Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 23, 1992 TAG: 9202230099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
CAVALIERS LOOK MORE LIKE AN NIT TEAM
All of the talk about college basketball's "March Madness" has been maddening to Virginia in recent weeks.Spoiled by past success, the struggle for an NCAA Tournament berth isn't taken very cavalierly at UVa. Will they or won't they? After what happened Saturday at University Hall, it would seem even coach Jeff Jones' barber knows for sure.
In another ACC close shave, Virginia was anything but razor sharp. Against a Georgia Tech team that couldn't even commit a foul right, the Cavaliers came up short on the floor, the sideline and the scoreboard.
In a 52-49 loss, UVa had only what Tech coach Bobby Cremins said his team has been looking for in recent weeks - leadership. It may be Mr. Jefferson's University, but it's Bryant Stith's team, for better or worse.
OK, Stith clanged a potential game-tying free throw with 57 seconds left, putting a recent historical perspective on the finish, but the stellar senior, who will become UVa's leading career scorer later this week, can't be expected to do everything, can he?
Now 12-11, Virginia visits top-ranked Duke on Wednesday, then returns home against North Carolina State and Clemson before finishing the regular-season at Maryland. The ACC Tournament follows, then the Cavaliers will come home again - likely for a first-round game in the National Invitation Tournament.
You didn't have to NIT-pick to find problems for Virginia against the Ramblin' Wreck, which wasn't exactly on cruise control with losses in four of the previous five games. Tech posed a sizable problem for the Cavaliers for starters, thanks to a starting front line that averages 7 feet on tiptoes.
Virginia knew it was going to have difficulty rebounding and defending, then insiders Ted Jeffries and Junior Burrough fouled away any height UVa had. The Cavs continued their remarkable efficiency in running their offense by committing only six turnovers; but, as Jones said, "getting some of the baskets to go was like pulling teeth."
Still, Jones wouldn't have been so down in the mouth had the Cavaliers' last possession not resembled one of Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen's races. Georgia Tech had three fouls to give in 11 seconds before putting Virginia in the bonus. The Cavaliers were waiting for Tech to foul, but the Jackets turned yellow.
UVa took its worst shot of the game, but afterward, Stith took one of his best on a 25-point afternoon: "The intensity is not here. It shows how far this team still has to come."
Cremins did what he could to keep the Cavaliers in the game, too. He said the plan was for Tech to use its height advantage. Then, 7-footers Matt Geiger and Malcolm Mackey combined for only 12 of Tech's 42 shots. The Yellow Jackets went down low to the 7-1 Geiger for the game's first hoop. He didn't get another shot in the first half, and was 2-of-2 in the final 20 minutes despite the mismatch.
Tech (17-9), however, countered each of Jones' defensive alterations. The disparity in talent on the floor was obvious. Virginia is one game over .500 not only because it has scheduled and played itself onto the NCAA precipice, but also because Stith's accompanying parts are role players, bit players and youngsters.
In a down year in the ACC, UVa is an average team. Yes, Jones had a wonderful recruiting class, but those freshmen are playing a lot.
That's why players like Burrough and playmaker Cory Alexander can be so wonderful one game - as they were Wednesday in wiping out North Carolina - then struggle the next. Even Michael Jordan and Ralph Sampson weren't first- or second-team All-ACC as rookies.
The Cavaliers could prosper in the NIT, but a last-gasp NCAA invite likely would be a one-and-out proposition.