Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 27, 1992 TAG: 9203270070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The winner of tonight's game will be headed to New York for the NIT semifinals Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Virginia (17-13) is an 8 1/2-point favorite over New Mexico (20-12) at the Richmond Coliseum, where a sellout crowd of 11,092 is expected for a 7:30 tipoff.
The Cavaliers, victorious in the NIT over teams from the Big East and Southeastern conferences, will be facing a team from the Western Athletic Conference for the first time since Brigham Young ended UVa's season last year in the NCAA Tournament West Regional.
New Mexico lost at Texas El-Paso in the final regular-season game this year to finish one game behind the Miners and BYU in the WAC standings.
"We certainly don't feel like a team from a superior conference when we remember what happen in the NCAAs last year and see what UTEP did to Kansas last weekend," Virginia coach Jeff Jones said.
The Jayhawks, seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Regional, lost to the Miners 66-64.
"I've been impressed, basically, by their aggressiveness," Jones said of New Mexico. "I would characterize [the Lobos] as a slashing team. They play three guards who stretch the perimeter with the outside shot but can also attack a defense off the dribble."
New Mexico, which was 3-5 in mid-December, does not have a player averaging more than 13.7 points. However, the Lobos have four players in double figures, led by senior guard Willie Banks, a first-team All-WAC selection.
The Lobos start three guards and a fourth, 6-foot-1 junior Steve Logan, is the team's second-leading scorer (12.3). Logan is 66-of-202 on 3-point attempts, and starting guard Ike Williams is 53-of-165.
Khari Jaxson, a junior, is listed as a forward but is the Lobos' tallest starter at 6-8. Jaxson averages 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds, and he ranks among the Division I leaders with 106 blocked shots.
"He could play in any league in the country and be considered a quality shot-blocker," said Jones, whose entire team has 67 blocks.
The Lobos are coached by Dave Bliss, who is in his seventh year at New Mexico after coaching at Southern Methodist. New Mexico averages 73.7 points; UVa averages 69.7.
"I would say they like to go up and down," said Jones, whose team has scored at least 74 points in four of its past five games. "I would guess it will be a pretty quick game."
Jones said three-time All-ACC selection Bryant Stith did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday but is expected to be close to 100 percent by game time. Stith fell on a dunk attempt with 3:17 remaining Wednesday night in the Cavaliers' 77-52 victory over Tennessee.
"We're being very cautious," said Jones, who noted that the team did not practice Tuesday, when it observed an NCAA-mandated off day. "He definitely could have played [Wednesday], but we didn't want to push it. I'm not concerned about Bryant."
An NIT spokesman said Thursday that no decision has been reached on the pairings for Monday night. Notre Dame and Florida advanced with quarterfinal victories Wednesday night, and the last quarterfinal tonight will match Rhode Island and host Utah.
Jones said he "was shocked" to hear that Virginia was entertaining New Mexico, but the Lobos had to go on the road because they are the host team for the men's NCAA West Regional.
Virginia is the host team for the women's NCAA East Regional, and the NCAA urged Virginia not to play an NIT game in Richmond - even Friday night, which is an off day for the women.
"I really didn't care [about the NCAA recommendation]," Jones said. "I didn't see any reason to penalize our team. We discussed it with the people here, including Debbie [women's coach Debbie Ryan] and she didn't see how it would be detrimental. None of the arguments I heard made much sense."
by CNB