can’t ask for more.”
Mason was so ill that he couldn’t practice two days prior to the game. Watson hurt himself late in the Maryland loss, didn’t start but tried to play. The pain was so bad and he was so ineffective he took himself out of the game and didn’t return, clocking 13 minutes, scoring four points and grabbing four boards.
Clearly, neither Watson nor Mason were themselves.
“I feel terrible,” said a frustrated Mason, who somehow fought through it all to score 13 points, playing all but three minutes of the game. “I have a fever, congestion and I’m weak. I felt weak in the game. You try not to think about it but as soon as I get over my shoulder problems, I get sick.”
With the eight league games remaining and having navigated the first half of the ACC schedule with a 4-4 record, Gillen must first hope that UVa’s medical staff can work miracles by Wednesday’s trip to Tobacco Road, and somehow regroup his team in order to stop the bleeding.
Without Hall and Watson and a less-than-healthy Mason, the Cavaliers are left primarily with underclassmen trying to find their way through immense pressure. At one time Sunday, all four freshmen were on the floor at the same time.
While the youngsters played their brains out here in Big 12 country, it wasn’t enough to overcome a good, not great, bunch of Tigers who were hungry for a win over a top-10 foe.
The question is whether Virginia can mend itself enough to avoid another setback against N.C. State.
The Missouri game would have been a quality win but wasn’t a must. The scenario changes drastically on Wednesday, a game that Virginia can’t afford to lose.
Anybody seen a medic?

UVa drops third straight to a ranked foe
By OUG DOUGHTY, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For more than two months, the Virginia men's basketball team did not lose a game this season that it led in the second half.

Eighth-ranked U.Va. had some excuses Sunday, but an injury- and illness-riddled lineup had its chances before falling to No. 22 Missouri 81-77 before a Hearnes Center crowd of 12,136.

It was U.Va.'s first loss in five games against the Tigers and ended a 27-game regular-season winning streak against nonconference opposition.

``I hate losing more than anybody,'' U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said, ``but I feel as proud of our team now as I was when we had some of our good wins early in the year. Without two starters, I can't ask any more.''

Senior swingman Adam Hall, who played five minutes Thursday night in his return from a foot injury, did not dress Sunday. Junior center Travis Watson, who injured his left foot Thursday in a 91-87 loss to Maryland, did not start Sunday and took himself out of the game after 13 minutes.

In addition, scoring leader Roger Mason Jr. played with a fever and senior forward Chris Williams was fighting a cold.

``It was a big game,'' said Mason, limited to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting. ``I wouldn't consider not playing, (but) I feel terrible. Fever. Congestion. Just weak. I felt weak in the game. I wasn't as aggressive going to the basket and it's all compounded when you lose.''

Mason played 37 minutes before fouling out with 25.9 seconds left. Mason picked up his third, fourth and fifth fouls in the final 2:06, with the last one robbing U.Va. of its best 3-point threat.

In fact, when Mason hit a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line, it closed the deficit to 77-75 with 32 seconds remaining. That was the closest the Cavaliers came after trailing 72-64 with less than 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

Gillen inserted walk-on Jason Dowling with 1:19 remaining in hopes that he could do any necessary fouling, but Dowling never picked up a personal. Moreover, on Missouri's last three trips to the line, its shooters were Clarence Gilbert, an 80.3 percent free-throw shooter, or Kareem Rush (76.5).

``We were trying to get the foul (with Dowling) against some of their other guys, but we didn't get the referees' attention,'' Gillen said. ``Then, Gilbert and Roger collided. I didn't see what happened.''

Said Mason of his fifth foul: ``That was a judgment call. I think the referee anticipated us fouling. I was just kind of standing there.''

The Cavaliers shot 55.2 percent from the field and outrebounded Missouri 35-30, but they were victimized by 20 turnovers -- a combined 16 by Williams, Mason and freshman point guard Keith Jenifer. Missouri had 10 turnovers.

``Turnovers killed us,'' Gillen said. ``We dribbled it too much. We didn't take care of it. It was a physical game (with) a lot of hand-checking and bumping and holding. You've got to be strong with the ball.''

The game was tied seven times and there were 20 lead changes, the last when Gilbert hit a 3-pointer off the break to make it 56-54 with 12:11 remaining. Gilbert had picked off a weak pass to the wing by Williams, whose six turnovers were a season high and followed three successive one-turnover outings.

On the positive side, Williams had team highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds for his 13th career double-double. The Cavaliers (14-5) also got 13 points from sophomore J.C. Mathis and 12 from freshman Elton Brown, who enjoyed a rare start and a sixth straight double-figure scoring effort.

Missouri, ranked as high as No. 2 early in the season, won for the 25th time in its last 27 games at the Hearnes Center. Rush led the Tigers (16-6) with 26 points and didn't miss the defensive attention he would have received if Hall had been at full strength.

``I don't think I made it worse but it was surely hurting (Thursday) night,'' said Hall, who has missed six full games and part of a seventh since suffering a partial tear of the plantar fascia on Jan. 12. ``I'm not going to play till it's better. It's not happening Wednesday. That's for sure.''

The Cavaliers return to action that day against N.C. State, a team that defeated U.Va. 81-74 in Charlottesville.

``It's been a tough week, as tough as anybody in the country has played,'' Gillen said. ``We played No. 1 on the road, No. 3 at home and No. 22 on the road. Hopefully, we can get healthy, number one, and keep our team together.''

COLUMBIA, Mo. - As the final seconds ticked away, Virginia center Travis Watson, one of the nation's premier big men, watched dejectedly from the bench, his left shoe off and an ice pack on his bare foot.

Slumped near him were starting guards Roger Mason Jr. and Keith Jenifer. Both had fouled out. Senior guard Adam Hall was in street clothes, sidelined indefinitely again with an injured right foot. Fighting fatigue on the court were Chris Williams and Elton Brown, who, like Mason, were sick.

Eighth-ranked Virginia wasn't close to 100 percent when it arrived at the University of Missouri's Hearnes Center, and things got worse for coach Pete Gillen as the game wore on.

The 22nd-ranked Tigers, desperate for a quality victory, showed the Cavaliers no mercy. Mizzou, led by supremely talented junior forward Kareem Rush (26 points), overcame some shaky moments at the foul line and held on for an 81-77 nonconference victory before 12,136 fans.

The Cavaliers, down eight points with 3 minutes left, pulled to 77-75 on Mason's jumper with 32 seconds remaining, but their rally ended there. Mason fouled U.VA. out seven seconds later after colliding with guard Clarence Gilbert - Mason said he was trying to avoid a foul - and Mizzou, which had missed five of its previous eight free throws, made its final four to secure its first victory over Virginia in five tries.

"I'm very disappointed in losing," Gillen said, "but mainly I'm very proud of my team for their character, their effort, their courage . . . I can live with losing when we play that hard."

Missouri students stormed the court to celebrate the victory over a top-10 opponent, but Virginia (14-5) isn't likely to hold that lofty status much longer. The loss was the Cavaliers' third straight, though each defeat was to a ranked opponent: No. 1 Duke, No. 3 Maryland and, finally Mizzou (16-6).

"It's as tough a week as anybody in the country has played," Gillen said.

Three days after a crushing loss to Maryland, which erased a nine-point deficit in the final 3:15 at University Hall, Virginia came out with fire and played better than many expected, particularly since Mason had been too sick to practice.

"I feel terrible," Mason said afterward. "I felt weak in the game and wasn't really explosive going to the basket."

Still, the Cavs shot better than the Tigers from the floor and the foul line and outrebounded their hosts 35-30 - even with Watson limited to 13 minutes off the bench because of a sprained left foot and a hip pointer. But Mizzou hit eight 3-pointers - to only three for U.Va. - and forced 20 turnovers. Many led directly to Missouri baskets.

The most critical error might have been a sloppy pass by Williams with Virginia leading 54-53. Gilbert quickly made the Cavs pay, sinking a 3-pointer in transition for the game's 24th - and final - lead change.

"Turnovers killed us," Gillen said. "We were dribbling too much. We didn't take care of it."

Williams, a senior forward, had a team-high 18 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. But he also had a season-worst six turnovers, and Mason and Jenifer had five apiece.

With Mason (13 points on 5-for-12 shooting) struggling, some of his less-heralded teammates kept the Cavaliers close. Mathis made 6 of 7 shots from the floor, scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman guard Jermaine Harper came off the bench to score nine points. Brown contributed 12 points, and Jenifer added eight points and four assists before fouling out with 1:19 left.

Still, the scene on the Virginia sideline when the final horn sounded told the story.

"That's our go-to guys right there on the bench, and it's very hard to win they're on the bench, especially when Travis is hurt," Harper said.

Hall said he wouldn't play Wednesday night at N.C. State. Watson's status is uncertain.

By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, February 4, 2002; Page D06

COLUMBIA, Mo., Feb. 3 -- No. 8 Virginia came into its game at No. 22 Missouri with a growing injured list and a two-game losing streak. The Tigers only added to those woes, holding on for an 81-77 win before 12,136 at Hearnes Center.

Roger Mason Jr., Chris Williams and Elton Brown -- three of Virginia's top four scorers -- felt weak and sluggish throughout today's game. Foot and hip injuries limited leading rebounder Travis Watson to 13 minutes. Adam Hall sat out for the sixth time in seven games because of a foot injury. With its roster depleted, the Cavaliers (14-5) wore down in the final 10 minutes and swallowed their third straight loss.

"I'm very disappointed in losing, but mainly I'm very proud of my team," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said. "This is a very difficult place to play. . . . To put forth that effort with guys being sick and hurt -- I can't ask any more. I'm as proud tonight as I was when we had some good wins earlier in the year."

The game featured 23 lead changes and 11 ties until senior guard Clarence Gilbert hit a three-pointer with 12 minutes 11 seconds remaining to give the Tigers (16-6) a 56-54 lead.

The loss ended Virginia's 27-game regular season win streak against teams outside the Atlantic Coast Conference since Dec. 4, 1999. The streak included an 85-72 victory over Missouri last year in Charlottesville.

The Cavaliers held a 35-30 rebounding advantage and shot 55 percent to Missouri's 47 percent, but 20 turnovers -- their third-highest total of the season -- doomed the Cavaliers. The Tigers contributed to that figure with 13 steals.

"Turnovers killed us," Gillen said. "We were dribbling too much; we didn't take care of it. There was a lot of hand-checking and bumping and holding, but you've got to adjust to that. You've got to be strong with the ball."

Mason and freshman Keith Jenifer, Virginia's starting guards, combined for 11 turnovers. Once they fouled out in the closing minutes, the Cavaliers were left with a lineup of Williams, three first-year players and walk-on guard Jason Dowling.

"Of course we were undermanned because [the missing players] are all-league players," said sophomore forward J.C. Mathis, who had 13 points (6-of-7 shooting) and seven rebounds.

Watson had been averaging 13.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, but today he had just four in each category, playing in reserve for the second time this season. Though he is still dealing with a nagging hip pointer, Watson said he could have soldiered on if not for the pain in the arch of his left foot.

The foot "was bothering me pretty bad, so I took myself out of the game," said Watson, who was not sure exactly when he suffered the injury. "You can't jump, you can't do anything. It's your wheels."

Against Maryland on Thursday, Hall played for the first time since Jan. 12, but today he was back in street clothes. Hall did not have a setback in Thursday's five-minute stint, Gillen said, but the Cavaliers decided to hold him out until the partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot fully heals.

Despite being sick for a few days, Mason, Williams and Brown still shouldered much of the Cavs' scoring load -- they were three of Virginia's top four scorers today. Williams had a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, Mason had 13 points and Brown added 12.

"I didn't consider not playing; it was a big game," said Mason, who shot 5 of 12 and turned the ball over five times. "I feel terrible. I felt weak in the game. I wasn't as explosive going to the basket."

After losing a nine-point lead in the final 3 1/2 minutes against No. 3 Maryland on Thursday, Virginia found the roles reversed down the stretch this afternoon. Missouri led 74-66 with 3:06 left, but the Cavaliers quickly chipped away at the deficit.

Williams, playing despite flu-like symptoms, began the spurt with an inside basket and then added two free throws. Jenifer drove for a windmill layup and the Tigers' lead stood at 75-72.

Missouri let the Cavaliers back into the game with a stretch of 3-for-9 shooting from the foul line, but it regained its poise just in time. Tigers stars Kareem Rush (game-high 26 points) and Clarence Gilbert combined for four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

UVa men drop third straight to Top 25 team at Missouri
By Steve Argeris
The News & Advance

Virginia (14-5) is on a three-game losing streak heading into Wednesday's game at North Carolina State, a place where the Cavaliers have not won in three previous tries under coach Pete Gillen.

"We're beat up emotionally, physically," Gillen said. "It was about as tough a week as anyone in the country has faced. We played the No. 1 team on the road (Duke) Sunday, No. 3 (Maryland) Thursday and another top-25 team here."

Gillen complemented his players' effort, as several players were sick or injured. Roger Mason Jr., Chris Williams and Elton Brown all suffered flu-like symptoms and Travis Watson was limited to 13 minutes due to a foot injury suffered against the Terrapins. Another foot victim, Adam Hall, did not play for the sixth time in seven games, his five-minute stint against Maryland confirming he was not ready to return. Watson is questionable for Wednesday and Hall is almost certain not to play.

Missouri (16-6) compounded the pain with 26 points from forward Kareem Rush, including four 3-pointers, despite Keith Jenifer, Williams and Jermaine Harper taking turns. That trio said that Duke's Jason Williams was the only player of Rush's caliber they have faced this season.

"Kareem's a guy who can show who he is, his character and his heart," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "He had four steals. Everything he was doing in the game was telling his teammates how badly he wanted to win."

Clarence Gilbert shut down the weakened Mason, holding him to 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Gilbert's best moment came against Williams, stepping in front of a sloppy pass and pulling up for a 3-pointer to erase Virginia's final lead of the game and put the Tigers up 56-54 with 12:15 to play.

The final killer was Ricky Paulding. After an action-packed first half as well as the first 10 minutes of the second, in which there were 24 lead changes, Missouri had assumed command and maintained a four- or five-point lead. Paulding put the Tigers up 72-64 when he was left wide open for a jumper and then stuck in a fast-break 3-pointer off a Brown missed 3-pointer. Paulding finished with 14 points, and center Arthur Johnson, freed from battling Watson, blocked four shots, scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Cavaliers did themselves in with 20 turnovers, which "killed us," according to Gillen, and led to 24 Missouri points. "We dribbled too much. We didn't care of the ball. It's a physical game, there's lots of hand-checking and bumping and holding. … You've got to be strong with the ball."

"A lot of our turnovers led to 3-pointers and easy shots for them," said Williams, one of the chief perpetrators with six, marking against an 18-point, 11-rebound game. Mason and Jenifer had five apiece.

Then, when the starting backcourt of Jenifer and Mason fouled out with 1:19 and 26 seconds left, respectively, Virginia's options were reduced significantly as the Cavaliers attempted to charge back.

Wounded, Virginia made a go of it, which would have been a good karmic reaction after blowing a nine-point lead in the final three-plus minutes against Maryland. Virginia cut the margin to 74-69 when Williams made a layup and a pair of free throws, then got it down to three as Missouri guard Wesley Stokes missed one of two free throws (after missing a pair a moment earlier) and Jenifer dashed in for a layup with 1:24 left.

But Jenifer and Mason each picked up ill-advised fifth fouls chasing Clarence Gilbert in the backcourt, and Gilbert made 3 of 4 free throws. Mason had cut it to 77-75 with 32 seconds left, prompting a Missouri timeout, but then fouled Gilbert despite Gillen inserting walk-on Jason Dowling with the aim of putting Missouri's big men on the line.

With Mason out, Virginia turned to freshman Jermaine Harper to run the team, and he put back his own miss with 15 seconds left, giving the Cavaliers one last gasp, but Rush was the only player they could foul and he sank both free throws to ensure the victory.

Afterwards, the Cavaliers were solemn but not despondent. It was a different reaction than the team had following losses to N.C. State and Clemson in early January to start ACC play, when the Cavaliers were looking for a spark and found it in the play of their four freshmen. Where another such spark could come from is up to Gillen to find - and fast.