Halfway through the regular season, the Virginia men's basketball team now stands at a crossroads. With eight games left, including tonight's game at N.C. State, the No. 10 Cavaliers must set a tone for their remaining conference games and the not-too-distant ACC tournament.
"We need to win as many of these last eight games as we can," freshman guard Keith Jenifer said.
Tonight delivers up a dangerous N.C. State squad (16-6, 5-4 ACC) that won 81-74 at University Hall Jan. 5. Before that loss, Virginia (14-5, 4-4 ACC) was undefeated and ranked fourth in the nation.
Whether the Cavaliers were overconfident or N.C. State was underrated, Virginia was outmatched at home. The Wolfpack out-shot Virginia from the free-throw line (14 of 17, while the Cavaliers hit 13 of 20), and from the three-point arc (N.C. State made 11 of 23, while Virginia went 7 for 20).
"They came to U-Hall and stole one from us," Jenifer said. "We want to go down there and steal one from them."
Both teams are coming off tough losses going into tonight's game. Wake Forest beat the Wolfpack by only one point in Raleigh and the 'Pack kept Maryland on its toes throughout the game in College Park. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers fell to Duke, Maryland and out-of-conference opponent Missouri, creating an emotional week of basketball.
"This year we are a better road team than last year, but the last few games it hasn't looked like it," sophomore forward J.C. Mathis said. "It doesn't matter where we play, the court is still the same and the rim is still the same."
Still, the Cavaliers' 27-game winning streak against out-of-conference opponents reached an end against the No. 22 Tigers last Sunday.
Virginia's depth was tested as senior Adam Hall did not dress with an injured left foot and junior center Travis Watson had to leave the game early with a sore arch.
Further exacerbating the Cavaliers' personnel problems, flu symptoms plagued three key players. Roger Mason Jr., Virginia's leading scorer with 18.3 points per game, senior forward Chris Williams and freshman forward Elton Brown all had the flu.
"There weren't too many positives," to take from the Missouri loss, Mathis said. "A couple of guys were really under the weather and battled through that, so that's a positive. But after a couple years of being underdogs, now we're being favored and can't take too many positives away from this."
Virginia will have to get healthy if they hope to beat N.C. State on its own turf.
The Wolfpack has more than one offensive weapon to use against the Cavaliers.
Senior guard Anthony Grundy, who averages 16.5 points per game, freshman guard Julius Hodge (10.7 points per game), and freshman forward Josh Powell (9.1 points per game) offer just three examples of N.C. State's blossoming talent.
Rounding out the Wolfpack's top performers are senior captain Archie Miller (9.5 points per game) and sophomore forward Marcus Melvin (9 points per game).
The Cavaliers have a difficult task in front of them. With Duke and Maryland looming at the end of the season, the Cavaliers need an ACC win to bolster their case for the postseason.
"There is more pressure for us to get a win now, after three losses in a row," Mathis said.
Tonight a bruised but determined Cavalier squad must focus on their opponent if they hope to keep their Top 10 status.
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