Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 11, 1991 TAG: 9103110310
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
UVa learned Sunday that it will meet Western Athletic Conference champion Brigham Young on Thursday in the Special Events Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
The Cavaliers' only other trip to the Special Events Center was in 1987, when they were eliminated by Wyoming 64-60 in the first round of the West Regional.
Wyoming had a large fan contingent at that game, and Brigham Young is located 40 miles from Salt Lake City in Provo, Utah. BYU fans were expected to pick up many of the 4,000 tickets that remained Sunday night.
"It's almost going to be a home-court advantage for them like it was for us in Richmond," said Virginia coach Jeff Jones, whose team opened NCAA play last year in Richmond, Va., one hour from the UVa campus.
Virginia and BYU have played twice previously, in the 1981 East Region finals and the 1982 Hall of Fame Game, when Jones was a UVa player. The Cavaliers won both games.
Brigham Young finished second in the WAC during the regular season with an 11-5 record and takes a 20-12 record into the NCAAs after beating No. 8-ranked Utah 51-49 in overtime Saturday in the conference tournament championship game.
The Cougars boast the nation's leading shot-blocker in 7-foot-6 freshman Shawn Bradley, who leads Brigham Young in scoring with 15.2 points per game and rebounds (7.8).
BYU's only other double-figure scorer is 6-7 Steve Schreiner (14.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg), although 6-10 frontcourt backup Gary Trost was named to the all-WAC Tournament team.
"I watched BYU on TV last night," Jones said Sunday, "and I was very impressed with Shawn Bradley. He's a scary player. He does a lot of things well.
"I know coach [Terry] Holland has done a lot of Brigham Young's games and he says at this stage of his development, Bradley is better than Ralph Sampson."
Holland, head coach at Virginia through the 1989-90 season, was the color commentator for the BYU-Utah game Saturday night.
"I'll certainly talk to coach Holland," Jones said. "I don't know if he'll be willing to give me the inside scoop. I don't know how objective TV commentators are allowed to be."
Virginia was seeded seventh in the West and BYU was a No. 10 seed. If the Cavaliers can get past BYU, they would meet the winner of Thursday's game between No. 2-seeded Arizona and No. 15 St. Francis of Loretto, Pa.
Most analysts are calling the West the toughest of the regionals. The top seed is unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Nevada-Las Vegas, followed by Arizona and Seton Hall.
"I don't think there's any question, when you look at that bracket, that the West is loaded," CBS analyst Billy Packer said.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB