ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 22, 1996 TAG: 9612230151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Last year, it was the Colonial Athletic Association. This year, it's the Big South.
What's next for the Virginia men's basketball team? The world?
Worse. The Cavaliers, fresh off their latest romp over a low-major, non-conference opponent, face a Monday visit to recent nemesis Connecticut.
``Now, I think this team can openly start looking at our game Monday night,'' UVa coach Jeff Jones said Saturday after an uninspiring, 57-34 victory over Maryland-Baltimore County.
``This [upcoming] game's not for the faint of heart. Connecticut's got a bunch of fresh faces. We've just got to look 'em in the eye and go toe to toe with them. I can't think of any other cliches right now.''
How about, the Cavaliers have their work cut out for them?
Virginia (6-2) can only hope that sophomore Courtney Alexander will be available Monday night after he missed Saturday's game with a sprained left ankle.
A news release distributed Thursday described Alexander as ``very questionable'' for the Connecticut game. However, as he prepared for his second rehabilitation session Saturday, he upgraded his status to questionable.
``It's a real big game,'' said Alexander, who lived in Bridgeport, Conn., until he was 15. ``It was hard sitting down and having to watch this game today, so I can't imagine what it would be like Monday night.
``I'm confident - really confident - that I'll be able to play. But, I'm not making any predictions. I figure I need to be 85 percent. If I can't cut it effectively, I'm not going out there.''
The Cavaliers got by without Alexander and his 19.0 points per game Saturday because they were facing a UMBC team that was averaging 51.7 points as a team. The Retrievers (0-7) were rated 300th of 307 Division I teams by USA Today this week.
UMBC shot 30 percent from the field and didn't make a free throw until the final minute in recording the lowest point total by one team in the 31-plus years that University Hall has been opened.
``We have certain goals of that nature and one of our goals today was to hold UMBC to a lower scoring total and a lower shooting percentage in the second half than we did in the first half,'' Jones said.
That goal almost was unattainable after the Retrievers shot 24 percent in falling behind 31-13 at the half. It was 12-9 before UVa outscored UMBC 19-4 in the last 9:08 before intermission.
Leading the way was junior guard Curtis Staples, who made five of 11 3-point attempts and finished with 17 points. Harold Deane contributed 10 points, but was not raving about his or the team's performance.
``I'm concerned,'' said Deane, a senior point guard. ``I'm very concerned right now. When we were playing well earlier in the season, we had a lot of energy. We were very motivated.
``We were playing like every game was our last game of the season, like it was the NCAA Tournament. We've got to make that a habit. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we take things for granted.''
The Cavaliers shot 40.7 percent from the field and made only 12 of 22 free-throw attempts. Power forward Norman Nolan missed his first four free-throw attempts, falling to 6-of-23 for the season, before hitting his last two.
``I don't know what it is,'' Nolan said. ``I can't make a free throw. I can't make a layup. Before, I was scoring well and not rebounding. Now, it's the complete opposite. After a while, it gets frustrating.''
Nolan had 10 rebounds - his third straight double-figure rebounding game - as the Cavaliers dominated UMBC on the boards, 54-31. Jones was able to use all nine of his eligible, uninjured scholarship players in the first 10 minutes.
Virginia defeated preseason Big South favorite Liberty on Wednesday night and, after the trip to UConn, plays host to a third Big South foe - Radford - next Saturday. Last year, UVa was 4-0 against CAA teams.
The ACC schedule resumes soon enough, Jan. 4 at Maryland, and Jones was asked if the Cavaliers were playing as well as they did a month ago, when they opened the season with back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Massachusetts.
``In some areas, we're better,'' he said, ``but that's a valid question, one that I don't have an answer for. You have to stay ahead of the defenses and, at this point, scouting becomes a factor.
``To see us at the start of this game and the start of the Liberty and even against Clemson (in a 62-52 loss), we play well and then we just disappear. Those disappearances are what we've got to figure out.'' see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Virginia's Harold Deane steals the ball from UMBC'sby CNBKerry Martin. The Retrievers were held to the lowest point total by
one team since University Hall opened 31-plus years ago. color