Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990 TAG: 9003082154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
He'll be watching Sunday's pairings show with as much anxiety as anybody.
"I'll be worried," Holland said. "I would be a little less worried if we could do something in the ACC Tournament."
The Cavaliers (6-8 in the ACC, 17-10 overall) will play North Carolina (8-6, 19-11) at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the 22,806-seat Charlotte Coliseum.
Virginia, which finished the regular season in a tie with Maryland and North Carolina State, won a draw for the fifth seed. North Carolina, which tied Georgia Tech, lost a draw for the third seed.
Clemson, which finished first in the regular season for the first time in its 37 years as an ACC member, will open play at noon against No. 8-seeded Wake Forest. The Tigers (10-4, 23-7) have lost two games in a row, including a 54-53 decision Monday night at South Carolina, and Wake (3-11, 12-15) has won three in a row.
The night session will pit second-seeded Duke (9-5, 23-7) against No. 7 Maryland (6-8, 18-12) at 7, followed by No. 3 Georgia Tech (8-6, 21-6) and No. 6 North Carolina State (6-8, 18-11) at 9:30.
"How ironic," N.C. State coach Jim Valvano said. "It's been such a long year, and then we wind up playing the last game."
Normally, the NCAA Tournament chances of teams such as Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina State would be a major topic of conversation, but events of recent days have changed the story.
Valvano's future is much in question after allegations of point-shaving by four former Wolfpack players, and Maryland is planning appeals after being hit with a two-year postseason ban by the NCAA.
It was believed that the Terps would be prohibited from playing in the NCAA Tournament this year, a penalty that Maryland had proposed in its meeting with the NCAA Infractions Committee, but now coach Gary Williams and his team have re-entered the postseason picture.
Holland said he did not think Maryland's eligibility would affect Virginia's chances, although there is likely to be an outcry if six ACC teams are invited to the NCAAs. N.C. State, handed a one-year NCAA ban, is ineligible.
Virginia has the experience of having made the NCAA field when it was 6-8 in the ACC, then lost a first-round ACC Tournament game to go 17-11. The same conditions would exist if North Carolina beats the Cavaliers on Friday.
"You talk about surprised. I was surprised in '84," said Holland, whose team reached the Final Four that year. "Now, I've got a lot more faith in the committee's ability to make a decision like that."
Nevertheless, Holland and his players have spent the week pulling for all the favorites in the various conferences whose tournament champions receive automatic bids.
"You're not really rooting for people," Crotty said. "You're just hoping that certain people don't get in. It's just crucial that all these league champions win the tournaments."
It was generally assumed that Virginia was headed for the NCAAs before the Cavaliers were upset by Wake Forest 51-50 in Holland's final home game. Maryland then defeated UVa 87-74 in College Park, Md., on Saturday.
"It's tormenting me that we lost our last two games and that really could be the reason why we don't get in," said Crotty, who averaged 19.3 points and 9.8 assists for four NCAA games as UVa reached the final eight in 1988-89.
"I just had such a great, positive experience last year in the tournament, obviously, that I can't wait to get back."
Crotty scored 28 points Saturday at Maryland, but UVa needs to get sophomore forward Bryant Stith back on his game. Stith, a first-team All-ACC selection, had a total of 22 points in the two losses and was 8-of-26 from the field.
"Bryant just had a bad game against Wake Forest," Crotty said. "I think he was kind of shocked because I don't know how many bad games Bryant has ever had. I'm sure that was still lingering in his mind."
Virginia defeated Carolina 81-80 in the last meeting between the teams, Feb. 14 in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers, who rank last in the ACC in field-goal percentage, set a school and ACC record by making 15 of 32 shots from 3-point range.
Since then, Virginia has shot less than 35 percent three times in five games. The Tar Heels, who had lost five of seven games, ended the season with victories over Georgia Tech (81-79) and Duke (87-75).
"You don't know which team will show up for North Carolina or Virginia and the same is true for every team in the ACC Tournament," said Holland, who will leave UVa at the end of the season to become athletic director at his alma mater, Davidson.
"I don't know what's happening in college basketball. Is it the 3-point shot that's contributing to all these peaks and valleys?"
The Cavaliers have been plagued by poor free-throw shooting in the past month, but Holland said he would like to see the game go down to the wire.
"I'd like to have a close game because we tend to play better in the close games," Holland said. "Normally, when it's a blowout, the other team is doing the blowing out."
by CNB