Gillen's gang aims for 6-0
After clawing past Wildcats, Cavs take on Tigers
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 3, 2004

Virginia coach Pete Gillen was an English Literature major at Fairfield University. Gillen mentions that quite often, usually accompanied with a reference claiming he finished near the bottom of his class.

Frequently, Gillen shows that he was a better student than he leads us to believe and on Wednesday after his team’s 48-44 win at Northwestern, he cited an author with local ties to describe the contest and his team’s opponent.

“It’s like an Edgar Allan Poe horror story playing those guys. It’s like ‘The Raven’. It’s like looking at the Raven for 40 minutes,” Gillen quipped. “Quoth the Raven, nevermore. We never want to play these guys ever.”

Gillen could have opted for the Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum or even The Murders in the Rue Morgue because this was a contest that certainly bordered on Poe’s themes of the macabre. If a basketball game can be truly gruesome, this game came awfully close.

Poe - with all allegiances aside - would have assigned Northwestern the role of villain as its patient, methodical style of basketball was most responsible for the lack of scoring and general flow to the game. The Cavaliers, however, were more than willing accomplices.

Both teams shot poorly, executed poorly and committed a plethora of turnovers. The statement could easily be made that the constant beating in The Tell-Tale Heart had more rhythm to it.

The numbers were indeed dark and gloomy: Virginia shot 44.4 percent to Northwestern’s 37 percent; Virginia committed 17 turnovers to Northwestern’s 16; Virginia was 5 of 10 from the line and … well, that’s enough. We don’t want to scare the kids.

Still, there was really only two numbers that mattered: Virginia 48, Northwestern 44.

Those were the figures focused on by the Virginia players in the aftermath of a game that produced the second-lowest point total during Gillen’s seven-year tenure.

“Anytime you finish with more points on the scoreboard, that’s a good thing. Especially on the road. For us to come here and get a win is big thing,” said Elton Brown, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. “It was a team victory. Everybody stepped up. In a game like this, you have to find the things that are going to win the game for you.”

Virginia managed to do those things in the final minutes. From freshman point guard Sean Singletary’s scrappiness on a loose ball after his own missed free throw to J.R. Reynolds’ two free throws that gave Virginia the lead for good with two minutes remaining, the Cavaliers did the necessary things to win. There might have been just a handful of things Virginia did right all night but they arrived at the right times.

“We made the plays we had to make in order to win,” Gillen said plainly.

Tonight, Virginia plays its second game in less than a 48-hour period when it hosts Auburn (5-0) at the Siegel Center in Richmond. The game is Virginia’s third in a five-game slate in 10-day span. After tonight’s contest, Virginia travels to Iowa State on Monday and then hosts Furman next Wednesday.

While that slate seems a little daunting, the Cavaliers at least know they probably won’t face a team quite like Northwestern again this year. Auburn certainly is not similar. Jeff Lebo’s team is averaging 83.0 points per game. The Tigers favor a tempo much closer to the one that Virginia likes and does not cause them ‘nightmares’ - to quoth Gillen - like Northwestern’s did.

“We have to get our rest. We can enjoy this game for a minute and a half. We will have a very tough game with a good Auburn team,” Gillen said.

Cavs made Boise trip a must for Fresno St.
The Bulldogs' top priority when it came to choosing a bowl game was to pick one where they would face a ranked opponent.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

While it remains to be seen if Virginia draws many fans - particularly its own fans - to Boise, Idaho, what the Cavaliers' name did draw was an opponent.

"The thing that brought us to Boise was the opportunity to play Virginia," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said Wednesday. "Any time you can play an established team in this country, those are who you want to play."

Until Tuesday, Fresno also had been talking to the Las Vegas Bowl, Hawaii Bowl and Silicon Valley Bowl. Potential opponents included Wyoming, Alabama-Birmingham and a team from the Mid-American Conference.

Fresno, which had not faced a nationally ranked team in a bowl since 1993, wanted 18th-ranked Virginia (8-3).

"They get Virginia and we're gone," Hill told the Fresno Bee earlier in the week.

Gone to Boise, that is. The Cavaliers and Bulldogs will meet Dec. 27 at 2 p.m. EST the MPC Computer Bowl, a game that will be televised by ESPN from the artificial blue surface at Bronco Stadium.

Fresno State (8-3) already has been to Boise once this season, having lost to unbeaten Boise State 33-16 in a game that was shortened by hail and freezing rain. It wasn't the weather that made the Fresno players want to come back.

"I think they're more excited about the opponent than anything else," Hill said. "They did want a new venue. Boise is a place they've visited twice and it hasn't been a good experience.

"We know the fans there are great fans; hopefully, the people in blue will be cheering for us."

The MPC Computer Bowl, previously the Humanitarian Bowl, has an agreement with the Western Athletic Conference but WAC champion Boise State (11-0) landed a spot in the Liberty Bowl after it became apparent that Mountain West champ Utah (11-0) was headed for a BCS bowl.

Another possible WAC representative, Texas-El Paso, is going to the Houston Bowl.

No WAC team has played a more intersectional schedule than Fresno, which opened the season with road victories at Washington and Kansas State.

The Bulldogs are eager for exposure, "but it only helps when you win," Hill said. "People always talk exposure, but there's exposure and being exposed and we've dealt with both of those scenarios in my career here."

No introductions were needed for a mustachioed Hill and Virginia coach Al Groh, who was the defensive coordinator on Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns staff in 1992 when Hill was a quality-control assistant.

"There probably is not a good reason why the Virginia coach would be aware of Fresno," Groh said, "but I've seen Fresno play [on TV] on a number of occasions. Actually, I've decided to make this an equal match-up and I'm going to try and grow a mustache of my own for this game."

Bowl snafu not a UVa first
'Blue field' line comes back to haunt Doughty
By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Why is it, at times like this, that the name Jim Copeland comes to mind?

An entire generation of UVa fans is probably unfamiliar with Copeland, a former Virginia and National Football League lineman who was the UVa athletic director from 1987-1994.

It has been almost 10 years exactly since Copeland resigned to become the athletic director at Southern Methodist. When he left, he had three years remaining on his contract. In all likelihood, Copeland could have remained as AD because he had the support of school president John Casteen, but the point could be made that he was run out of town.

Copeland had come under fire from the fans and the media, because of -- get this! -- his inability to get the UVa football team in a bowl that corresponded with its position in the ACC standings.

Obviously, some things never change.

There were other complaints with Copeland, most notably his inability to find a successor to men’s basketball coach in a timely manner. Copeland thought he had a commitment from then-Providence coach Rick Barnes in 1990 and was left scrambling when Barnes backed out on him.

If Copeland hadn’t been so convinced that Barnes would take the job, he could have had then-Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. Probably, he also could have had then-Xavier coach Pete Gillen, but, by then, the situation had gotten so messy that Gillen removed his name from consideration.

(A best-case scenario would have been for Copeland to accept Holland’s first proposal, which was for then-UVa assistant Dave Odom to succeed him. When Copeland said he would have to conduct a search, Odom took the head job at Wake and became a four-time conference coach of the year, three times at Wake and once at South Carolina).

All of that had occurred by 1990 and was largely forgotten before an 8-3 Virginia football team had to settle for the 1994 Independence Bowl. That was the year when UVa was 8-2 and ostensibly headed to the Fiesta Bowl before it was beaten at home by North Carolina State, 30-27, on the day after Thanksgiving.

Many parallels can be drawn to this season, when an 8-2 Virginia team went into its final regular-season game with a shot at an ACC co-championship. There was one difference. The Cavaliers were on the road this year, playing a Virginia Tech team that had won six games in a row.

The complaint with Copeland was that he wasn’t a strong enough lobbyist, although his successors haven’t been any better in that area. Off the top of my head, I can’t remember a time when UVa got a better bowl than it deserved, except in 1990, when the Cavaliers got a Sugar Bowl bid when they were 8-1. After spending three weeks as the No. 1 team in the country, UVa lost its final three games and four of its last five.

I’ve always felt that Casteen liked Copeland, appreciated his efforts in the fields of gender equity and fundraising and facilities, and resented the fact that fans and the media virtually demanded that he hire the anti-Copeland, Holland, as his new AD.

Holland made some good hires, most notably football coach Al Groh and, at the time he was hired, Pete Gillen. I’m convinced that I don’t know the whole story behind Holland’s decision to step down as athletic director and become a special assistant to Casteen in 2001 or by his decision this summer to resign that position, only to surface weeks later as the athletic director at East Carolina.

But, enough of Holland. The issue here is with Craig Littlepage and the way that Virginia, in one week, could go from the brink of BCS consideration to the bowl with the sixth choice of ACC teams. Here is the lead paragraph after a 31-10 victory over Georgia Tech on Nov. 20: “Somebody else will have to fantasize about that blue field in Boise, Idaho. Virginia will be preparing for its shot at an ACC co-championship.”

OK, so I was wrong about that, but I doubt anybody was fantasizing about Boise until Nov. 27, when Virginia put out a news release in which Casteen said the Cavaliers could not go to a bowl played during exams, Dec. 13-21, i.e., the Dec. 21 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Even if you believe Casteen made the right call, why this wasn’t made clear months ago is unconscionable. Littlepage saying that “ego” may have caused him to focus on the No. 1, 2 and 3 spots in the ACC standings is a startling revelation. When I picked records for Virginia and Virginia Tech in the preseason, I had the Cavaliers going 8-3 (and Tech 9-3). You could have made the case then that UVa might be available for the Champs Sports Bowl.

If it wasn’t until 10-12 days before the Tech game before UVa alerted the ACC to a possible ACC break, what took so long? After a 31-21 loss to Miami on Nov. 13, Virginia was 7-2 and faced season-ending road games at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Given the Cavaliers’ road record over the years, couldn’t somebody have seen that UVa would finish 8-3 or even 7-4?

Copeland and I have patched up our relationship over the years (for that, I give him a lot of the credit) but I still think that he could have been a little more proactive on the bowls. Littlepage, who admitted Wednesday that he had left bowl negotiations to the ACC, could -- and should -- have been a lot more proactive.

If he doesn’t think that’s the quickest way to alienate UVa contributors, all he needs to do is ask his predecessors.

East Carolina hires Skip Holtz to replace Thompson
By KEITH PARSONS : AP Sports Writer
Dec 2, 2004 : 11:43 pm ET

East Carolina hired former South Carolina assistant Skip Holtz to replace coach John Thompson, The Associated Press learned Thursday night.

Holtz is the son of Lou Holtz, who retired last week at South Carolina, and was quarterbacks coach on his father's staff. He was offensive coordinator through the 2003 season, when Lou Holtz took on that role.

When Steve Spurrier was hired as the Gamecocks new coach, he decided not to keep Skip Holtz as an assistant.

The school scheduled a news conference Friday at 3 p.m., where Holtz will be introduced, a source close to the school told the AP on condition of anonymity.

Thompson, 3-20 in two seasons, resigned about two weeks ago after athletic director Terry Holland told him he would be fired at the end of the season.

Holtz also served as the offensive coordinator under his father at Notre Dame. In 1994, Skip Holtz became the head coach at then-Division I-AA Connecticut and compiled a 34-23 record in five seasons, including a school-record 10 victories in 1998. He then resigned to rejoin Lou Holtz at South Carolina.

At East Carolina, Holtz will have several key starters back on offense from a team that went 2-9, including quarterback James Pinkney and leading rusher Chris Johnson. The Pirates finished their season with a 52-14 loss to North Carolina State.

That wrapped up a third straight losing season. Former coach Steve Logan led East Carolina to five bowls in his 11 years, but he was dismissed after finishing 4-8 in 2002.

Thompson, then the defensive coordinator at Florida, took over and lost 15 of his first 16 games, done in mostly by a porous defense. The Pirates allowed about 457 yards per game this season, nearly 50 more than the previous one.

Holland was hired in September, and Thompson admitted the two rarely spoke during the past two months.

Now, East Carolina will have to pay three coaches. Logan, the quarterbacks coach for NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder, is due $200,000 per year through 2005. Because his contract requires the state university to pay him the difference between whatever he makes and the $200,000, Logan works as an unpaid employee for the Thunder, East Carolina attorney Ben Irons said last month.

Under the terms of Thompson's settlement with the school, he will be paid until Jan. 1, 2008. If he doesn't take another job, Thompson receives $150,000 a year -- his base salary as coach. He gets $100,000 annually if another school hires him, according to the settlement that was released last week.

Holland plans to turn to boosters to help pay those salaries, which could tax East Carolina's $18 million athletics budget.

UVa press release...

University of Virginia football players Elton Brown (Hampton, Va.) and
Heath Miller (Swords Creek, Va.) have been named to the American
Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America Team, the
association announced on Thursday.

A senior captain, Brown is an outstanding blocker who has paved the
way for the Virginia offense to grind out an ACC-leading 423.5 yards of
total offense, an ACC-leading 241.3 yards on the ground, and the
fewest sacks (15) allowed in the ACC this season. Brown received the
Jacobs Blocking Trophy last fall as the ACC's top blocker. He also
earned ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors twice this season.
The three-year starter is a semifinalist for Lombardi Award. Brown will
play in the 2005 East-West Shrine game.

One of three finalists for the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight
end, Miller was a first-team All-ACC honoree last season. The junior
tight end led the nation's tight ends with 70 receptions and 835 yards,
rewriting the UVa and ACC single-season records for a tight end. Miller
leads the Cavaliers in receiving and has scored 20 career touchdowns,
the most by a tight end in ACC history. He earned ACC Offensive
Lineman of the Week following UVa's win over Akron.

Subject: Well, I received an answer to my email to Casteen and Littlepage. It is pretty
Posted by: Galileo24 on Thu Dec 2 2004 9:58:53 PM
Message:

much what I expected, a canned reply that doesn't address the real
question; i.e., why, for the second time in three years, are we
attending a bowl rated below our finish in the ACC standings? The kids
deserved better than this. Fans deserve better answers than this.

Dear Mr. Wood:

The President has asked me to respond directly to your email. Thank
you for sharing your opinion about the University's participation in the
MPC Computers Bowl. A number of factors, some beyond our control,
played into our acceptance of the invitation to play in Boise this year.

We determined that to participate in a bowl during the academic exam
period was not feasible. We delayed the announcement of this decision
at the request of the ACC. In retrospect, that delay was a mistake, but
the decision to forego a bowl during final exams was not. Some 350
students and student-athletes would have been affected. This decision
was made by me after consulting Coach Groh, President Casteen, and
academic leaders. Coach Groh was in full support. Students would
also have been unable to attend a bowl game during exams.

Although we understood that our action could result in our team
playing in Idaho, the possibility of a bowl game closer to home was
considered by the ACC. Ultimately, they were unable to accommodate
our request. The ACC was contractually obligated to send a team to
Boise and U.Va. was the remaining ACC bowl-eligible team.

All of us are proud of the University's football program. The coaches
and players have performed exceptionally well and have won a hard-
earned national reputation. We look forward to ending an outstanding
season on a winning note against Fresno. You were good to write.
Thank you for your support and interest.

Sincerely,
Craig Littlepage
Director of Athletics

UVa press release...

University of Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia announces the
signing of 10 student-athletes to national letters of intent to play
lacrosse at UVa beginning with the 2005-06 academic year.

"It is very much my pleasure to introduce the lacrosse Class of 2009,"
said Starsia. "We have 'covered the continent' bringing one of our
strongest classes to Charlottesville. There are outstanding student-
athletes at every position and any number will be making early, strong,
and dramatic contributions to the program. Fans of the University of
Virginia lacrosse program are truly going to enjoy getting to know these
young men."

The recruiting class features two attackmen-Garrett Billings, a 6-1, 175-
pounder from RE Mountain Secondary School in Langley, British
Columbia, and Gavin Gill, a 5-11, 180-pounder who is the third lacrosse
playing member of his family to matriculate at UVa.

"The two attackmen bring very different backgrounds and strengths to
the program. Billings is a box player-a scorer-who led the Burnaby
Lakers to Canada's Junior A National Championship. He has played some
field lacrosse and brings a scorer's touch to the play around the goal,"
according to Starsia. "Gill led St Paul's to the 2004 MIAA championship
and sees the field like his older brothers, Conor (UVa class of 2002 and
current UVa assistant coach), and Brendan, a senior on this year's
squad. Gavin's presence next season ensures a Gill in the Cavalier locker
room for 11 consecutive years."

Danny Glading and Steve Giannone are versatile offensive players who
can play either attack or midfield. Glading is a 6-2, 185-pounder from
Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. His brother, Billy, was an All-
American midfielder on UVa's 2003 national championship squad.
Giannone is 6-1, 185 pounds from Wilton, Conn., and attends Millbrook
School in Millbrook, N.Y.

"Danny Glading may be the nation's most highly-regarded player. His 45
assists from the midfield as a junior speak to his 'point guard's approach'
to the game," notes Starsia. "Steve may have been the best offensive
player on the field in a game this past summer between his Connecticut
All-Star team and the Long Island Empire team."

The Cavaliers also signed two players from schools that have produced
outstanding players on UVa's last two national championship teams. Max
Pomper, a 6-1, 200-pound native of Huntington, N.Y., attends St.
Anthony's, alma mater of senior attackman Joe Yevoli. Joe Dewey is a 5-
10, 180-pounder from Upper Arlington H.S. in Columbus, Ohio. He follows
Upper Arlington alums Mark Koontz (1999-2002) and Brett Hughes (2001-
04) to UVa.

"It may or may not be ironic that the two middies in the class are both
all-conference defensive backs for outstanding high school football
programs," noted Starsia. "Max Pomper and Joe Dewey are both fast,
strong and athletic two-way middies. Max is a little bigger version, but
look for both these young men to contribute all over the field."

Three athletic defensemen, who are all multi-sport athletes, signed with
Starsia's Cavaliers. Mike Britt, a 6-1, 195-pounder from Fairfax High
School in Fairfax, Va., and Matt Kelly, a 6-2, 215-pounder from New
Trier High School in Kenilworth, Ill., are standouts on the football field.
Chris Conlon, a 6-3, 200-pounder from Summit, N.J., plays on the
Summit H.S. basketball team. Kelly was named a first-team All-State
football player this fall and is the program's first recruit from Illinois.

"The three defensemen all bring size and speed to the backline," said
Starsia. "Kelly is a 'Big Ten football' caliber athlete who will impact our
program early in his college lacrosse career. Conlon is a tall, rangy
lefthander with strong potential, while Britt is a creative and aggressive
defenseman who could play behind or up top."

Mark Wade, a 6-2, 200-pounder from Lake Braddock High School in
Fairfax Station, Va., is the lone goalie to sign with Virginia. Like Britt, he
earned All-American honors as a junior last spring. "I first saw Mark as a
freshman in the goal playing in front of one of the defensemen on this
year's Cavalier squad, Patrick Buchanan. Mark has grown consistently in
size and confidence throughout his high school career," said Starsia.

Virginia trying for dry run in Richmond
Cavaliers hope to avoid repeat of last visit when facing unbeaten Auburn
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Dec 3, 2004
U.VA. VS. AUBURN
TODAY: 7 p.m., at the Siegel Center RADIO: WRVA (1140), 6:30

There's no ice under the basketball court at the Siegel Center, so University of Virginia fans can relax. Tonight's game on Broad Street will not be a repeat of the debacle that occurred the last time the Cavaliers played in Richmond.

On Nov. 28, 2001, U.Va. met Michigan State in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at the Coliseum. Slipping and sliding ensued until the 15:04 mark of the second half, when officials halted the game because of condensation on the court.

"Bambi on Ice," Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen called it then.

Tonight, in a matchup of unbeaten teams, U.Va. will meet Auburn at Virginia Commonwealth University's 7,500-seat arena. Fans don't have to fear melting ice under the court, and they shouldn't worry about not being entertained. Under first-year coach Jeff Lebo, the Tigers (5-0), with no starter taller than 6-6, average 83 points.

The 24th-ranked Cavaliers (5-0) average 75.2, and that figure would be higher had Gillen's club not encountered Northwestern two nights ago. The Wildcats weren't in a hurry to begin with - their coach, Bill Carmody, studied under the professor of the Princeton offense, Pete Carril - and Virginia stayed in a zone instead of trying to speed up the tempo.

"The game was slow, but I think it was going to be slow and ugly anyway," Gillen said.

Ugly or not, the Cavaliers' 48-44 victory was one they were delighted to carry back to Virginia.

"All praises to Northwestern, but we came in tonight with our heads focused and got a 'W,'" said senior center Elton Brown, who led Virginia with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The 48 points were Virginia's fewest in a victory in seven seasons under Gillen. Only two players scored in double figures for the Cavaliers - Brown and senior forward Devin Smith (10) - but the contribution of Sean Singletary shouldn't be overlooked. The freshman point guard from Philadelphia scored all eight of his points in the second half, including a free throw with 4.5 seconds that sealed Virginia's first road victory of the season.

Singletary wasn't flawless - he turned the ball over six times - but had three rebounds, two assists and two steals and dived for a loose ball to help Virginia retain possession with 1:43 left.

"Sean was a little rattled at times - it was his first road game, it was tough - but he made some big plays when he had to," Gillen said.

On the visitor's bench tonight will be a guy who knows a thing or two about stellar point-guard play. Lebo starred for Dean Smith at North Carolina and still ranks among his alma mater's leaders in career assists.

"This is one of the better Virginia teams that I have seen in the past couple of years," Lebo said. "We will have to play exceptionally well to have a chance ... We haven't really played a team that has been good on the perimeter and also inside."

Lebo is well-versed in the history of U.Va. hoops, and not only because he played at UNC. Lebo grew up in Carlisle, Pa., and said he remembers "back when Ralph Sampson, Jeff Lamp, Othell Wilson, Ricky Stokes and all of those guys played. I was actually a big Virginia fan growing up. They recruited me out of high school, and they were one of my five visits when Coach [Terry] Holland was there."

This will be only the second men's basketball game in the past 70 years between these schools, former rivals in the Southern Conference. U.Va. edged Auburn 77-72 in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 28, 2001.

Defense provides difference for Cavaliers early in season
Not known for its defensive prowess in Gillen era, the undefeated Cavs go into tonight's matchup against Auburn having held all opponents to 60 points or less this season
Barney Breen-portnoy, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer

For several weeks this fall, it looked as if the Virginia football team might meet Auburn in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. But due to Virginia's failure to win a game when it mattered most, the Cavaliers are being shipped off to the potato fields of Idaho, and the only Virginia-Auburn contest to take place will be on the basketball court tonight at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

The No. 24 Cavaliers (5-0) have captured the attention of the Virginia hoops faithful by starting the season with five straight victories, including an upset win over Arizona, an utter domination of a solid Richmond squad and a tough road victory over the Wildcats of Northwestern.

Virginia's success can be attributed to several factors. The arrival of freshman phenom Sean Singletary gives Virginia coach Pete Gillen his first real point guard since the departure of Donald Hand in 2001. Senior Elton Brown looks like a transformed player, ready to dominate and play at a consistent stellar level. However, the main reason for the Cavaliers' early season success has been Virginia's stifling defensive play.

"We just have to take it one day at a time and go out there and play defense, and we think if we come to play then we can win," Brown said.

The Cavaliers have kept all five opponents to 60 points or less this season. This high level of defense is unprecedented in the Pete Gillen era of Virginia basketball. One possible explanation is Gillen's newfound willingness to use zone defenses. Quality opponents have looked stymied against Virginia's 2-3 and 3-2 match-up zones. The Cavaliers used a 3-2 match-up zone to effectively defend against the methodical Princeton-style offense run by Northwestern.

"A win is a win," Singletary said. "We just have to keep consistent, and we have to bring it every day."

Virginia faces an Auburn team tonight that is also undefeated. However, Auburn's early season success is deceiving, as four of those victories were at home against teams that could easily be described as "cupcakes." The Tigers won their only road game of the season over Temple (80-78), a program that is no longer the Atlantic 10 powerhouse it used to be. Auburn is 80th in the RPI rankings while Virginia is 11th.

Auburn's 2003-04 season was an extreme disappointment. The squad had a 14-14 record and recorded only five conference victories. Head coach Cliff Ellis was fired after the season and replaced by Jeff Lebo. In a premier conference such as the SEC, it could take a while before Auburn's basketball program rises to prominence again.

For the Cavaliers, this game is another opportunity to continue building a resume for a possible NCAA bid at the end of the season. It also gives Virginia a chance to play a game away from the confines of University Hall, yet in front of a friendly crowd.

"We've got to keep it going now," Brown said. "We have to go play hard. We can't really worry about the rankings."