Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 21, 1993 TAG: 9301210225
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
UVA'S STREAK ENDS - AND HOW
Within minutes of tipoff Wednesday night, Virginia had forgotten about college basketball's longest winning streak.At that point, the Cavaliers were just trying to preserve their self-respect.
North Carolina has made a habit of routing the Cavaliers at the Smith Center, and their latest meeting was no exception as the third-ranked Tar Heels romped, 80-58.
"It's not just the last two years," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "It has become a pattern where we play them tough for a while and then they wear us down.
"Maybe we need to take a look at doing something a little different when we come down here. We can't go toe to toe with them."
It was embarrassing at times for the Cavaliers, serenaded by the Carolina crowd with chants of "overrated, overrated." Each of UVa's past six losses in Chapel Hill have been by 18 points or more.
A 13-0 run enabled Carolina to lead 18-6 with 11:51 remaining in the first half, and the Tar Heels (15-1 overall) were hardly threatened in taking over sole possession of first place in the ACC at 5-0.
For seventh-ranked Virginia, a 16 1/2-point underdog, it marked the end of a 16-game winning streak that started with the National Invitation Tournament last year. The Cavaliers are 4-1 in the league and 11-1 overall.
It was an offensive nightmare for UVa, which had not scored fewer than 72 points in any game this season. The Cavaliers came into Wednesday night's action averaging 84.2 points per game.
"I don't think Carolina's that much better than we are," UVa guard Doug Smith said. "Well, hopefully, they're not that much better."
No team had shot 50 percent against Virginia in the previous 15 games, and neither did the Tar Heels, whose 47.6 percent was the high against UVa this season. However, the Cavaliers were unable to control the boards as they had Sunday in a 77-69 upset of then-No. 3 Duke.
The Tar Heels shot 39.4 percent in the first half but led 32-25 behind defensive specialist Henrik Rodl, who had 11 points, hitting all four of his shots, including three 3-pointers.
Rodl and George Lynch combined for seven field goals in the first half, and the rest of the Carolina starters had one, including a jump hook by Eric Montross on the Tar Heels' last possession. But that was a sign of things to come.
Carolina repeatedly exploited its height advantage, and Montross and Kevin Salvadori - both 7-footers - combined for 18 second-half points while sending UVa center Ted Jeffries to the bench with four fouls.
It was 44-35 before Carolina went on a 14-1 run that effectively ended the game midway through the second half. Carolina led by 29 points on two occasions.
"We got blown up a lot after Sunday, and that's fine," UVa's Smith said, "but it's good to be the underdog again. We had a huge win, then we got our butts beat. Now we have to prove ourselves all over."
Carolina had five players in double figures, led by Salvadori with 14. Salvadori, whose season high before Wednesday night was eight points, scored 10 when the Cavaliers visited the Smith Center last year.
"We haven't used Salvadori and Montross together much all year," coach Dean Smith said. "That puts a guy named [George] Lynch on the bench, and I don't like him sitting next to me."
Doug Smith came off the bench to lead UVa with 16 points, 11 in the second half. Cory Alexander scored 11, and Junior Burrough had 10 on 5-for-17 field-goal shooting. Burrough is 27-of-85 in ACC games.
"He needs to do a better job of realizing when the shots are there," Jones said. "We've got to keep going to him, but he's got to do a better job of kicking the ball outside and then working hard to get something better."
The Cavaliers do not have a starter taller than 6-9, but they seldom have been bothered by another team's height as they were Wednesday night. Carolina outrebounded UVa 43-29.
"If there's a better low-post big man in the country [than Montross], I don't want to face him," Jones said. "He's almost unreal. He's a factor on the boards, he's a factor defensively and he's a huge factor, literally, at the offensive end.
"They've got to be the biggest team in the country. People talk about Michigan, but I don't know if anybody has ever had the size Carolina has through its ninth or 10th man."