THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290449
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
James Madison is probably the last team most Colonial Athletic Association upper-tier schools wanted to face in the first round of this weekend's tournament.
``I think it certainly is a fair statement,'' said American coach Chris Knoche, whose team lost to the Dukes on Monday. ``They've learned what it takes to win, and better than that, they've learned what it takes to win close games.''
Old Dominion meets JMU for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal Saturday at the Richmond Coliseum. The Dukes (10-19) may be the seventh seed, but they have the longest winning streak heading into the tournament at five games. Included in the streak are wins over first-seeded Virginia Commonwealth, third-seeded UNC-Wilmington, fourth-seeded American and fifth-seeded East Carolina.
``Basketball is a game of confidence,'' JMU coach Lefty Driesell said. ``When you lose, you lose your confidence, but now we've won five in a row.''
ODU coach Jeff Capel said the Dukes are playing as well as anybody in the league.
The unusual thing about this game is how early it comes in the tournament. The Monarchs and Dukes have played in three of the last four tournament finals.
``I think it's one of the games that both schools and both teams look forward to,'' Capel said. ``It wouldn't be right if we didn't have to play James Madison.''
POAG UPDATE: By Wednesday, freshman forward Mark Poag had still not recovered enough from the flu to practice with the Monarchs.
``He's probably going to be really drained this weekend,'' Capel said. ``We certainly hope to have him back.''
On the CAA coaches' conference call Tuesday, Driesell asked if Poag was hurt. Nope, he was told.
``Oh, I thought he broke his neck or something,'' Driesell said. ``He's just got the flu? He can get over that.
``I'm just teasing.''
VCU EDGE: Virginia Commonwealth has the top seed and best overall record in the league. Now, the Rams get to play the conference tournament on their home court.
There were mixed reactions among coaches about how big of an advantage that is for the Rams.
``When you think of home-court advantages, you think of coliseums or gymnasiums where it's a packed house and there's a band and there's a little bit of an intimidation factor,'' George Mason coach Paul Westhead said. ``I've never felt that down there.''
Driesell, meanwhile, called it ``a super advantage'' for the Rams.
ARENA UPDATE: The Virginia House and Senate have put Old Dominion's proposed on-campus arena on their budget bills. ODU president Dr. James Koch indicated it's likely to be a formality now for the project to be included in their combined budget, which will then have to be signed by the governor.
``Right now, we're feeling pretty good,'' Koch said. ``We've gone over the biggest hurdles.''
Although ODU is not asking for state funds, the lawmakers have to grant authority for the $40 million, 10,000-seat convocation center capital project to proceed. The arena will be paid for primarily with student fees.
Acquiring the land east of Hampton Boulevard and designing the facility are the next steps in the process.
GRUDGE MATCH: Perhaps the most intriguing first-round game of the tournament is fourth-seeded American against fifth-seeded East Carolina.
The last time these two teams met, almost four weeks ago, Tim Fudd threw a flagrant forearm that put the Pirates' Morris Grooms in the hospital for 10 days with a collapsed lung. It also put Fudd on the sidelines with a five-game suspension.
Both coaches minimized any talk of bad blood between the teams.
``I don't think it was indicative of their program or Tim Fudd or Chris or what they stand for,'' East Carolina's Joe Dooley said. ``It was just an isolated incident.''
Knoche acknowledged that the incident could have an effect on how closely the game is called because the officials may be wary of potential problems.
``It would be a shame if the thing that happened in Greenville were to taint this game and they would call it differently than they would most postseason games,'' Knoche said. ``. . . But it may be unavoidable.''
Grooms, who at one time was thought to be lost for the season, missed six games before returning Monday against Old Dominion. He was scoreless in 13 minutes. by CNB