While the other six ACC teams in the tournament got opening-round byes, UVa has to play right away on the road.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
To study the pairings for the National Invitation Tournament, one might surmise that Virginia did not want to serve as a host site.
After all, it was less than 10 days ago that the Cavaliers entertained Maryland in what was billed as "The Last Ball in U-Hall."
At the time, reporters were quick to offer the caveat that University Hall might be used again if the Cavalier men or women were selected to host an NIT game.
In the men's case, the Cavaliers were more than willing.
"We submitted information just like we've submitted historically," said Jon Oliver, Virginia's executive associate athletic director. "Our hope is always that we play games at home."
In fact, in eight of its last nine NIT appearances, Virginia has played its first game at home. However, this is a new day in the NIT, which survived for years without brackets, much less a blue-ribbon selection committee.
The Cavaliers (15-14) learned that first-hand Sunday night, when they were sent to Stanford (16-14) for a game that will be televised by ESPN tonight at 9:30.
The winner of that game travels to Springfield, Ill., for a first-round game with Missouri State, formerly Southwest Missouri State.
"If you really look at it, this is the most attractive game early in the tournament," said Oliver, noting that UVa and Stanford have a combined three first-team all-conference players, including the Cavaliers' Sean Singletary. "Without question, it's a great TV game. And, I think that's what they tried to do."
Oliver can only speculate on the NIT's reasoning. Virginia did not even know that it was in the field until the information had been posted on the Internet -- first on the CSTV Web site and later on the NIT's site.
"That was a little departure from the normal process," Oliver said. "Normally, I would have received calls starting sometime Saturday, talking about possibilities. But, I didn't hear anything until I found a contact who could get someone from the NIT to verify what was being said on the Web site.
"In fact, I received a call from the head coach at Stanford, Trent Johnson, who's a good friend of mine. He said he had seen the same thing and he hadn't received a call."
Virginia was one of six ACC teams that received bids. The other five received opening-round byes and all but Wake Forest will serve as hosts for first-round games. Miami, which is 16-15 and matched Virginia's 7-9 conference record, is a third seed.
The Cavaliers, who beat Miami in their lone regular-season meeting, are a No. 8 seed.
"When you look at some of it, it doesn't make a lot of sense," Oliver said. "When you look at Miami's resume and you look at our resume, is it that different?"
In the other half of UVa's bracket, 10th-seeded Delaware State visits No. 9 Northern Arizona in the first round.
"I would have preferred to be a [No.] 9 seed, have Delaware State come to us and Northern Arizona go to Stanford," Oliver said. "That would have made sense logistically."
The NIT pays for a percentage of the teams' travel expenses, but Virginia found that a charter flight to California was cost prohibitive and flew commercially Monday.
The NIT field this year was chosen by a committee that included retired Kentucky athletic director C.M. Newton, a former head of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee.
Newton coached at Alabama and Vanderbilt and was joined by five other former Division I coaches, including North Carolina's Dean Smith and Don DeVoe, who had tours at Virginia Tech and Tennessee.
Newton said on a teleconference Monday that the coaches had first picked the field, then voted on the seedings.
When asked about the disparity between Miami's and Virginia's seedings, he admitted that he did not have an explanation.
"This isn't a deal where you get to advocate for a long period of time and make your case," said Oliver, who has been minding the UVa store with athletic director Craig Littlepage tending to NCAA selections as chairman of the men's basketball committee. "We did everything the way we always had and you've seen our record getting home games before.
"The difference this year is that somebody else [the NCAA] is running the NIT. If you look at this process, it's probably a little less sophisticated than the NCAA. They have to make their decisions pretty quickly. We can sit around here and argue about the seedings forever, but I don't think we'll ever know.
"The good news for us is, we're still playing. It's a logistical nightmare, but we're going to make it work."
Cavs face logistical nightmare
NIT trip to West Coast left U.Va. scrambling to make arrangements
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 14, 2006
U.VA. AT STANFORD
TODAY: 9:30 p.m. TV: ESPN
The NIT blindsided U.Va.
The National Invitation Tournament traditionally has matched schools
with geographical ties in its early rounds, so the release of the NIT
pairings stunned University of Virginia officials Sunday night.
Around 9:30, they learned that first-year coach Dave Leitao's team was
scheduled to play 48 hours later about 2,900 miles from Charlottesville,
in Stanford, Calif. Teams typically don't arrive the day of a game,
which meant Virginia's traveling party needed to be in Northern
California in about 24 hours.
"It's just been kind of a nightmare for us," Jon Oliver said yesterday
morning.
U.Va. meets Stanford in the NIT's opening round tonight at 9:30 (EST).
Oliver, U.Va.'s executive associate athletic director, will be the guy
trying to keep his eyes open at Maples Pavilion. He never went to bed
after a long, exhausting Sunday. He worked through the night, scrambling
to book flights, reserve hotel rooms and rent buses.
Around midnight, Oliver thought he'd cleared a major hurdle in his
effort to get a traveling party of about 30 people, including players,
coaches, trainers and managers, to California. A company that charters
airplanes had given him a reasonable estimate.
At 1 a.m. yesterday, however, Oliver got a call back from the company.
It had doubled its price, to $92,000. U.Va.'s response? No thanks.
The NIT reimburses each visiting school an amount equal to the cost of
commercial airfare for up to 25 people, Oliver said. Chartering at the
increased price "clearly would have been a large out-of-pocket expense
for the university, and we decided not to do that."
Oliver eventually booked the team onto a non-stop commercial flight to
San Francisco that was to leave Dulles Airport at 4 p.m. yesterday. The
team assembled for a quick practice yesterday morning before departing
for Northern Virginia around 12:30 p.m.
The plane carrying the Cavs was scheduled to land in San Francisco
around 7 p.m. PST. Oliver hoped the team, which he'd booked into a hotel
near the Stanford campus, could sit down for dinner by 9 p.m. local
time.
While their fellow students were on spring break, Leitao's players spent
most of last week in Greensboro, N.C., at the ACC tournament. Classes
resumed at U.Va. yesterday, another reason the NIT draw has university
officials concerned.
"Look at the amount of class the kids are going to miss," Oliver said.
U.Va. planned to send an academic coordinator and, perhaps, tutors to
California with the team, which will have a study hall set up in its
hotel. Still, it may be Monday before Leitao's players and managers are
back in class.
If the Cavaliers lose tonight, they'll fly home tomorrow. But if
Virginia wins, its next game would be Friday night at Missouri State.
Instead of spending most of tomorrow traveling back to Charlottesville
and then turning around and flying Thursday to Missouri, the team would
probably stay on the road. The Cavs would fly to Missouri tomorrow and
set up academic areas for the players and managers to work there.
"My logistical nightmares are not over," Oliver said.
Johnson excited for UVa matchup
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
March 14, 2006
What was Stanford coach Trent Johnson's initial reaction upon learning
that his team would be hosting Virginia tonight in the opening round of
the NIT?
"Boy, here we go again," said Johnson, during a telephone interview on
Monday night. "We're playing a team that's physically a lot like Oregon
and UCLA and Arizona in [the Pac-10]. It's exciting for our guys."
While Johnson's scouting report may have been bordering on hyperbole,
the matchup - which will be broadcast on ESPN - should be pretty
exciting for the fans, too.
You have two up-and-coming head coaches. Two explosive point guards. Two
of the top academic institutions in the country, from two of the top
conferences.
Virginia and Stanford, who have not met since the 1994-95 season, are
similar in a lot of ways. The biggest thing in common: Each school,
believe it or not, is pleased to be a part of the NIT.
Before his team left town on Monday, Virginia coach Dave Leitao called
the NIT a "reward" for his players.
Johnson didn't go quite that far. After all, Stanford's streak of 11
consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament was snapped this year.
"Was that a disappointment?" said Johnson, whose team is 15-13. "Yeah,
but we're very fortunate and very excited to still be playing. There's
65 teams in the NCAA Tournament, plus 40 in [the NIT]. That's 105 teams
still playing, and we're one of them. There are about 200 and something
[teams] at home right now."
Johnson is in his second year at the helm. He took over for Mike
Montgomery, now the coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Johnson took Nevada to the Sweet Sixteen in 2003-04 before returning to
Stanford where he had worked as an assistant from 1996-99. The Cardinal
lost to Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last
year.
Johnson, in a statement that wasn't the least bit shocking, said he's
most concerned about Virginia's backcourt.
"Seeing them play three or four times on TV this year, I've been very
impressed with their guard play - Reynolds and Singletary," Johnson
said. "They're as good a guard combo as we would have faced this year -
and we played some really good ones like UCLA with [Arron] Affalo and
[Jordan] Farmar. I think those two are every bit as good as them."
Johnson, like many coaches who have faced Virginia, couldn't stop
talking about Singletary.
"Any time your first team in that league says one thing to me and one
thing only ? he's a pro," Johnson said. "I mean that's a training ground
for the NBA.
"He can play the point and make people better. He scores. He gets in the
lane when he wants."
Johnson has a pretty good guard of his own in Chris Hernandez. The
6-foot-2 senior has been a first-team All Pac-10 selection the last
three years.
This season, Hernandez is averaging 14.1 points and 3.2 assists. The
most impressive part of his game is his 3-point shooting. Hernandez is
47 percent (69 for 146) from behind the arc. He's also shooting 90
percent from the free-throw line.
Stanford's other top threats are 6-foot-10 senior Matt Haryasz and
6-foot-6 senior Dan Grunfield.
Haryasz, also a member of the All Pac-10 First Team, is averaging 16.5
points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.
Grunfield, whose father, Ernie, is the director of basketball operations
for the Washington Wizards, is averaging 12.2 points and five rebounds.
He was an All Pac-10 first-teamer last year, but suffered a knee injury
late in the season which has seemed to affect his play this season.
"They have a terrific point guard and post player," said Leitao, in a
recorded message provided to the media before Virginia left town. "They
have a pretty solid overall team that started slow, but came on strong
in the conference season.
"With the short preparation, obviously we have to concentrate on
ourselves as much as anything."
One of the quirky aspects of Virginia and Stanford meeting in the NIT is
the fact that the schools are already scheduled to play a regular-season
game at UVa's new John Paul Jones Arena next season.
That quirkiness was not lost on Johnson.
"I don't know if the contract has been signed, but if Dave's group
pounds us here in Maples, we're not coming back," Johnson joked.
DUNKS: Virginia and Stanford had three common opponents this season:
Virginia Tech, Arizona and Gonzaga. Stanford went 0-5, including three
losses to Arizona, against the schools. Virginia, which beat Virginia
Tech three times, went 3-2. ? Since it's "dead week" in a lot of
colleges around the country - as students prepare for exams - it's
difficult to predict how much of a home court advantage Stanford will
enjoy tonight. However, all Stanford students are being granted free
admission. ? Next season, Johnson has two McDonalds' All-Americans in
the fold: twins Brook and Robin Lopez. ? While Johnson said he doesn't
know Leitao very well, his respect for him is healthy. "It's funny, how
in this profession, people on the outside talk about up-and-coming
stars. Dave Leitao isn't an up-and-coming star. He's one of the best
right now. I think the University of Virginia and people in
Charlottesville are very fortunate."
For NIT, Virginia will need to dig deep
Adrian Vigil, For Nit, Virginia Will Need To Dig Deep
Greensboro, N.C. -- In the end, it all came down to something we knew
would be a problem for this Virginia basketball team -- depth. Or maybe
that should be lack of depth. That was the single biggest difference in
Virginia's second round 79-67 loss in the ACC tournament. Cavalier
guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds combined to score 49 of
Virginia's points, but no one else was able to score in double digits.
The duo of Singletary and Reynolds was once again the only real
component of the Cavalier offense. A look at the halftime box score
shows just how much of the load the two guards carried. Virginia's
starting backcourt combined to score 28 points; the rest of the team
scored six points in the half. No team with that type of scoring
distribution can expect to be able to win games against teams with NCAA
Tournament aspirations. But the Cavaliers were only down by five at the
half against a North Carolina team that recently beat Virginia by 45
points. So, while Singletary and Reynolds basically fought alone in the
first half, there was still hope that maybe some of Adrian Joseph's
three-point shots would fall or that Jason Cain might be able to make a
contribution in the second.
Instead, it was the North Carolina supporting cast that stepped up and
won the game. The Tar Heels had four players score in the double digits
including a team-high 24 points from Reyshawn Terry. North Carolina's
Wes Miller also stepped up, with 15 points in a performance where he was
4-4 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line. David Noel showed
the value of senior leadership with his 10 points and 11 rebounds. Noel
stepped up his game in the second half, when he posted seven points and
seven rebounds en route to a crucial double-double. Those players were
able to complement the second leading scorer in the ACC, Tyler
Hansbrough, a player who is good for a double digit total in pretty much
every game he plays.
And that is the difference between North Carolina and Virginia. The Tar
Heels have multiple scoring options, while the Cavaliers only have two
real scoring threats. No one on the Virginia roster has stepped up into
the role of being a complimentary player who can carry a scoring load
for a while. There's a reason why the only Virginia players consistently
quoted by the media are Singletary and Reynolds, and it isn't the fact
that they are the team's co-captains. It is that the rest of the team is
hit-or-miss. And because this team has not developed yet, it is heading
to the NIT instead of the NCAA's.
But if we look ahead to next year, there is hope. Three rising seniors,
Reynolds, Cain and T.J. Bannister, should log significant playing time.
With that many seniors, anything is possible. Look at Wake Forest's run
in the ACC Tournament that saved the Demon Deacons' otherwise
disappointing season. Seniors Eric Williams and Justin Gray led that
charge and have taken their team into the NIT. Before Duke could even
get to its ninth consecutive ACC Championship game, the Blue Devils had
to get past a close game with Miami. In that win, Duke's final 11 points
were scored by seniors. Singletary will be a year older and, presumably,
better, as will Joseph and forward Tunji Soroye. Virginia's freshman duo
of Laurynas Mikalauskas and Mamadi Diane should be able to add some
consistency to their games. Throw in three recruits and the Cavaliers
could be able to make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time
since 2001. And playing in the NIT this year will also help the
maturation process for Virginia. So while next year's goal is the Big
Dance, the NIT and a first round date at Stanford is the first step
toward getting the Cavaliers to that goal.
Cavaliers look to secure most ever consecutive home wins
After facing two teams in top five, Virginia only needs victory against
winless Mt. Saint Mary's to set new record
Ben Gibson, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Rested and rejuvinated, previously injured players will help Virginia in
their game tonight.
Matt Good | Cavalier Daily
The lacrosse season has started off as well as the Virginia Cavaliers
could have dreamed.
The second-ranked men's lacrosse team is a perfect 6-0 on the season,
fresh off the heels of an exciting 7-6 victory against fifth-ranked
Princeton (2-1) on Sunday. After four decisive victories over mediocre
competition to start the season, many questioned how the Cavaliers would
fare against the top teams in the nation. Virginia has now taken down
two top-five teams in a row and looks to keep that momentum going when
they take on Mt. Saint Mary's (0-3) tonight at Klöckner Stadium.
Virginia has won 15 consecutive home games -- currently the longest
winning streak in the nation. Their last home game was an impressive
20-15 victory over rival Syracuse. If Virginia gets the victory today,
they will set a new school record for most consecutive wins at home.
In order to get the win, Virginia will look to go to the goal early and
often. Offense may not have been the Cavaliers forte in recent years,
but Virginia currently has four of the nation's top-twelve scorers on
the frontline. One of the team's captains, senior Matt Ward leads the
team in points this season with 23. Ward scored two goals on Sunday
against Princeton to give him 111 in his career, one shy of fifth
all-time at Virginia.
Ward and the offense have also benefited from the return of sophomore
attacker Ben Rubeor. Rubeor, who missed two games with an ankle injury
earlier in the season, returned to action against Syracuse and has since
picked up where he left off with four goals and two assists.
Despite some great victories Virginia is not ready to rest on its
laurels.
"There are no big wins and there are no big games," Rubeor said. "The
only game that matters now is [the next one]."
That next game features a Mt. Saint Mary's team that appears to be
reeling. The Mount comes into this matchup losing their first three
games of the season by a combined score of 37-13. This lack of offensive
production does not bode well against a Cavalier defense that seems to
be improving with every game. Despite giving up 15 goals against
Syracuse, most of these goals were scored on man-up penalties or fast
breaks. When Virginia was able to get back on defense, they proved they
could handle any offense in the country.
"I'd take our six-on-six [defense] anytime," junior defender Ricky Smith
said.
Kip Turner has also reasserted himself at the goalie position. After
being benched in the second half of the Syracuse game, many speculated
whether Bud Petit might challenge Turner for his spot. After an
impressive outing against the Princeton Tigers in which he recorded 10
saves, it appears Turner is back in form.
Virginia leads the all-time series against Mt. Saint Mary's 2-0 with an
11-4 victory last season. The Cavaliers only led 4-2 at the break before
six goals in the third quarter sealed the victory. A similar performance
tonight and Virginia will be off to its best start in 33 years.