Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 16, 1992 TAG: 9203160075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
It snapped a streak of three straight NCAA appearances for the Cavaliers, who were hoping to receive a call Sunday from the National Invitation Tournament.
UVa coach Jeff Jones said he was told a month ago that the Cavaliers would be unable to play host to a first-round NIT game, but there is a chance University Hall may be available Wednesday night.
"We're extremely disappointed," Jones said. "I thought it would be close, but I think we all thought we probably would receive a bid.
"The biggest thing I will attempt to do is get the guys excited about the NIT because we were very much looking forward to playing in the NCAA Tournament."
Jones said Saturday that "it would be a bitter pill to swallow" if Wake Forest got an NCAA Tournament bid and Virginia did not, and he used those words again Sunday.
The Deacons made the field as a No. 9 seed in the West. Other ACC teams to get NCAA bids were Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
"By looking at every objective measure we could identify - strength of schedule, power rankings, conference standings, quality wins - it seemed we would go ahead of Wake Forest," Jones said.
"Finally, even though they had two more wins (at 17-11), their strength of schedule wasn't nearly as tough as ours and that made the difference to me. I'm still at a loss to explain it."
Virginia dropped to 15-13 with a 68-56 loss to Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, but had an 8-8 ACC record in the regular season. Wake was 7-9.
This was the first time the NCAA selection committee took one team over another that finished higher in the conference rankings. It was also the first time an ACC team has not made the tournament with a .500 conference record.
Virginia had the highest power rating of the eligible non-invitees in the most recent USA Today index, which the Cavaliers were 29th.
"We looked at those teams (UVa, Villanova and Notre Dame) very carefully," said Southeastern Conference commissioner Roy Kramer. "But you have to look at the total season, not just the outstanding victories."
Kramer said teams were penalized by losses to teams in the bottom 150 (out of 300). The lowest rated team to beat Virginia was New Orleans, which was 110th last week in USA Today.
"Strength of schedule does play a role, but you obviously have to have a certain numbers of wins," Jones said. "I don't know what that number is, but the bottom line is, we overscheduled.
"We're always going to play a tough schedule, but I think this year was overdone a little bit. At the very least, we'd like to play some of those non-conference opponents at home."
Several commentators had expressed the opinion that Virginia would not receive a bid, but Jones said he did not think that would influence the committee.
"I would believe it didn't; if it did, it's clearly wrong," Jones said. "What did bother me was the graphic showing six teams whose bubble had burst, and they didn't list us. I felt that was an insult."
by CNB