Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
It's 4 1/2 months until the NCAA men's Final Four is played in Seattle, but the 8,457 spectators who took their time filling University Hall on Wednesday night may not see a better game this season.
In an upsetting night in the Preseason NIT, Virginia was oh so close to an early two-week vacation. Old Dominion needed a late 3-pointer to do what Canisius and George Washington did in their half of the bracket.
It was the only time all night the underdog Monarchs couldn't get what they wanted.
The Cavaliers, who rarely have been straight shooters in recent seasons, found themselves hitting 55 percent in the second half with 1 minute, 30 seconds to play - and ODU had an 80-80 tie.
A block by UVa's Yuri Barnes - whose off-the-bench pivot play was pivotal - followed by a turnover and a foul for the Monarchs and it was over. Cory Alexander reached a career-high 29 points with free throws for the last three, nudging ODU 83-80.
So many poll-sitting teams open with breathers. Fourteenth-ranked UVa finally got one with eight-tenths of a second left, when Alexander hit his last free throw.
Ohio University visits U-Hall on Friday night. For the Cavaliers, it should be easier getting to New York for the NIT semifinals than it was keeping the Monarchs from the quarterfinals.
If ODU plays this well all season, the Monarchs will be more than just the Colonial Athletic Association favorites. Jeff Capel - the new ODU coach, not his son, the Duke guard - got a lot from his club despite having little out front.
With a healed Alexander and Harold Deane, UVa had a big mismatch at the guard spot. They combined to shoot a very Virginia-like 18-of-46, but they scored 49 points. Jeff Jones' club needed every one of those against ODU's defense, which surprised Virginia by cheating to the high side.
While the Cavaliers certainly force tempo more and play much more of the floor on defense with Alexander back from a broken ankle, there's still a question of how much better they'll be offensively.
UVa did shoot a .431 percentage. The Cavaliers had only 10 games of superior marksmanship in last season's 18-13 finish, and only one game better than 49 percent, in the Roanoke Civic Center victory over Virginia Tech.
Virginia's .387 field-goal shooting last season was the worst in the ACC in 32 years. The first half against ODU - 35.1 percent - didn't deliver much hope for improvement.
In the second half, the Cavaliers did what they'll need to do if they are to challenge for the ACC title. They put the ball in Alexander's hands. Or, more accurately, he took it and kept it.
The senior guard had six turnovers and shot 38 percent. It makes one wonder what he could do on a really good night. It also makes one wonder how UVa won 18 games without him last season.
The answer is defense, which the Cavaliers still play much tighter than their fashionably baggy shorts. They use their heads, feet, arms and legs. Their 12 blocks were one short of the 1979 school record against Army, when Ralph Sampson had a dozen and Terry Gates one.
Barnes, beaten out for a starting job by Chris Alexander, had a double-double to go with three blocks and a technical foul in 27 minutes. He couldn't stop ODU center Odell Hodge (20 points, seven rebounds), but not many 6-foot-8 middlemen will.
It was a wonderful night for state basketball. Ten players on the floor were Virginia natives, and UVa's Junior Burrough finished his high school days at Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County.
``You couldn't get a better first game than that,'' Capel said, ``except if ODU won.''
It surely wasn't bad for starters.
by CNB