There's no place like home. This overused saying definitely applies for the Virginia men's basketball team. Fortunately for Virginia, last night's game was played here in Charlottesville. Despite shooting the ball poorly for stretches and committing several turnovers, the Cavaliers managed to hold off Maryland.
The mad scientist, otherwise known as Maryland head coach Gary Williams, employed a tough and persistent press defense frequently throughout the game. Virginia seemed to be utterly inept at handling the full court press and committed several turnovers as a result. But Virginia got a big boost from an unlikely source last night -- the officials. Maryland was whistled for 31 fouls total and had three starters in serious foul trouble not even halfway through the second half. And just when I thought the free-throw gods had deserted Virginia, they came through last night. Virginia made over 75 percent of its free throws, which contributed to 39 of its 103 points in the game.
All this makes me wonder: Is Virginia's home court success because of the huge new facility, the support of the fans or the officiating of the referees?
Well, it's probably a combination of all three. Most times, when your team is getting all the calls, the refs are doing a good job. But when the calls go against you, the refs are probably going to hear about it from the home crowd. Watching last night, it seemed like Maryland was getting a raw deal a few times when it came down to the calls made by the referees.
In any case, it was the tale of two Virginias again last night. The Cavaliers are now 9-1 at the John Paul Jones Arena and have posted prominent victories at home, against teams such as Gonzaga, Arizona and now Maryland.
But Virginia has played very poorly on the road. The Cavaliers are 1-5 on the road. The lone victory came over the always stellar basketball program of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Virginia managed to win that game by seven points.
Perhaps this $130 million building has provided Virginia with its most valuable player: home court advantage.
But that can't be a bad thing, right? I have no idea why Virginia seems to be a completely different team based on where it is playing, but being at home clearly works in our favor.
Mamadi Diane has an extra spring in his step, J.R. Reynolds has a sweeter shot, Sean Singletary makes a crisper pass and Jason Cain cannot be stopped inside. Give me just about any opponent -- if the game is at JPJ, I'll take the Cavaliers.
But what I don't understand is why our success at home doesn't get on the bus or plane to away games. The debacle in Puerto Rico serves as the best example. Virginia lost two games to somewhat lesser opponents. And I doubt that Puerto Rico was the most hostile playing environment. After the team returned from Puerto Rico, Sean Singletary was asked about the tumultuous holiday trip.
"I couldn't wait until our next game," Singletary said. "I didn't even have a good holiday, because everybody kept bringing up, 'What happened in Puerto Rico?' We can't afford to lose another game like we did in Puerto Rico. I have to come out with intensity day in and day out."
As the game was winding down and the crowd began chants of 'Double Gary', in reference to Maryland coach Gary Williams, I came to a pleasing and cliché conclusion: It's good to be home.
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