Perhaps this old building has some magic left in it yet. U-Hall was rocking Thursday night as Virginia upset No. 24 North Carolina 72-68. Ignoring the dire pre-season predictions of most so-called college basketball experts, the Cavaliers are playing with a collective chip on their shoulders and are proving that they can compete with the big boys of the ACC.
Virginia erased one of the most painful memories of the Pete Gillen era -- last year's humiliating 110-76 home loss to the Tar Heels. In the post-game locker room last night, it was clear that these Cavaliers have fully bought into Coach Leitao's philosophies. There is nothing like winning to prove that the Coach is right.
By defeating one of college basketball's blueblood programs on national television, Virginia has upped the ante for this season. An NIT appearance no longer seems totally unreasonable. And who knows? If the squad reels off a few more impressive conference victories, we may be analyzing NCAA Tournament bubble bracketology come Selection Sunday.
We should not, however, rush ahead of ourselves. Virginia still has much to prove. This year's North Carolina squad is solid but it is nowhere near as potent as last year's national championship squad. Only time will tell if the Cavaliers can consistently put forth the effort that they have in their wins over Clemson, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
With the exception of No. 1 Duke, the ACC picture is a muddled one. It is still unclear which teams will emerge in the second-tier below Duke. With a 3-2 conference mark, Virginia is now tied for third place in the conference with N.C. State. Tuesday night's opponent, Miami, stands in second place at 3-1. Four teams are tied below Virginia with 2-2 marks. More time is needed before assessing which ACC teams are contenders and which are pretenders. The Cavaliers, however, have at least shown that they are possibly among the contenders.
I must apologize to Laurynas Mikalauskas. I was beginning to doubt his potential. Last night, however, he showed why he was recruited to play for an ACC team. Lars played a major role in limiting the damage done by North Carolina's freshman phenom, Tyler Hansbrough. Mikalauskas' aggressive and physical play clearly tired Hansbrough down the stretch. Lars also notched several key put backs and rebounds late in the second half. He clearly reveled in the victory, rushing to the center of the court as the buzzer sounded to be mobbed by the student body.
I have been an avid sports fan since my early childhood, yet I think that I have never trusted a player in any sport as much as I do Sean Singletary. While watching him play, I just know that he's about to make a great play exactly when it is needed. He did it again last night. Carolina came out of the half hot, building a 36-29 lead. It looked like the game might be slipping from Virginia's grasp. At that moment, however, Singletary drove towards the basket and made a lay up while being fouled. He knocked down the free throw. On Virginia's next possession, he made an acrobatic circus shot that brought the crowd back into the game and Virginia to within two points of UNC.
The crowd was decent last night and the fans will probably become more intense now that the team has shown that it can win. If you haven't made it out to a game yet this year, make sure to attend Tuesday's game against Miami. These players deserve all the support they can get after their efforts thus far this season.
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