Cavaliers outgrind Wildcats
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 2, 2004

EVANSTON, Ill. - The pace was slower than the rocking of a cat’s cradle but the Cavaliers still survived to skin the Wildcats on Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers held Northwestern scoreless over the game’s final 2:28 and converted four of their seven attempts from the line over that same span to escape with a 48-44 win over Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Virginia’s 48 points missed by one for the lowest point total in a game during Pete Gillen’s seven-year tenure and easily eclipsed the low of 58 in a Virginia win under Gillen.

Even the most lenient critic could not describe the game as pretty.

Both teams played passive zones throughout, both teams shot poorly (UVa 44 percent, Northwestern 37 percent) and both committed a bevy of turnovers (Virginia 17, Northwestern 16).

“It was a very hard-fought game. … We were fortunate to win. We made the hustle plays when it mattered. It was a gritty and gutty win for our guys. They just were not going to be denied tonight,” Gillen said.

With the victory, Virginia improved to 5-0 and also secured the ACC a 7-2 win in the Challenge, which the league has never lost in the event’s six-year history.

Elton Brown paced Virginia with 15 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Devin Smith added 10 and Sean Singletary added eight.

Vedran Vukusic led Northwestern (1-4) with 16.

Northwestern employs a methodical and patient offense in the Princeton style. It was clearly a departure for the type of game that Virginia and Gillen prefers.

“It’s a nightmare playing a team like Northwestern. I hope we don’t have to play them again,” Gillen quipped.

The game was nip-and-tuck throughout as the Wildcats’ ability to control the game’s flow never allowed Virginia any room for separation.

The Cavaliers, who led 23-19 at halftime, built as much as a six-point cushion early in the second half but the game once again tightened thereafter.

The game was knotted at 37 with 8:39 left after Vukusic 3-pointer but a Singletary trey spurred a 7-0 run and Virginia held a 44-37 advantage with 5:16 left.

It appeared that would be the differential that Virginia needed but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 44 with 2:28 left.

Two free throws from J.R. Reynolds made it 46-44 with 1:46 left. Northwestern could not respond on three possessions on its offensive end and Virginia sealed the game in not the prettiest of fashions as Singletary and Brown each went 1 for 2 from the line in the game’s final 16 seconds to secure the victory.

“Anytime you can get a win on the road, it is a big win. … We will definitely take the win tonight,” Brown said.

Virginia held a 23-19 advantage at intermission. The 23 points was the fewest scored in a half by Virginia since 20 against Clemson on Feb. 21 last season.

While Virginia had few lapses defensively, Northwestern’s patience on offense was most effective in knocking Virginia’s offensive out of rhythm.

Northwestern built a 13-8 lead on a 3-pointer by Brandon Lee with 9:41 remaining. Virginia’s only offense to that point had been Elton Brown, literally. Brown scored Virginia’s first four baskets and was not joined in the made field-goal column until a Devin Smith 3-pointer with 9:21 remaining.

Brown slowly got even more help but his efforts were most responsible for Virginia holding the halftime lead as he totaled 12 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Brown was six for eight from the floor in the first half and each basket came at pivotal moments as his teammates could not match his ease on the offensive end.

“Elton was our offense in the first half. We weren’t hitting our shots and making turnovers. Elton carried us through that stretch. He came up big,” Gillen said.

Virginia now has a quick turnaround for its next game and just slightly more travel. The Cavaliers “host” Auburn on Friday at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

Virginia picks up big win on the road
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 2, 2004

EVANSTON, Ill. - Virginia packed its bags for the Midwest with a couple of quality wins in the bank but shrouded by one lingering question. Could the Cavaliers win on the road?
Haunted by a poor record away from the friendly confines of University Hall over the past few seasons, coach Pete Gillen’s 24th-ranked team had something to prove when they took on Northwestern in the final game of this year’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Clutch performance
The Cavaliers came through at crunch time Wednesday night as they fought off the upset-minded Wildcats 48-44 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Virginia remained one of five undefeated ACC teams as the league won the Challenge by winning 7 of 9 matchups.
This one was particularly tough for the Cavs, who now must face Auburn on Friday night in Richmond before traveling to Iowa State next week.
Gillen’s team, picked eighth in the preseason ACC poll, has been the surprise of the conference thus far. The Cavs have exhibited great versatility in rolling through five opponents.
UVa stunned then 10th-ranked Arizona a week-and-a-half ago, outscoring the run-and-gun Wildcats, who led the nation in scoring last season. From there, Virginia has shown patience in beating always tough Richmond, then Northwestern, the antithesis of fast-paced Arizona.
The Big Ten Wildcats use a painstakingly, slo-mo style of basketball patterned from the famed Princeton philosophy of legendary Pete Carill. The Northwestern version is deliberate and based on getting backdoor cuts to the basket, but also is designed more for open 3-point opportunities.

In the zone
In order to combat Northwestern’s strategy, Gillen stuck with a well-played zone defense that prevented the cuts to the basket, but also tempted the Wildcats’ sharpshooters, led by the Croatian Connection. Verdan Vukusic and Davor Duvancic are Northwestern’s hired guns and have brought the European shooting touch to the suburbs of Chicago.
But the shooting touch abandoned the ‘Cats against Virginia’s effective zone as Northwestern hit only 7 of 21 from bonusphere, even though the two Croatians combined for 26 of their team’s 44 points.
“They execute their offense so well,” Gillen said. “They slice you, they dice you, especially at home. They slow it down against man or zone. The game was going to be slow and ugly. They were 10-3 at home last year.”
Give Gillen credit for having faith in his zone strategy and in his players for playing solid defense.
Northwestern’s 44 points were the fewest ever by a Virginia opponent during Gillen’s era and marked the first time in 55 years that a Cavaliers’ team had held its first five opponents of the season to 60 points or less.
“It was a gutty win for our kids,” Gillen said. “These guys are a nightmare to play. They run that offense and milk it and try to bring the big guys away from the basket.”
That’s the last thing Gillen wanted was for center Elton Brown or forward Jason Clark to be out at the 3-point arch guarding the Wildcats’ perimeter shooters.
Virginia won this game the old-fashioned way. Rebounding and defense, those two trusty old pak yaks, proved golden once again. There wasn’t anything flashy about UVa’s offense either. It was centered around Brown, who was unstoppable in the middle during the first half, when he nearly had his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Northwestern doubled Brown in the second half as the Cavs had to work it around a little more, but Big E finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Virginia’s 48 points marked its lowest winning point total since 1982.
But that was OK with Gillen.
Five-and-Oh was much more than anyone expected from the Cavaliers, so when Virginia radio network game analyst Jim Hobgood asked Gillen about facing Auburn, another challenging test, on Friday night, the coach who is known for being a little on the nervous side, nearly gasped for air.
“I’m going to enjoy this one for seven seconds,” Gillen said.
Seven seconds is about all you get when you’ve got opponents lined up like a stack of gunslingers waiting to take on your reputation.

Virginia will face Fresno State in Boise
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
December 2, 2004

It’s official. Finally. The “Red Wave” and the “Orange Crush” are set to play on a blue field.

Fresno State (8-3) accepted a bid on Wednesday to play 18th-ranked Virginia (8-3) in the MPC Computers Bowl on Dec. 27 in Boise, Idaho, at 2 p.m.

Virginia accepted a bid on Tuesday after MPC Computers Bowl officials elected not to release the Cavaliers. That ended any chance of UVa taking an at-large bid from the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., a game played on Dec. 28.

Fresno State accepted the bid after reportedly threatening to pass on the MPC Computers Bowl if it did not face Virginia. The Bulldogs reportedly were willing to play in the

Silicon Valley Classic.

Once Virginia’s acceptance was in hand, Gary Beck, the executive director of the MPC Computers Bowl, and Fresno State Athletics Director Scott Johnson negotiated to get the Bulldogs on board.

Finally, a deal was struck.

Fresno State coach Pat Hill said he is eager to play against Virginia and coach Al Groh, who he coached with briefly in the NFL in Cleveland in 1992 under head coach Bill Belichick.

“We are very excited about playing Virginia,” Hill said. “They have been one of the best teams in the nation this season and this is a dream matchup for us.”

Groh echoed those thoughts during a teleconference on Wednesday, his first public comments since the bowl was announced.

“We are excited about the trip to Boise and the challenge of playing Fresno State. Football is all about competition and this will be great competition,” Groh said. “Fresno State is the fifth-highest scoring team in the country, and has beaten Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Kansas State in recent seasons. It’ll take all we’ve got to be ready for this one. It’ll be a real test.”

Johnson said that playing Virginia provides Fresno State’s athletic department with a “very special” opportunity.

“I feel like this is one of the best matchups of all of the college football bowl games,” Johnson said. “There are two teams who have played some very good football all season long and between them, five of their six losses have come to Top 25 teams.

“Playing a program like Virginia, with its outstanding football legacy, in a bowl game is very special. This is a great scenario for Fresno State, our coaches, players and the Red Wave.”

Fresno State will present Virginia’s defense with a stiff challenge.

The Bulldogs are riding a five-game winning streak entering the bowl game and in their last four games they have outscored their opponents 280-80. In each of those four games, Fresno State has scored more than 50 points, making them one of just five NCAA schools to accomplish the feat since 1945.

Fresno State opened the season 3-0 with wins over Washington, Kansas State and Portland State and climbed to 17th in the AP poll. But they followed that with three straight losses (Louisiana Tech, UTEP and Boise State) and have not been ranked since.

Thanks to the fact that the Bulldogs have played a number of Friday night games in the past few years, Groh said he has had the chance to watch the Bulldogs from his hotel room the night before Virginia games.

In addition to a challenging game, Groh said he expects the trip to Boise to provide Virginia’s players and fans with a cultural experience.

“The trip will enable our players and fans to experience a different area of the country, a very beautiful area,” Groh said. “Experiences such as this are part of the overall educational process for our players.”

News & Notes. As of late Wednesday afternoon, Virginia had sold close to 1,000 tickets according to Dick Mathias, assistant director of athletics for ticket office management. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at www.virginiasports.com or by calling the ticket office at (800) 542-8821. … Virginia’s football team is expected to arrive in Boise on Dec. 23.

Virginia slips past Northwestern
Elton Brown scores 15 points as the Cavaliers remain undefeated.
FROM WIRE SERVICE REPORTS
Published December 2, 2004

EVANSTON, ILL. -- Elton Brown had patience.

He also scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead No. 24 Virginia to a 48-44 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night.

Brown scored the first eight points of the game for the Cavaliers (5-0), who held their fifth straight opponent to 60 or fewer points.

Northwestern (1-4) is off to its worst start since 1999-2000, when it opened with the same record.

Wildcats forward Vedran Vukusic tied the game at 37-all with a 3-pointer at 8:39, but the Cavaliers responded with a 7-0 run over the next 31/2 minutes. Sean Singletary hit a 3, Jason Clark had a putback and J.R. Reynolds scored on a layup to make it 44-37.

The Wildcats tied it at 44 with 2:21 remaining as Vukusic, who led all scorers with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer and two free throws.

But Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds hit a pair of free throws on the next possession, which turned out to be the deciding play.

Brown hit one of two free throws with 15.5 seconds left, and Singletary then fouled Northwestern point guard T.J. Parker before he could attempt a 3-pointer. Parker missed the front end of a one-and-one and Singletary closed it out with another free throw.

Virginia led 23-19 at the half. Northwestern went scoreless for the last 6:36 after taking a 19-15 lead on a T.J. Parker 3-pointer.

The Wildcats missed six shots and committed four turnovers in that span. Brown capped off the run with a jumper in the lane, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds in the half.

"I thought the game was slow, but it was gonna be slow and ugly anyway," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said on his radio interview. "We didn't play real well, but it was a gutty win for our kids."

The Cavaliers spent most of the game in a zone defense.

"These guys are a nightmare to play. They spread it out. They bring their big guys away from the basket," Gillen said of the Wildcats.

"We don't want Elton Brown guarding someone 22 feet from the basket; he'll take it by him. ..."

Brown said of the Wildcats, "They kind of bore you, so it's a good offense."

Northwestern falls short in final minute to No. 24 Virginia
By JOHN MULLIN
Chicago Tribune

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern coach Bill Carmody was unhappy earlier this week with the level of passion in his team's play.

"We're not competing like I thought we'd compete," Carmody said. "That's disappointing."

Carmody was a little less disappointed Wednesday night with the passion but he was more than perturbed with the outcome and the way in which his Wildcats lost a 48-44 ACC-Big Ten Challenge game to 24th-ranked Virginia.

Northwestern literally and figuratively threw away its first home-court advantage of the season, committing 16 turnovers and going a combined eight straight minutes without a point from late in the first half through the early minutes of the second.

"Some of the guys I was counting on just aren't coming through," Carmody said. "There is no excuse for a veteran team to have so many turnovers. We did not look like a veteran team. It was a very winnable game and that's why it is so disappointing."

It was winnable despite Northwestern's continuing poor three-point shooting (7 for 21) against a Virginia team that uncharacteristically played zone defense virtually the entire game and counted on the Wildcats not being able to shoot over it.

"I've been in a parking zone, a trading zone, the ozone," said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. "But I am not a zone coach."

With Vedran Vukusic, who led all scorers with 16 points, and Davor Duvancic accounting for most of the Northwestern's crunch-time scoring, the Wildcats gradually fought back from a 23-19 halftime deficit to tie Virginia at 44-44. The Cavaliers went up 46-44 with one minute to play on a pair of free throws by J.R. Reynolds.

But a potential tying jump shot by Mohamed Hachad missed and senior center Elton Brown made the second of two free throws for a 47-44 edge with 15 seconds left. T.J. Parker missed the front of a one-and-one and Virginia (5-0) added a free throw for the final margin, a true scare for a team that had beaten each of its first four opponents by at least 17 points.

Brown led Virginia with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The defeat dropped the Wildcats to 1-4, only the fourth time the Wildcats have opened this poorly since 1955.

"Sometimes it's hard to be passionate against a zone," Carmody said. "I just didn't think they played with their heads."

Braine says 6-5 not good enough next year
By MIKE KNOBLER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/01/04

Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey has the fourth-best winning percentage among the 13 Division I-A college football coaches hired before the 2002 season.

But that statistic carries no promise of job security.

Two of the three third-year coaches with a better winning percentage than Gailey's have been fired. Notre Dame dumped Tyrone Willingham this week. Florida pulled the plug on Ron Zook in October.

Tech athletics director Dave Braine says Gailey will remain the Yellow Jackets' coach. But Braine also said Gailey must improve on this season's 6-5 record in 2005. To go 7-4 or better, Tech would have to win at least one of the following games: at Auburn, at Miami, at Virginia Tech, at Virginia or against Georgia.

Asked if 7-4 or better is a reasonable standard for his fourth season, Gailey said it's up to others to decide.

But he would share an opinion on the firings of Willingham and Zook.

"I think it's just a product of our society today. We're a society of instant gratification and a product of instant success," Gailey said. "A ton of the old great coaches that ended up having successful programs would have never made it today because they would have been fired before they got things organized and set up."

Tech fans would like to see more offense from Gailey's next edition; this season's Yellow Jackets ranked among the nation's 20 lowest-scoring teams. Tech fans also would like to see more consistency.

"I think anybody would have to say, looking at this year, we played great and awful, kind of like my golf game," said Taz Anderson, a Tech alumnus and booster. "I don't think you ever had a feel that the team was going to play well from week to week."

But Anderson also said he thinks the program is headed in the right direction, and he calls Gailey "a fine person and a good football coach."

Gailey, 52, has two seasons left on a contract that will pay him close to $1 million this year.

He won't set a specific timetable for achieving a specific victory total, for winning an ACC title, for getting to a New Year's Day bowl. In Gailey's world, a perfect record is the goal every season, a victory is the goal every game. Aiming for anything less is shortchanging his players; achieving anything less is a letdown.

"My expectation is to win the championship. That's my goal," he said.

Tech hasn't won one since 1998. Gailey's first three teams have finished 4-4 in the ACC and lost to Georgia, just like George O'Leary's last one.

Gailey won't compare the program today to the one he inherited from O'Leary. "If I answer that question, I'm going to be dogging somebody else, and that's not right," he said.

Problems with Tech's academic advising and tracking for athletes led to 10 football players flunking out in the spring of 2003, losses that continue to show up in the Jackets' lack of depth. While depth is poor, quality is improving. Gailey and his staff signed highly regarded prospects Calvin Johnson and Darryl Richard last February, and recruiting expert Jeremy Crabtree says this year's class might turn out to be one of the top 25 in the nation.

Gailey has other personnel issues to settle after the Champs Sports Bowl, which is Dec. 21 at Orlando. For example, should he bring in someone to run the offense or continue to run it himself? For now, his only answer is, "We're not through [with the season] yet."

Gailey's overall record is 20-17, one victory over .500 in each of his seasons. He has extended the school's bowl streak to eight seasons, a statistic that puts Tech in the elite company of Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

Bill Callahan couldn't extend Nebraska's streak. Mike Bellotti couldn't extend Oregon's.

"We're not the only team that has problems," Gailey said. "But our guys have found a way to go to a bowl every year despite all the issues that have come up and the problems that have beset us."

Idaho learning experience?
Groh says Cavaliers will benefit from a bowl game in Boise
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Dec 2, 2004

University of Virginia alumni and fans are none too pleased that the school's football team, which only a week ago appeared bound for a bowl game in Atlanta or Orlando, Fla., or maybe even New Orleans, is instead headed to chilly Boise, Idaho.

This unexpected turn of events may not thrill Al Groh, either. If that's the case, though, U.Va.'s fourth-year coach isn't saying so publicly. Yesterday, after the MPC Computers Bowl officially invited Virginia and Fresno State to Boise, Groh spoke of how his players will benefit from the trip west.

"Your educational experience in college isn't all about what happens in the classroom," Groh said on a teleconference. "One of the things I think everybody should know about is your own country. . . . That part's going to be great and fun for our team."

Few, if any, U.Va. players have been to Idaho. Groh is more familiar with that part of the country, having been defensive coordinator at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1978 and '79.

"Personally, it's going to be fun for me," Groh said. "I spent two years living in Colorado Springs and enjoyed that, so I'm kind of looking forward to getting back and seeing the mountains and that type of terrain."

U.Va. and Fresno State will meet Dec. 27 on the distinctive blue turf at Bronco Stadium in Boise. Terrell Milford, a bowl official, said yesterday that the temperature at kickoff will be "probably 45 or 50." A moment later, Millford 'fessed up.

"That's a lie," he said.

Both teams are 8-3, making this an unusually attractive matchup for a lower-tier bowl. Virginia is ranked No. 18 nationally and finished tied for fourth in the ACC. Fresno State finished third in the Western Athletic Conference, behind unbeaten Boise State and Texas-El Paso. The Bulldogs, winners of five consecutive games, have averaged 56 points during that span.

"We'll have to bring the best we've got, but we're looking forward to it," Groh said.

They coach on different coasts, but Groh and Fresno State's Pat Hill share a bond. Each worked on Bill Belichick's staff with the Cleveland Browns in 1992: Groh as linebackers coach, Hill as a quality-control assistant.

The Bulldogs had other postseason options. They've become known for scheduling quality opponents, however, and didn't want to pass on a game with a Top-20 team.

Hill - he of the trademark handle-bar mustache - said his players are "more excited about the opponent than anything else. . . . The thing that brought us to Boise was the opportunity to play Virginia."

Asked if playing the Cavaliers would help raise the WAC's profile, Hill said it "only helps when you win. People always talk about exposure. Well, there's exposure, and there's being exposed, and we've dealt with both of those scenarios since I've been here."

Virginia is 2-0 in bowls under Groh, with both victories coming in the Continental Tire. U.Va. beat West Virginia in 2002 and Pittsburgh last season.

Fresno State's postseason record under Hill is 2-3, with both wins coming in the Silicon Valley Football Classic. The Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech in 2002 and UCLA in '03.

"I've decided to try to make this an equal matchup," Groh said. "I'm going to try to grow a mustache of my own for this game."

 

At 0-3, Cavs weren't up to speed in ACC's fast lane
BOB LIPPER
POINT OF VIEW
Dec 1, 2004
Bob Lipper
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper @timesdispatch.com


Testing, 1-2-3. Testing 1-2-3 . . .

Thank you for tuning in. We are speaking to you today from Mr. Jefferson's football emporium and academic village, where the current time is half past unfulfilled expectations and it's fourth down and semester exams to go.

That's the long of it. The short of it is the Cavs just concluded a three-game regular season and went 0-3. They're now waiting in line to be fitted for thermals, parkas and mittens for their eagerly anticipated trip to Boise. If they're waiting for a holiday basket of tangerines from Orlando, they probably should not hold their breath.

It's been a glass-half-empty year for the Cavs. They beat everybody they were supposed to beat. They beat none of the teams they needed to beat. They entered 2004 with top-shelf material at a half-dozen different positions and designs on a top-tier bowl. They wound up with eight wins and diminished postseason choices.

On balance, they're a B-minus. Not bad, nothing to weep over - but they could've been more.

Granted, it's not U.Va.'s fault that Paul Pasqualoni's program at Syracuse ran out of gas or that Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst became an overnight interception machine. But the fact remains that the year boiled down to three tests - Miami at home, Florida State and Virginia Tech on the road - and the Cavs flunked them all.

By a combined score of 91-34.

In Hollywood, Steven Spielberg could yell, "Get me rewrite!" In Charlottesville, Al Groh should maybe whisper to his assistants, "Get me some burners at wideout and cornerback."

Groh is an NFL guy. Pull up a chair, and he'll tell you all about it. He's also talked up the physically imposing specimens he's lured to C'ville and arranged along the offensive line and the defensive front seven.

Those 300-pound roadgraders and run-stuffers, those 6-4, 250-pound linebackers - no question, they're an impressive bunch. Some of them will be suiting up on Sundays before long.

But while Groh has stockpiled NFL heft, he's missing undergraduate speed. FSU, Miami and Tech have it, particularly on defense. Last Saturday in Blacksburg, for instance, Cavs QB Marques Hagans attempted four third-down rollouts or scrambles in the first half.

Against Temple or Akron or North Carolina, he converts them into first downs. Against Tech, he was nailed each time by a buzzsaw linebacker - James Anderson or Mikal Baaque - and a blocked field goal attempt or punt followed.

A pattern had been set. Came the second half, and U.Va.'s efforts and play-calling faltered (Heath Miller, no catches for the first 42 minutes? - please), while Tech surged. Each team ran the ball 21 times after intermission, for example. Tech's carries produced 124 yards, U.Va.'s only 33. Not to mention the fact U.Va.'s secondary still hasn't located Hokies receiver Josh Hyman - just as it couldn't find FSU's Chauncey Stovall or Miami's Roscoe Parrish, among others.

In the end, all of Groh's hosses and all his big lugs couldn't grind down U.Va.'s three toughest opponents. The Cavs' defense limited rival rushers to 108.6 yards per game and 3.2 per carry. The aggregate numbers for FSU, Miami and Tech were 187 and 4.9. Plus, when their own running game alone couldn't flatten'Noles,'Canes or Hokies, Hagans (not an upbeat stretch run) and his receivers weren't able to fill in the blanks.

A bowl win would put a happier face on the season, of course. It also could help ACC honchos forget U.Va.'s clumsily timed declaration that exams would make the Cavs unavailable for the corporate bauble formerly known as the Tangerine Bowl, which gets fourth pick from the league's litter. Virginia AD Craig Littlepage conceded the school might deserve a tardy slip for not alerting ACC officials to the conflict till just before the Tech game.

"Maybe it was my ego," Littlepage said Sunday. "I was thinking we were going to be 1-2-3 in the league."

That was on faith. That was on paper. On the field, it was another story.

Wildcats slow but can't stop Cavs
Brown carries the load while Singletary seals win; ACC rules the Challenge
From Staff Reports
Dec 2, 2004

EVANSTON, Ill. - Virginia wanted to run. Northwestern wanted to walk. The Wildcats got their wish, but the 24th-ranked Cavaliers adapted well enough to claim a hard-fought victory in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Away from home for the first this season, U.Va. scored the game's final four points and won 48-44 last night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Center Elton Brown had 15 points and 12 rebounds - his fourth double-double of the season - to lead the Cavaliers (5-0).

In the ninth and final game of the sixth annual ACC/Big East Challenge, Virginia pushed the ACC's record to 7-2.

Freshman point guard Sean Singletary made 1 of 2 free throws with 4.5 seconds to seal the win. Singletary wasn't as sharp as he'd been at University Hall but scored all eight of his points in the second half.

Not since Feb. 9, 2000, when they lost 68-47 at Georgia Tech, had the Cavaliers scored so few points in a game.

Virginia came in averaging 82 points. Northwestern prefers to play at a tortoise's pace, though, and the Cavs could never get their fast break going. At halftime, U.Va. led 23-19, thanks to Brown.

Brown scored the Cavaliers' first eight points. More than 10 minutes passed, in fact, before someone other than Brown score for U.Va. It was senior forward Devin Smith, whose 3-pointer pulled Virginia to 13-11. Smith scored inside with 8:49 left in the half to make it 13-13, and a Brown stickback made 15-13.

The Wildcats answered with back-to-back treys, but Virginia scored the final eight points of the half.

Neither team attempted a free throw until the 14:28 mark of the second half, when Vedran Vukusic completed a three-point play to give Northwestern a 32-29 lead.

The Cavaliers make a rare appearance in Richmond tomorrow night. U.Va. meets Auburn (5-0) at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center.

Bandwagon begins: Brown, Singletary will drive
J.D. Moss, Cavalier Daily Columnist

As the Virginia starting lineup was announced against Arizona, I turned to my buddy Jon and said, "I've never seen this energy from them. I'm jumping on the bandwagon now. We're going to win."

That's exactly what happened, as the Cavs upset then-10th ranked Arizona.

Sure, before Thanksgiving, I wrote that this was going to be Gillen's best team in four years. Yet I doubted the Cavaliers could overcome the flaws –- defense and rebounding specifically –- that plagued them last season, and I anticipated another NIT appearance.

Three years of disappointment and underachievement had sapped any upbeat thought from me. Last year, I even resorted to wearing a brown paper bag at games.

But this team seems eerily different, maybe because they seem to want to play hard, hustle and win. They smile on the court, and their 5-0 start has won my pessimistic attitude over.

I know it's still early, but the Cavs are in the top-25 for the first time in two years. They dominated Arizona and beat Richmond, two tournament teams, with defense and even showed the ability to win on the road last night.

I'll start with the most shocking development of the season: Elton Brown.

He has long talked of maturing into a complete player who rebounds on both ends, hustles, and plays defense, but I disregarded his preseason talk as his typically unfulfilled promises.

Somehow, he seems to have turned the corner. The big man is hungry on the glass and playing defense with passion. With my own eyes (and I wouldn't believe it otherwise), I have seen him draw at least five charges. He is diving after loose balls and wrestling rebounds from taller opponents and teammates. A player who once only seemed to try on the offensive glass is averaging double-digit rebounds.

Any doubts I had were erased in the second half of the Richmond game. Brown still has the propensity to force things when he gets in the post, leading to bad shots and turnovers.

He did this in the first half, but he came out in the second frame looking for teammates. He threw a great skip pass to Devin Smith for an open three and curled a bounce pass around two Spiders to a cutting Jason Clark for an easy dunk. If he starts passing regularly, he'll open opportunities for himself, as Virginia has the shooters to make teams pay for doubling Brown. Onto shocking development number two: defense. For the first time since 1948, the Cavs have kept their first five opponents under 60 points. To put that in perspective, they allowed less than 60 points just three times last year, and opponents averaged 74.6 points. Even JMU scored. Opponents shot 44 percent last year, while they are shooting just 37 percent this year.

The Cavaliers are doing it mostly with a zone too, a shock since Gillen has always played man and said in 2001 that he had to read about zones in a pamphlet before installing one against Georgetown. A stifling 2-3 matchup zone gave Arizona fits and similarly frustrated Richmond Sunday.

Part of the reason comes from the tenacious pressure being put on the ball. Point guards T.J. Bannister and Sean Singletary have been especially active, with Bannister aggressively working point guards full-court and Singletary's pesky hands jarring balls loose out of the high post. The two have combined for 19 of the Cavs' 40 steals, and Singletary is on pace to shatter the single-season record.

Much of the defensive credit has to go to new assistant John Fitzpatrick, who has ostensibly taken charge of the defense. His veteran presence on the bench has solidified Gillen's staff. Several times I have seen Fitzpatrick approach players at timeouts and coach them individually. Against Arizona, Clark was on the floor with two fouls and less than two minutes to play in the first half. Knowing Clark's propensity for cheap fouls, I saw Fitzpatrick whisper in Gillen's ear, only to have Clark immediately subbed out. Too often the third foul would keep Clark sidelined in the second half, which really hurts Virginia.

Gillen's biggest advantage this winter is versatility. Everyone can rebound, as Singletary and off-guard J.R. Reynolds have each topped six boards in games this year. Everyone can score, with five players averaging more than 9.8 points. And, for a change, everyone is playing defense.

Singletary has been the catalyst here, making good on his preseason desire to lead with defense. His aggressive defense and quickness opens up fast breaks. He runs the offense with poise and composure, creating shots with his dribble penetration. He can score when he has to (he can shoot) but prefers to involve his teammates. He's everything he was billed to be and more.

Things are finally clicking under Gillen and excitement has shifted from the gridiron to the hardwood, not to take anything away from a snowy bowl in Idaho on a smurf-blue field. This team has even shown that they can win away from U-Hall. It's time to jump on the bandwagon, hoping that a Virginia team, for once, will not underachieve.

I wrote two weeks ago that I was in no rush to buy a pair of dancing shoes. Let's just say that they quickly moved atop my Christmas list.