Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994 TAG: 9401150127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a season when North Carolina and Duke were supposed to dominate, the only men's basketball teams that have not lost a league game are Virginia and Wake Forest, a 69-68 upset winner Thursday night in Durham, N.C.
"It's still early," said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach.
Very early.
The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the conference, but their victories have come over Florida State, North Carolina State and Clemson. Those teams have a combined conference record of 0-7, 0-4 when not playing UVa.
Duke (10-1, 2-1) is another story.
"If anything, [the loss to Wake Forest] will make them even more dangerous," Jones said. "Obviously, they won't be coming here in a really good mood."
Virginia (9-3, 3-0) is coming off its sixth consecutive victory, a 64-57 triumph Wednesday night at Clemson. UVa, a four-point underdog, trailed by eight points on three occasions in the first half.
Suddenly, the Cavaliers have some breathing room after a 3-3 start.
"To say that our backs were against the wall is an accurate statement because we needed a win," Jones said Friday. "It's an inaccurate statement in the sense that what we were stressing was improvement and not the record.
"We can't afford to relax. We need to have the same attitude we had when we were 3-3. We can't escape the fact that we've blown some opportunities."
Jones was referring to back-to-back losses to Old Dominion and Stanford, when UVa squandered seven-point leads in the last 10 minutes of both games. Since returning from Christmas break, Virginia has won as an underdog against Minnesota, Nevada-Las Vegas and Clemson.
The Cavaliers still have not shot 50 percent from the field in a game this season, but neither has the opposition. Only Liberty has shot as well as 40 percent against the Cavaliers in their past six games.
"I anticipated this year, with Cory [Alexander] available, that we'd be as good or better on defense than last year," Jones said. "Junior [Burrough] has improved tremendously, and Yuri [Barnes] works hard at it."
Alexander broke his right ankle in the first game of the season and the media has grown increasingly hysterical in its speculation about his return.
It is no coincidence that Alexander's stand-in, freshman point guard Harold Deane, has scored in double figures in all six games during the winning streak, with a high of 19 points Wednesday night.
It seems, as Deane goes, so go the Cavaliers.
"That's true," Jones said, "but, at the same time, other players have taken some of the pressure off Harold."
by CNB