ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995                   TAG: 9503140074
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.                                LENGTH: Medium


UVA TO MIDWEST; TECH TO NIT

A second consecutive postseason meeting with Arizona could await Virginia if the Cavaliers get past Nicholls State in the opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Virginia (22-8) was seeded fourth in the Midwest Region and will meet the Colonels (24-5) of the Southland Conference on Thursday in Dayton, Ohio.

``Our focus is definitely on Nicholls State,'' said UVa coach Jeff Jones. ``We certainly don't want to get caught looking ahead. The teams that look ahead are the teams that get knocked off.

``This year I've had an opportunity to watch Arizona on a couple of occasions and they're [the Wildcats] an excellent team. Just like us, they have to get past a tough first-round opponent, Miami of Ohio.''

Nicholls State, located in Thibodaux, La., boasts the Southland Conference player of the year in 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior Reggie Jackson, one of four senior starters for the Colonels.

The team's strength is its post players, Jackson and 6-9 Gerard King. Jackson averages 22.0 points and 10.9 rebounds, and King is close behind at 21.7 and 7.7.

The Colonels went 17-1 in the conference during the regular season and clinched an automatic bid Saturday with a 98-87 victory over Northeast Louisiana in the championship game of the Southland tournament.

Nicholls State, coming off a 19-9 season in 1993-94, was ranked 64th last week in the Ratings Percentage Index and 89th by computer analyst Jeff Sagarin. What worked against the Tigers was a non-conference schedule that included the likes of Faith Baptist Bible College and Louisiana Christian.

``I don't know anything about them now,'' Jones said early Sunday evening, ``but in a few hours I hope to have a much better idea about their season and personnel. By morning we hope to have five or six tapes.''

The NCAA bid was the third in a row and fourth in five years for Virginia under Jones. The seed was the highest for the Cavaliers since 1983, when three-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson was a senior.

``We anticipated competing a little bit for the final third seed,'' said Jones, whose team was ranked 11th last week by The Associated Press. ``It comes down to matchups and you can't afford to be picky.''

Jones said he was disturbed that only four ACC teams made the field, a first since the NCAA field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Georgia Tech (18-12) was so upset by the snub that it declined a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

``It was a shock that Georgia Tech didn't get in, especially given their schedule and the ACC's power rating,'' Jones said, ``I thought they [the Yellow Jackets] were a lock.

``I don't have the information at my finger tips, so we have no choice other than to trust the selection committee. I thought Georgia Tech was an excellent team, just like another team on our schedule, Virginia Tech.''

There was no ACC representative on the NCAA selection committee, although committee member Terry Holland, the athletic director at Davidson, coached at UVa and serves as an analyst on ACC television broadcasts.

Virginia, which tied for first in the ACC with a 12-4 regular-season record, had won 10 of 11 games before falling to eventual champion Wake Forest 77-68 in a tournament semifinal.

``As much as we would have liked to play Sunday [and] as much as it would have meant we used the day well,'' Jones said.

He said the Cavaliers would not practice today, a welcome relief for point guard Harold Deane, still experiencing soreness in his sprained left (non-shooting) wrist.

A limited number available at $30 each go on sale today at 9 a.m. from the Virginia athletic ticket office at University Hall. Tickets also can be ordered by calling 1-800-542-8221.



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