Cavaliers aim to bounce back against Seminoles
By Stacy Kruczkowski | February 17, 2010[caption id="attachment_33210" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Junior forward Mike Scott has established himself as the Cavaliers' No.
[caption id="attachment_33210" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Junior forward Mike Scott has established himself as the Cavaliers' No.
[caption id="attachment_33166" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="Junior guard Jeff Jones was one of the few bright spots for the Cavaliers this weekend, coming off the bench to contribute 16 points.
[caption id="attachment_33118" align="alignleft" width="178" caption="Junior forward Mike Scott led the Cavaliers with 20 points and 13 rebounds, keeping his team competitive throughout.
As the Cavaliers head to Blacksburg tomorrow, they will look to avenge a loss earlier this season to Virginia Tech, during which they saw a 10-point lead dissipate during the game's second half.
The men's basketball game originally scheduled against the Terrapins tonight at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md., has been postponed to Monday because of inclement weather conditions. The University of Maryland's campus has been closed since Friday as a result of last weekend's winter storm. Though the Terrapins played against North Carolina at home last Sunday, the anticipated foot of snow tonight in the Washington, D.C., area would make it "impossible" to clear the roads and parking lots in time for the game tonight, according to University officials. Before heading to College Park next Monday, Virginia will take on in-state rival Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Saturday. -compiled by Andrew Seidman
[caption id="attachment_32988" align="alignleft" width="184" caption="Jerome Meyinsse did not play in the final 10 games of last season with former coach Dave Leitao.
Despite the frigid temperatures and falling snow, John Paul Jones Arena hosted a heated thriller Saturday afternoon, as Wake Forest handed the Cavaliers their second home overtime loss on the year, 64-61. "That was a hard-fought game," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
Aiming to avenge a one-sided Jan. 23 defeat in Winston-Salem, the Virginia men's basketball team plays host to Wake Forest tomorrow at the John Paul Jones Arena. The Demon Deacons (15-5, 5-3 ACC) handed the Cavaliers (14-6, 5-2 ACC) their first ACC loss of the season with the 69-57 result, and ended an eight-game Virginia win streak. Sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg outscored the rest of Virginia's starting five in the contest, contributing 18 of the starters' 32 points.
[caption id="attachment_32898" align="alignleft" width="173" caption="Junior guard Mustapha Farrakhan adds his own exclamation point to a 59-47 win, during which the Cavaliers overcame a three-point halftime deficit.
[caption id="attachment_32835" align="alignleft" width="211" caption="Sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski and the Cavaliers continue to defy preseason polls, which predicted Virginia would finish second-to-last in the ACC.
[caption id="attachment_32832" align="alignleft" width="183" caption="Senior forward Jerome Meyinsse began the season having made only 35 field goals during his entire career.
"It hurts." That was the prevailing sentiment in the Virginia locker room after the team blew a 10-point lead with less than four minutes remaining and suffered a devastating 76-71 loss to Virginia Tech last Thursday night. As I looked around that room, I saw some of the most shell-shocked faces I'd ever seen.
[caption id="attachment_32741" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski fires a three-point shot over two leaping defenders in Chapel Hll Sunday night, as Virginia defeats North Carolina to move into a tie for second place in the ACC.
[caption id="attachment_32707" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Sammy Zeglinski's shot at the end of regulation delighted the Wahoo faithful but couldn't keep Virginia Tech from winning easily in overtime.
After failing to extend its eight-game win streak last week, a Virginia team eager to regain momentum will face its fifth ACC opponent of the season tonight at John Paul Jones Arena, taking on in-state rival Virginia Tech. "I think that's the beauty of sports - you can't be too discouraged or too elated if it goes well," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
[caption id="attachment_32624" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="After a lackluster 3-9 season, newly hired football coach Mike London hopes to follow in men's basketball coach Tony Bennett's footsteps and return Virginia to ACC prominence.
[caption id="attachment_32540" align="alignleft" width="253" caption="Junior forward Will Sherrill (above) had to carry the Cavalier offense after sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg got into foul trouble.
[caption id="attachment_32511" align="alignleft" width="205" caption="Sylven Landesberg, the 2008 ACC Rookie of the Year, will lead Virginia against award runner-up Al-Farouq Aminu and the Demon Deacons Saturday in Winston-Salem.
Dec. 21, Dec. 23, Jan. 5 Virginia defeated New Jersey Institute of Technology, Hampton and Texas Pan American by a combined score of 220-144.
[caption id="attachment_32376" align="alignleft" width="243" caption="Junior forward Mike Scott, who scored 17 points against Penn State, and the rest of the Cavaliers will be looking for a more consistent performance in their upcoming matchup against the Tigers.