This was not the way anyone on the Virginia men's basketball team wanted it to end. A shocking 86-85 loss to Gonzaga on Friday scarcely seems a fitting way to close the chapter on another Cavalier season. Despite the lingering bitterness of an early NCAA Tournament exit, Virginia, which finished 20-9, remains upbeat about finally receiving a invitation to the tournament, but hopes to win a few tournament games next year.
"We thought we had an excellent season playing the best league in the country, in my opinion," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We came in fourth, got 20 wins, beat Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest. Another step or two and it could have been an unbelievable season, but we just came up a little bit short."
Indeed, it has been a long time since the Cavaliers have even reached the tournament. After losing to Iowa in the first round of the 1997 NCAAs, Virginia struggled over the next three years and did not make the tournament. But after Gillen replaced Jeff Jones as the Cavaliers' coach in 1998, Virginia has been on the rise.
"It's been a great career for me once coach Gillen took over the staff," Cavalier senior point guard Donald Hand said. "We just took another positive step for Virginia basketball by getting to the NCAA Tournament."
A look at the court Friday yielded a sign of things to come. At one point against the Bulldogs, Gillen placed freshmen Maurice Young and J.C. Mathis on the floor at the same time. Young and Mathis appeared composed and confident before the national audience and performed surprisingly well. Mathis grabbed five rebounds and scored four points while establishing himself as a defensive force.
"I thought Mo Young did a good job for a few minutes, and J.C. was tremendous on both ends," Gillen said. "He did a lot of things that didn't show up on the box score. We did have kind of an uncharacteristic lineup, but they helped bring us back into the game."
Mathis said he was not nervous when he set foot on the court. His progress over the course of the season prepared him for the pressure of playing in the NCAAs.
"I didn't think of it like I was a freshman or anything," he said. "I knew I could play out there."
For Virginia's seniors, an invitation to the Big Dance marked the pinnacle of their efforts to rebuild the basketball program. Seniors Donald Hand, Keith Friel, Stephane Dondon, Josh Hare and Greg Lyons finally reached the NCAAs in their last season, but the close loss left a bittersweet taste in their mouths.
"It's extremely tough to take," Friel said. "You don't plan on exiting like this."
Though Virginia will miss its five seniors next season, the future remains bright. The return of sophomore point guard Majestic Mapp and the development of players like Roger Mason Jr. and Watson give Virginia fans much to look forward to next season.
"I'm going to be [at the NCAAs] every year I'm here," Watson said. "It took me two years to get here, and I'm going to stay here."
After emerging as a star player this season, Mason will play an instrumental role in getting Virginia back into the tournament next year. He became a regular starter at the beginning of the season and nearly doubled his points per game from 7.6 last season to 15.0 this season. He also showed great improvement in his three-point shooting and improved from 28.6 percent behind the arc to 43.8 percent. Fittingly, Mason capped the season with a career-high 30 points against Gonzaga on Friday.
"Roger's game is night and day from when we started the season," Friel said. "He's always had the talent. As the year progressed, he got more confident with himself and his teammates. The end result was his best performance of the season."
Next season, reaching the NCAA Tournament will not be enough for the Cavaliers. This season's success has merely whetted the appetites of Virginia's returning players for more. The Cavaliers want to win a game or two next year.
"It's a success getting here, but it's not a success when you get here and lose in the first round," Mason said.
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