Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993 TAG: 9303120129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
NCAA PRESSURE OFF CAVS
The last time Virginia came to the ACC men's basketball tournament on a bubble, the Cavaliers did not exactly play like Lawrence Welk.There was no sweet music to be heard last year when the Cavaliers, fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid, shot a season-low 24.7 percent in a 68-56 loss to Georgia Tech.
"I know for a fact that our guys were feeling quite a lot of pressure and had been for some time," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "We reacted in a way that was not conducive to winning.
"It's not something we dwelled on, but our youngsters heard it, they read it in the newspapers like everyone else. It's [the pressure] definitely there, particularly for the young players. I think it got to them."
Jones makes no guarantees for the Cavaliers today, when they play Wake Forest at noon at the Charlotte Coliseum, but he doesn't have the NCAA Tournament "bubble" to worry about.
A better question than whether UVa will be selected is where the Cavaliers will be sent. Most analysts feel fifth-seeded Virginia (18-8 overall, 9-7 ACC) will make the NCAA field easily.
"I think it was definitely added pressure last year," said UVa sophomore Cory Alexander, a second-team All-ACC choice. "When you want something that badly, you either play great or awful. And we were awful."
Then-senior Bryant Stith had the worst shooting performance of his career (4-of-22), and Alexander wasn't much better (4-of-19). UVa's shooting percentage was the worst in an ACC Tournament game since 1968.
"There was one possession where Bryant took a couple of shots, I took a couple of shots, we had about six offensive rebounds and the ball still hadn't gone in the basket," Burrough said. "It was the worst game I've ever witnessed."
It might have been rivaled by several of Virginia's games against Wake Forest. Fourth-seeded Wake Forest (19-7, 10-6) has won four of the past five games between the teams, including a pair of two-point decisions this year.
"The first two times, we learned we can play with them," Jones said. "The next step is to go out and beat them.
"We need to play the normal Virginia defense, we need to do a good job on the boards - particularly the defensive boards - and it's an understatement to say we need to do better at the offensive end."
Not only does Virginia rank eighth in the conference in field-goal percentage at 44.0 - slightly ahead of North Carolina State - but the Cavaliers have made only 33 of 62 free throws the past two games.
"That's been a bit of a dilemma for us," Jones said. "We've had some games, some stretches, where we've shot extremely well. One of the things that's plagued us all year is consistency, and the free throws are a reflection of that."
Wake Forest has lost six straight ACC Tournament games, a statistic that has not been lost on fourth-year coach Dave Odom, who shared an office with Jones when both were assistants at Virginia.
"We've never talked about it before," Odom said, "but I told the team, `There's not a guy among us - with the exception of the coaches - who has ever been part of an ACC Tournament win.' I don't want our guys leaving without experiencing that euphoria."
Virginia is bidding to become the first team in 40 years to win the tournament as a fifth seed. If the Cavaliers upset Wake Forest, top-seeded and No. 1-ranked North Carolina would be next.
The Tar Heels (26-3, 14-2) will face eighth-seeded Maryland, a 76-55 winner over ninth-seeded North Carolina State, in the second quarterfinal today at 2 p.m.
The night session will match second-seeded Florida State (22-8, 12-4) against seventh-seeded Clemson (15-11, 5-11) at 7 p.m. It will be third-seeded Duke (23-6, 10-6) against sixth-seeded Georgia Tech (16-10, 8-8) at 9.
Aside from North Carolina, which has won nine games in a row, Virginia's two-game winning streak is the longest in the ACC. Before that, the Cavaliers had lost three straight.
"When we lost our third game in a row, a lot of people were down on our basketball team all of a sudden," Jones said. "To be honest with you, I told the team, `Those people don't know what they're talking about.'
"I told them, `We've got two games at home; win those games and forget about [the skeptics]. Don't get down on yourselves or each other.' "
The Cavaliers were picked sixth in the ACC before the season, but Jones hasn't forgotten the publications or individuals who had UVa seventh or eighth.
"The best thing for us is when we're a hungry basketball team, when we realize we weren't picked to do a lot of things or get back to postseason [NCAA] play," he said. "A lot of people doubted us - I guess that's the way to put it - coming into the season.
"We have to realize that's our identity as a basketball team and use it to our advantage."