Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 14, 1994 TAG: 9403140077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Virginia, twice eliminated by teams from the Western Athletic Conference, will play a WAC opponent for the third time in the West Region of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
At least the Cavaliers have had some success against New Mexico (23-7), their opponent Friday at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif.
UVa defeated the Lobos 76-71 at the Richmond Coliseum on its way to the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1992.
"I definitely didn't want to go back to Utah," said UVa coach Jeff Jones, who was affiliated with UVa teams that lost to WAC opponents Wyoming in 1987 and Brigham Young in 1991 in Salt Lake City.
The Virginia players watched the broadcast of the NCAA selections from a suite at the Charlotte Coliseum, where less than two hours earlier they were beaten by North Carolina 73-66 in the ACC championship game.
"I'm not sure I had much of a reaction," said Jones after watching the Cavaliers go up on the board as a No. 7 seed. "I was just glad to be included.
"I think the players liked the idea of going to the West Coast - either there or St. Petersburg [Fla.] was their preference."
Jones remembered from 1992 that New Mexico runs a flex offense "and gets into it a number of different ways," he said, "but I'm not sure of their personnel at all at this point."
New Mexico's leading scorer is Greg Brown, a 5-foot-7 senior who averages 19.6 points. The Lobos' other double-figure scorers are 6-5 junior Marlo White (17.2) and 6-9 senior Canonchet Neves (13.6).
That threesome has combined for 241 of New Mexico's 294 made 3-pointers. The Cavaliers, in comparison, have made 122 3-pointers, led by freshman guard Harold Deane with 46.
The Lobos, who won the regular season in the WAC for the first time since 1978, shoot 45.3 percent from the field and score 78.5 points per game.
It will be the sixth NCAA appearance for New Mexico and the third under Dave Bliss, previously the head coach at Southern Methodist and Oklahoma. The Lobos fell to George Washington in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
UVa is making its 12th trip to the NCAA and third in four years under Jones. The Cavaliers didn't feel good about their chances before beating Maryland in their first ACC tournament game.
"There's no question that win got us in," Jones said.
by CNB