Reeling Virginia seeks needed victory at Virginia Tech

By HANK KURZ Jr., AP Sports Writer
Published: February 1, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Two of the most surprising teams in the ACC will meet at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday, and longtime rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech will be coming into their second matchup this year from completely different perspectives.
    The Cavaliers (11-8, 1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) have been one of the most disappointing teams in the nation. Hit hard by injuries to Sean Singletary and others, they have mastered the art of looking great for 30 minutes and then crumbling.
    The Hokies, meanwhile, are among the biggest surprises on the positive side, fashioning a 13-8 overall record and a 4-3 conference mark with a lineup that relies heavily on freshmen but has demonstrated the mettle to compete in the rugged ACC.
    The Hokies played four of their first six ACC games on the road, winning two, and their 89-80 victory against Florida State on Tuesday night “creates a little bit of a possibility,“ coach Seth Greenberg said, especially with Virginia visiting next.
    Or, in the mind of backup point guard Hank Thorns, one of six freshmen seeing considerable playing time for the Hokies, it showed that prognosticators were wrong.
    “We’re way better than people gave us credit for,“ Thorns said. “They had us finishing last in the ACC. Tenth. That’s last to me. Every year they pick Virginia Tech to finish last and we always end up finishing fifth or sixth and making the tournament.
    “This year we picked it up another notch.“
    The Hokies have had a chance to win every league game in the final minutes except their 81-64 home loss to No. 3 Duke, and their chemistry is only improving.
    “We’re starting to trust each other,“ said starting point guard Malcolm Delaney, another freshman. “We’re coming together as a team, bonding on and off the court.“
    The rapid development is a welcome thing to see for junior A.D. Vassallo, the team’s scoring leader and one of only three returnees with considerable experience.
    “Coach Greenberg said from the beginning that we weren’t going to use our youth as an excuse for us not to win games,“ Vassallo said. “We’re learning from our mistakes. We’re getting better and we’ve got a big chance on Saturday when we play Virginia.“
    The Hokies other primary veteran, Deron Washington, kept Virginia in a swoon that has seen them lose six of seven games with a buzzer-beating layup on Jan. 16, giving the Hokies a 70-69 overtime victory - their first at Virginia since the 1967-68 season.
    In that game, Singletary had 34 points and 10 rebounds, but also suffered a hip pointer that has slowed him since. In the four subsequent games, he’s scored 20 points just once and has connected on only 41 percent of his field goal attempts overall.
    Singletary also leads the ACC in assists, pretty remarkable considering that the rest of the Cavaliers have struggled to develop into consistent complementary scorers.
    Coach Dave Leitao, who adjusted his approach several games ago when he realized his ornery demeanor was sapping the fun out of the game, said confidence is critical.
    “In circumstances as they are where we’re going through a tough stretch, it does not mean that it will continue, it does not mean that we can’t win Saturday or in our fair share of games,“ he said.
    “You have to have them understand that this is not acceptable, and you also have to have them understand that you have to continue to maintain a sense of confidence.“
    The Cavaliers have played most of the season with injured big men Laurynas Mikalauskas, Tunji Soroye and Will Harris on the bench in street clothes, but so far have managed to maintain their confidence despite the losing skid, Leitao said.
    “I really don’t think from a confidence standpoint that we’re so bad off that we have a woe-is-me attitude. I’ll maintain that we’re not that far away and the record doesn’t speak to it, but we’re not down in the dumps so much so that a win will just automatically change our fortune,“ he said. “This league has a lot to do with it.“
    A year ago, Virginia was the surprise team of the ACC, earning a share of the regular season title with North Carolina and winning a game in the NCAA tournament.
    The Hokies, too, went to the NCAA tournament and won a game.
    So far this year, they’re the only one on track to have that chance again.