A week or two ago, my roommate Steve threw out a trivia question that stumped myself and our other roommate Jeff. He asked when the Virginia men's basketball team was last ranked among the top five basketball teams nationally. I said it couldn't have been since the Ralph Sampson era, but it turns out Virginia was No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll (and No. 9 in the AP Poll) at the end of January, 2002.
Most of you probably know Virginia last made the NCAA tournament in 2001. But I'd be surprised if many of you remembered that the following season U.Va. cracked the top five late in the year. The Hoos had been highly ranked the entire season up to that point and possessed a 14-2 record during week 13. They proceeded to drop four straight games (three in the ACC), win two home games and eventually lose six of seven to close out the season.
At first glance, the 2001-2002 squad and this year's team may appear to be rather dissimilar. While the former team wasn't able to rattle off seven straight ACC victories, the team did have a strong start and was hunted for much of the season, thanks to a national ranking that the current Hoos haven't been able to achieve.
What is really troubling is the prospect of letting a recent loss potentially devastate the season. In 2002, U.Va. lost to Duke to fall to 14-3 and was never really the same from that point on. Despite the four-game losing streak, with five conference games left Virginia was in a position to make the NCAA tournament with a 16-5 record. Now at that same threshold (five ACC games remaining), this year's squad is 17-7. That is what brings together the comparison of these two teams. Five years ago, a dismal final few weeks kept the Hoos out of March Madness. The hope here is that Virginia will bounce back from a crushing defeat and escape a similar fate.
It's been quite a season so far. Virginia is 13-1 at home (including an undefeated record in conference), has a seven-game ACC winning streak to its name and, as of Wednesday, is in a three-way tie for second place in the league. If you take away the disaster in Puerto Rico and consider a number of quality wins, you're looking at a top 20 team (maybe higher). With all that said, the pain of Saturday's game at Virginia Tech is still lingering, so we are going to talk it out and move on.
While the loss was both disappointing and downright embarrassing, it was not necessarily surprising, and few seem to be addressing this fact. The Hoos had been playing ridiculously well and, as cliché as it sounds, were really finding a way to win. In that regard, it was a bit surprising that the winning streak ended.
On the other hand, a win in Blacksburg Saturday afternoon was a long shot. For one, the Hoos beat Tech three times last season, so the Hokies were certainly seeking revenge. Second, Virginia Tech had lost two consecutive games leading up to the meeting with U.Va., a bad loss at home to N.C. State and a beatdown by 21 at Boston College. Tech was reeling a bit and definitely looking to get back on track. What better way than a home contest against the in-state rival?
Possibly the biggest disadvantage for Virginia was the fact that Tech had six days off leading up to the game to prepare for the Cavaliers and rest players. The practice must have paid off, as Sean Singletary and Jason Cain were neutralized, and the break must have helped as secondary scorers were able to step up in place of an ineffective Zabian Dowdell (Tech's leading scorer, who finished with five points). Throw in the fact that the Hokies seemed to hit every shot they took and it was no surprise that they cruised to victory.
I am not trying to make excuses for the team. I think we can all agree that we expected the streak to end at some point. It's one thing to lose a tough game, but it's another to flat-out not show up against your archrival. Aside from J.R. Reynolds' consistently strong play, this is exactly what happened.
Singletary hasn't been his normal, impressive self lately (save the Duke dramatics) and Cain has faded from the impact position he had been playing earlier. If someone could remind them that there are still four weeks left before Selection Sunday, that would be greatly appreciated. We are really going to need them to step back up to get that elusive tourney bid.
Now that I have gotten all of that off my chest, I'm ready for the stretch run and, like most Hoos fans, am bracing myself for a return to the Big Dance. Let's hope that's what we end up getting, rather than a repeat of 2002.
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