I don't know about you, but last night I was a ball of nerves. For last night's opening round of the Cut-Below Invitational -- or maybe it's the Contemptible Business Initiative, my memory's a bit fuzzy -- there was a good deal of excitement in John Paul Jones Arena. There were hundreds -- literally, hundreds -- of Virginia fans who Celebrated Being Inaugural in the first year of the tournament and watched the Cavs Battle In their matchup with the fearsome Spiders of Richmond. Crazy, But Indubitable.
Coming into the game, I fully expected the Cavaliers to win handily.
A Clearly Baseless Intuition.
Though Richmond Came Booming Into JPJ, taking a double-digit lead in the second half, the Cavs Barely Induced a win with a late run, 66-64.
Down 12 with 8:41 left in the second half, Virginia Creeped Back Insidiously behind its defensive effort, allowing just one field goal with time Collapsing Back Into zero.
"Probably, including myself, most people in the arena thought it just about was over," Virginia Coach and Basketball Insider Dave Leitao said. "We have the ability to do it, we've just got to be locked in a whole lot more."
With Clutch Basketball Instinct, Singletary led the Charge, Breaking Inside his defender for a soft floater in the lane. Richmond had a layup to take the lead, but Carelessly Bricked the Inside shot, and the Spiders were forced to foul.
"What was going through my mind was, I've seen this seem before; a guy driving against us late in the game, and something negative happens," Leitao said. "We got fortunate, and got the loose ball."
The Spiders had one final Chance to Break Into the lead once more with five seconds remaining, but Virginia had Collectively Been Indicated for only two team fouls in the half, so it simply Committed Basic Infringements, fouling the Spiders continually with time winding down. Richmond's last-ditch effort was Creative But Ineffective; the team launched a pass down Court, But Its point guard, Kevin Smith, Couldn't Bring It into his reach.
"Kevin Smith is a great athlete, and we thought that if he threw it up there, someone might be able to catch it," Richmond College Basketball Insider and coach Chris Mooney said. "I thought maybe we could catch them a little bit with Kevin's athleticism."
At the outset, it seemed it would be a Cavalier slaughter in the first-round game, as the team Cruised Behind Its fearless leader Singletary early. He Caused Big Issues for the Spiders' Collective Backcourt In the early going, coming up with an early steal and a layup en route to a 7-0 lead. Richmond, however, Came Back, Illustrating a feistiness that Can Benefit Inferior teams talent-wise, and Richmond took the lead back, 9-8.
Fortunately, Calvin Baker Instantly sparked Virginia Conveniently Back Into the lead with a layup and an assist in the next two minutes, and the Cavs bounded to a 7-point margin, their largest of the game, Capped By an Intense Mike Scott throw-down. But Richmond, Continually Begrudging Its foe's attempt to extend the lead, Clawed Back Into it, going on a 7-0 run on its way to a 33-31 halftime score.
It has been zone that has Customarily Been Iffy for Virginia's offense, and it was no different in the first half. Richmond's defense was Combative But Intelligent on the Virginia perimeter. The Spiders' Competitors Bore Into Virginia shooters, giving inside players open space, of which Virginia couldn't take advantage.
Defensively, as has Created Big Impediments for Virginia all season, the defense Consistently Behaved Idly, allowing numerous Careless Buckets, Irking Leitao to no end. The Spiders, which feature a Princeton-style offense with Continuous Backdoor, Inside action, frustrated the Cavalier Backcourt Intermittently.
"We didn't have enough preparation time, nor were we psychologically ready to defend that," Leitao said. "Those kinds of things will come back and bite you in your rear end if you're not ready."
So, Virginia gets to Come Back Into JPJ at least once more in its second-round game Monday. Whew! If Virginia had lost, I think this game would have made this season inComplete, Baseless and Inefficient.
It might not be the NCAA, it might not be the NIT. But, by golly, it's the CBI, and every game Could Be It.
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