After a deflating loss to Syracuse on Wednesday, the Virginia men's basketball team will look to get back on track tonight as it hosts the Longwood Lancers at 7 p.m.
Fortunately for Virginia, Longwood does not have a historically great basketball team, and after recently moving into Division I, it has gone through expected growing pains. The Lancers currently have a record of 2-8 and have suffered lopsided defeats to Liberty, Indiana and Kent State. Indiana easily dispatched Longwood 100-49 in mid-November in Bloomington, Ind., which could bode well for the Cavaliers.
Tonight's match-up will certainly lack the energy and passion that was on display Wednesday night. Senior guard Sean Singletary, senior forward Adrian Joseph and junior forward Mamadi Diane all brought an energized John Paul Jones Arena to its feet time and again as all three players hit big shots throughout the game. In the end, however, Virginia's efforts were not enough. Syracuse used its patented 2-3 zone to shut down Virginia's perimeter shooters. Singletary, in particular, had an off game as he was held to only 10 points on 3-14 shooting. Singletary, who is normally a great free-throw shooter, made only 2-8 free throws on the night, which may have cost Virginia the game.
"We wanted to keep someone near Singletary all the time," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "I thought we did a good job of defending and we just got to their shooters."
Tonight's match-up should be less of a test for Virginia. As is usually the case in sports, however, nothing is guaranteed, and Virginia will need to come out ready to play without lingering memories of Wednesday's loss. Virginia must be careful not to play down to the level of Longwood -- a letdown can be common for teams playing against obviously less-talented squads. Longwood, however, does boast one dangerous scorer. The Lancers are led by 6-foot-6 junior forward Kirk Williams who averages 18 points per game.
Virginia will be looking forward to tonight's game in order to get itself back on track. Singletary's shooting woes against Syracuse were mirrored by the rest of the team. Freshman guard Jeff Jones struggled to find his shot and wound up with only four points. As a team, Virginia was limited to 40-percent shooting from the field and 34-percent shooting from three-point range. Both numbers are below Virginia's season averages. Additionally, Virginia only made 45 percent of its free-throws, which have been a source of pride for Virginia basketball over the years.
But Wednesday's struggles should not overshadow Virginia's recent success. The Cavaliers defeated a ranked squad in Arizona last month and hold a record of 6-2.
Still, after an eight-day break, Virginia, and particularly Singletary, looked out of rhythm against Syracuse.
"Start to finish [Sean] didn't really have any game rhythm," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
Tonight's game against Longwood should provide the Cavaliers with a springboard to end the semester on a high note and restore the team's rhythm.
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