Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503210037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO LENGTH: Medium
All of UVa's focus was on first-round opponent Nicholls State, Jones insisted. And, he said, don't assume that Arizona wouldn't have problems with Miami of Ohio.
``Look pretty smart, don't I?'' Jones said with a sheepish grin Friday, a day after Virginia's 96-72 victory over Nicholls State. ``I don't believe, when the pairings were announced, that Arizona thought it had a good draw.''
That was definitely the case after 12th-seeded Miami had pulled off the first big upset of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, holding off fifth-seeded Arizona 71-62 at the University of Dayton Arena.
The Redskins (23-6) will be going for their 21st victory in 24 games when they meet fourth-seeded Virginia (23-8) at 4:35 p.m. today in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
``Everybody looks at the brackets; [you] can't help it,'' UVa freshman Curtis Staples said. ``Sure, anything is possible. But we figured, if we won and Arizona got Damon [Stoudamire] back, that's who we would be playing.
``So, now we've got to get ready for these guys. All we got to see was a little bit of the first half, but it didn't take much to see that Miami could beat a lot of people.''
Virginia has lost one game this season to a Mid-American Conference opponent, Ohio University, and the Cavaliers are likely to receive a hostile reception against what is essentially a local team.
``I don't think it's fair,'' Jones said, ``but, at the same time, I agree with what the committee does as far as encouraging ticket sales. I don't have a problem with it.
``I don't think you can be totally fair. It definitely will be an advantage to Miami [today], but that's just the way it goes. It's something we have to deal with.''
Miami, named for the Miami Indian tribe, is located in Oxford, 46 miles southwest of Dayton. Known as the ``Cradle of Coaches'' for the football coaches it has produced, Miami also has a strong tradition in basketball.
The Redskins are making their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance, but, before Thursday, they had not won an NCAA game since 1978 and had an overall record of 3-15, counting consolation games.
Miami finished first by three games in the MAC regular-season race, but was upset by Ball State in the semifinals of the conference tournament and feared it was headed to the NIT for the second straight year.
``The human mind always allows for that glimmer of hope and optimism,'' Miami coach Herb Sendek said. ``But, when we watched the selections, they put up the East bracket and then the West bracket and we still weren't on the board.
``They broke for commercial and, when they came back, there was Miami of Ohio. Pizza and chicken wings flew. It was one of the happiest and most emotional moments of our time together.''
Sendek is in his second season at Miami after eight years as an assistant to Rick Pitino at Providence and Kentucky. At 32, he might be the first coach UVa has faced who is younger than Jones.
``Do you have the answer to that?'' Jones, 34, asked with some degree of curiosity. ``It's not something I keep track of.''
Sendek inherited a 20-game winner from predecessor Joby Wright, now at Wyoming, but the Redskins' featured player is a Sendek recruit, dread-locked 6-foot-7 sophomore Devin Davis.
Davis, a first-team all-conference selection, had 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Arizona. Jamie Mahaffey, a burly 6-6 sophomore, added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Mahaffey was joined on the All-MAC second team by guards Derrick Cross and Landon Hackim. Hackim, a 5-10 junior, holds the school record for 3-point field goals with 208.
Sendek says Cross, a 5-11 senior, is ``the best man-to-man on-the-ball defender that I've ever seen.'' However, Cross suffered a groin injury against Arizona and missed the final two minutes.
Cross said Friday he was ``100 percent certain'' that he would play against the Cavaliers, but Miami doesn't lose much when back-up Chris McGuire goes in the game. McGuire, who began his college career at Wright State, had a key steal late against Arizona.
Miami will provide a stark contrast to Nicholls State, which came into the tournament with the second-highest scoring average (90.9) of the 64 teams in the field. The Redskins have not scored as many as 90 points since the opening game of the season.
Miami's opponents are shooting 41.1 percent from the field, the lowest total the Redskins have allowed in 25 years. Virginia was ranked 11th in Division I in field-goal percentage defense at 39.4 before the tournament.
``I don't know how watching Virginia live could make anybody overconfident,'' Sendek said. ``And their stat sheet almost looks like the coach put in the [defensive] numbers he wanted.''
by CNB