With less than a week until the 65-team field for the NCAA Tournament is picked, the Virginia men's basketball team has one last shot to earn a bid: a run at the conference title in the ACC Tournament this Thursday through Sunday.
The Cavaliers (15-14, 5-11 ACC) are scheduled to play seventh-seeded Georgia Tech (14-16, 7-9 ACC) Thursday at 7 p.m. ESPN2 will air the game, which will, along with all of the other games in the tournament, be played in Charlotte, N.C. at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
Virginia, seeded 10th in the 12-team field, has won four of its last six games, including a 76-74 victory against Georgia Tech March 3. Its most recent game was an impressive 91-76 March 9 victory against Maryland in which senior point guard Sean Singletary scored his 2,000th point and had his jersey retired.
Offensively, the Cavaliers were dominant and balanced, with six players scoring in double figures. Also important to Virginia's success was a solid defensive effort that refused to yield a comeback to the Terrapins; Singletary said a similarly effective defensive effort will be a key to the Cavaliers' success Thursday.
"We're capable of beating [Georgia Tech]; it just all depends on how well we defend the ball," Singletary said. "If we defend and hold them to a low field-goal percentage, then we'll be able to run and play our game."
Though the game against Maryland was an emotional one, another key to victory will be moving on from Sunday's game to focus on the ACC Tournament.
"You definitely have to move on, win or lose," Singletary said.
Both Singletary and coach Dave Leitao acknowledge, though, that Sunday's game was an important contest in terms of building confidence and momentum going into the ACC Tournament.
"Having six guys in double figures, and playing, especially in the second half, [like] we did... is a tribute to team basketball, is a tribute to our leadership and a tribute to our aggression overall," Leitao said.
Should the Cavaliers beat Georgia Tech, they would face second-seeded Duke. Further down the bracket, potential matches against third-seeded Clemson and first-seeded North Carolina loom.
The ACC Tournament holds a particular finality for the lower-seeded teams, including Virginia, because college basketball experts project the ACC will earn no more than five bids. Despite recent success, Virginia's overall season performance has not been impressive enough to earn an at-large bid, so the Cavaliers likely will only land a spot if they take home the ACC Championship and the guaranteed bid in the NCAA Tournament that comes with it.
"I'm sure the prohibitive favorites will be Duke and Carolina," Leitao said. "But at the same point in time there [are] 10 other teams that feel like -- and we're one of them -- that any given day, it could be their day."
The tournament is the last chance for seniors Singletary, Adrian Joseph, Ryan Pettinella and Tunji Soroye to show they deserve a shot at the NCAA Championship.
"Whether I score a few points or a lot of points, or whether I make a lot of plays or a [few] plays, I just want to get to that NCAA Tournament again," Singletary said. "I want to make an imprint as best as I can."
With the third-worst seed in the ACC Tournament and a location that will likely draw more fans from universities whose campuses are in North Carolina, the Cavaliers face an uphill battle to an ACC title; however, with leadership from upperclassmen such as Singletary, confident coaching from Leitao and his staff, and recently improved performance, a glimmer of hope remains.
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