Although the Cavaliers (12-5, 3-1) remain atop the ACC standings (albeit in a tie with Maryland), they certainly didn’t look like a top team in a premier conference against the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest jumped out to a 34-15 halftime lead, and that was only the midst of an 18-1 run that buried Tony Bennett’s team for good.

Besides a late run that was essentially meaningless, very little went right for Virginia. Sylven Landesberg scored 18 points, but was forced to sit for the majority of the first half after picking up two quick fouls, devastating the Cavaliers’ offense. Landesberg eventually fouled out of the game. The Cavs only got six points from forward Mike Scott, and just one from guard Sammy Zeglinski. Both average double figures. To make matters worse, Virginia shot 8-for-16 from the foul line – well below its 76.3% season average.

Credit Wake Forest (14-4, 4-2), whose strong rebounding effort (42-26 advantage) gave them an additional edge in the victory. Ishmael Smith tallied 21 points for the Deacs, while  Chas McFarland hurt Virginia early on and finished with 16. Al-Farouq Aminu squeaked out a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

Virginia will return to action Thursday night at JPJ against rival Virginia Tech (15-3, 2-2).

Fans could be forgiven for thinking his introductory press conference was a bad April Fool’s prank.  Former Coach Dave Leitao had proclaimed the same principles as Bennett did in his initial remarks.  The whole spiel about defense, hustle, and toughness was a tired refrain often preached but rarely practiced under the old regime.  The team seemed to chaff under the dictatorial style of Leitao, who yanked minutes around and frequently berated players on the sideline.  By the end of 2008-2009, the ‘Hoos were an easy win for many conference contenders; nine of their final 12 losses came by double digits.  Why should followers of the program believe that a new coach could turn his weary squad into competitors in a perennially vicious ACC?

And yet, 14 games into his tenure as Cavs Coach, Bennett has made believers out of the players and fans.  In Wednesday night’s 82-75 win over #20 Georgia Tech, it was obvious that the team has adopted the approach of its new boss.  Although the Yellow Jackets shot over 51% from the floor, the UVA defense stiffened in crunch time, yielding only six makes in 17 attempts over the final 9:30 of game time.  And despite inferior athletic ability, Virginia pulled out the win thanks to smart and sound play.  UVA committed only seven turnovers and excelled from the foul line, making 23 of 26 attempts (including last Saturday’s win at North Carolina State, the ‘Hoos have made 42 of their last 46 free throw attempts – that’s a 91.3% clip).  Bennett has said his goal is to make it hard for other teams to beat his, and recently, opponents have not been up to that challenge; Virginia’s current six-game win streak is its longest since a seven-game stretch in 2006-2007.

“We had some guys really battle,” Bennett said after the game.  “I thought our defense showed up in the second half.  In the first half, it wasn’t really solid.  Their effort was there, but the execution wasn’t.  They really made Georgia Tech earn; it was physical with the post players.  That’s a good team and we outlasted them.

“You have to win the hustle game.  Guys did that and we got a good look from our bench and took care of the ball and made our free throws.  Those are good things.”

Such praise was rare from the mouth of Dave Leitao over the past few seasons.  No performance ever seemed adequate for the hard-to-please ex-coach, whose habit of pulling guys after even trivial mistakes took an emotional toll on his young players.  Under Bennett, the players feel like they have a fresh start and the full confidence of a youthful, relatable coach.  This new mindset has translated into tangible results earlier than realistic observers could have expected.

Even though they are out-manned and undersized in the frontcourt, the Wahoos rebound well pound-for-pound and show exemplary poise on both ends of the floor.  Against Georgia Tech, a team with two projected lottery-pick forwards, the Cavs held their own in the rebounding margin, grabbing 36 boards to 33 for the Jackets.  While they were shaky at times against a desperate GT press in the closing minutes, every Cavalier who stepped to the foul line calmly sank his bonus shots.  The patience and discipline shown on the offensive end are marked improvements from the rushed shots and ill-advised fast breaks of a year ago.  The 2009-2010 ‘Hoos rank 36th nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive efficiency ratings, a huge step up from the 2008-2009 incarnation’s ranking of 165 (for a description of this and other useful statistics, refer to http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/weblog/stats_explained/).

The results Bennett has delivered despite the thin (relative to other conference teams) amount of talent at his disposal are encouraging for the Cavalier faithful.  Any doubts that he is an effective coach, recruiter, and communicator have been erased with this year’s 10-4 start – a record that equals last season’s win total with an almost identical roster.  While the early returns from the Bennett era are cause for hope in Charlottesville, it is still important to remember that this roster is almost identical to last year’s.  With the meat of its conference schedule ahead, Virginia would be fortunate to finish around .500 in ACC play, even after its 2-0 league start.

Even so, after his team’s second win over a top-25 opponent in as many tries, it’s hard not to have faith in Bennett’s vision for the program.   More importantly, his players are buying into the philosophy; Wednesday’s win was a perfect example of the grit and discipline promised by the new coach less than 10 months ago.

“It just seems like to me this year everybody’s a lot more confident,” said Mustapha Farrakhan, who finished with 15 points against the Jackets, shooting 4-8 from the floor and 6-6 from the charity stripe.  “We’re going in there and playing with a lot of confidence out there, relying on one another.  It’s great.”

Trust me, Mustapha, the fans feel the same way.

Wednesday January 13

UVA Men’s Basketball: versus #18 Georgia Tech

The UVA men’s basketball team (9-4, 1-0) was written off at the start of the season, predicted to finish eleventh or twelfth (out of 12) in the ACC by most “experts.” While that still could happen, I do not think it will (and as of press time they were tied for 1^st, this will mark the only time that will be true so Cavalier fans enjoy it while it lasts). I also do not think anyone expected the new coach Tony Bennett to be able to instill his defense first attitude so quickly. Bennett did inherit a young team with lots of potential, but they were certainly not used to doing anything but living and dying by the three, let alone defense. Even with all the adjustments on the fly both the team and the coach have had to make, they have only let up over 70 points once, and that was in the first game. Albeit not the strongest out of conference schedule, opposing teams are averaging only 59 points a game against the Cavaliers. In the Cavs four losses this year, three have them come by 5 or less points, including a tip-in as time expired loss at Auburn. I would not be surprised if the Cavs finish 6-10 in the ACC and beat UNC-Wilmington to finish off Bennett’s first regular season with a winning record of 15-14. The future is further brightened by the fact that we already have five recruits signed for next year headlined by two ESPN U top 100 players.

In the Cavaliers second game against a ranked opponent this season; they take on a Georgia Tech team very different than last year. After finishing last in the ACC, Georgia Tech had a recruiting class for the ages as they got four ESPN U top 100 players headlined by the #1 ranked Power Forward (and #2 ranked overall) Derrick Favors. Favors (11.7ppg, 8.7rpg) and Gani Lawal (15.4ppg, 9.4rpg) will be the x-factors in this game as the undersized Cavaliers will have to throw every “big” forward at them plus guards to stand a chance at stopping either around the basket. Though the future is getting brighter for UVA men’s basketball, barring the best game multiple UVA players have ever had, expect Georgia Tech to take care of business like they did against Duke last weekend.

Friday January 15

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Atlanta Hawks

Yes, you are reading correctly. The NBA game of the week is the Phoenix Suns at the Atlanta Hawks. This game will be a fast paced and high scoring, pitting the highest scoring team per game in the West against the highest scoring team per game in the East. Better yet, the Suns, though 24-14 and very much a playoff contender, allow the second most points per game. Both teams are currently sitting fourth in their respective conferences and will not be playing back to back, assuring a full lineup of stars playing almost the whole game. One interesting point to note, while both teams play up-tempo basketball, the average age of the starting lineup for the Hawks is below 26 while the starting lineup for the Suns is slightly over 30. Will youth or experience prevail? Given it is the middle of an east coast trip for the Suns versus a home stand for the Hawks, expect the Hawks to take this one with both teams scoring over 100 points.

Saturday January 16

Premiership: Manchester City at Everton

In the past month, Manchester City have fired Mark Hughes and brought in former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini and former Arsenal and Inter Milan defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira. Though I never agreed with the hiring of Hughes to right the City ship to begin with, his firing was done after a win and after he was doing a respectable job; losing only twice in seventeen Premiership games as well as guiding them to the Carling Cup Semifinals. Hughes had to do all of that with a bunch of players that were bought in the past six months and for the most part had never played with each other. I wish Hughes all the best and do not think it will be too long before we see him at the helm of a Premiership or Championship side. Since Mancini took over, Man City have won four straight (three in the league, one the FA Cup fourth round matchup) and allowed only one goal. Mancini also made sure to bring in Vieira to have more leadership in a locker room full of young talent with no real leader. They will look to take their momentum to Goodison Park.

Everton on the other hand, have done very little this year differently from the past three where they finished in the top 6 (good enough to qualify for a spot in the former UEFA Cup/ present Europa League) apart from winning as many games. They started the season losing three of their first four and struggled against weaker opponents. After a heartbreaking loss to cross-town rivals Liverpool at the end of November, Everton seem to have gotten back on track. They have an unbeaten streak of six Premiership games which included draws with four teams (1^st place Chelsea, 3^rd place Arsenal, 5^th place Tottenham, 7^th place Birmingham City) in the top 7. Everton has just brought in USA Captain Landon Donovan to shore up their midfield and if he continues to play like he did against Arsenal they will look like geniuses. Expect a low scoring, hard fought contest ending in a draw or another heartbreaking loss for Everton.

NFL: Playoffs; NFC Divisional Round, Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints

I am sure by now every Packer fan is sick of hearing about it, but last week’s Wild-Card matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals was phenomenal. It re-wrote the record books with the amount of points scored, first downs reached, and total yards accumulated. A football fan without a team in the playoffs might (with good reason) ask themselves if that was the climax of the playoffs (with maybe only the commercials of the Super Bowl enough to make it the climax). I am not of this belief, in fact I think this game between the Cardinals and the Saints might be an even better battle of the passing game versus terrible secondaries. Though I do not agree with benching starts the last two games of the season (a discussion for another day), the three game losing streak to end the season for the Saints, who could have gone undefeated, should not matter. That said I do think it will take a quarter to a quarter and a half for Drew Brees to be as accurate as usual and his receivers to be in sync, something that would not have happened if they did not bench the starters so much. I think that the Cardinals left it all on the field against the Packers though, were lucky to pull out the victory, and can only keep pulling off these upsets so many times before they meet a team too good for them to upset. The Saints are that team and will be more than well rested. Expect the Saints to crush the Cardinals in a game that could see another 90+ combined points scored.

NFL: Playoffs; AFC Divisional Round, Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts

Like the Cardinals, the Ravens are trying to repeat last year’s upset specials. Again the Ravens were the lowest seed in the playoffs and again they take on the number 1 seed in the Divisional Round. This time though, they face four time MVP Peyton Manning (as opposed to Kerry Collins) and indoors. Though I would love to see the gritty Ravens defense stop the Colts like they did against the Wes Welker-less Patriots, I just do not see it happening. The Colts passing game was the second best overall this season in yards per game and the Ravens passing defense was only tied for eighth best. Expect the Colts to win this game, but not in a blowout.

Sunday January 17

NFL: Playoffs; NFC Divisional Round, Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings

The Dallas Cowboys have their first playoff win in 14 years under their belt, but they did it at home. Can they win on the road? Tony Romo is not the epitome of “clutch” but his performance against the fairly strong Eagles Defense, and more importantly his lack of mistakes, will need to be recreated against the much peskier Vikings defense. Felix Jones will also need to have another breakout game. On the defensive end, neutralizing Adrian Peterson will be key. If the run game is not working, Brett Favre does not have it in him to beat you if he has to pass over 40 times. In three of the last four games where Favre passed over 40 times, the Vikings lost. Weather will not be a factor in the dome. Given the last three games of the regular season and the destruction of the Eagles last week, I expect the red hot Cowboys to beat the Vikings who have struggled as of late.

NFL: Playoffs; AFC Divisional Round, New York Jets at San Diego Chargers

I still cannot get over the fact the only New York football team in the playoffs are the Jets with a first year quarterback and first year coach. Yet again, it still should not be a surprise though, given that the Jets had the best passing defense and the best rushing offense during the regular season. One must also note that the Jets offense would be nothing without UVA alums starting running back Thomas Jones and Offensive Tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. While the San Diego Chargers are on an 11 game winning streak and are my prediction for winning the Super Bowl, they have the second worst rushing offense and have the 20^th best rushing defense. If the Jets can shut down the Chargers’ 5^th best passing offense, do not be surprised if the Jets pull off the unthinkable. If Sanchez can limit his mistakes to a maximum of one interception or fumble and pass with such accuracy as last week, the Jets may just be the Cardinals/Ravens of last year. Though Darrelle Revis is arguably the best cornerback in the league and will shut down Vincent Jackson, he won’t be covering Antonio Gates who will be the x-factor in this game. Expect the Chargers to pull out a close one like they did against the Giants earlier in the regular season.

The Virginia men’s basketball team bounced back from an ugly loss Monday at South Florida with consecutive victories in Charlottesville this week. The Cavaliers knocked off Rider, 79-46 on Thursday, and then defeated Oral Roberts, 76-55 on Saturday afternoon. Both games at John Paul Jones Arena were the preliminary matchups of the 2009 Cancun Challenge.

Tony Bennett’s squad will now make the trip to Mexico for a contest with Stanford on Tuesday night, followed by a matchup with either Kentucky or Cleveland State on Wednesday.

Although wins over Rider and Oral Roberts may seem insignificant, they mark a large improvement from a horrible performance against Big-East bottom feeder South Florida in Tampa. Additionally, Rider and ORU both came into JPJ riding two game winning streaks–including one win each against a high profile opponent. Rider defeated then-18th ranked Mississippi State to begin the year, and Oral Roberts added a win over Stanford to its resume earlier in the week.

The Cavaliers did not struggle with either, however, cruising to victories on both occasions. Mike Scott put up 17 and 15 points to go along with 9 and 10 rebounds in the two wins respectively, leading the team in both categories. The ‘Hoos used a balanced attack in each win, with four players reaching double-figures on both Thursday and Saturday.

Some new faces were also welcomed to the floor at the arena this week. 7-foot center Assane Sene returned for the Oral Roberts game after a 3-game suspension, and was clearly a presence with 8 points and 7 boards in 13 minutes. Additionally, sparingly used Will Sherrill totaled 27 minutes over the two contests, defending well and grabbing nine rebounds for the defensive-minded Bennett.

All in all, Virginia fans should be much more encouraged following two dominating performances against two semi-relevant mid major opponents.  We should find out much more about what kind of team Bennett has next week in Mexico.

I have no problem with hiring an up and coming coach. Everything I’ve heard about Mr. Bennett is that he is the top young coach in the country and I look forward to seeing what he can do. What I do have a problem with is how the fans/alumni/athletic department higher ups – whoever is the driving force behind the hiring/firing of the coach – don’t seem to have the patience to let the new guy approach run its course. Dave Leitao was supposed to be a great young coach who would be here for years…he lasted four. I thought he had recruited pretty well for a UVA coach (a McD’s all-american and an honorable mention) and that the basketball program was rising from the depths it had reached after the Gillen years.

Apparently, for those making the decisions, this wasn’t enough and they fired him because they want to win NOW. Well, I’d love for us to win NOW but it just isn’t feasible for a guy like Leitao, or even Bennett to win NOW in the ACC. If you want instant results, hire Tubby Smith, Rick Barnes, or Jeff Capel. They’ll bring in the 5-star recruits and fill the arena like nobody’s business. But, if they turn us down (which I think happened in this search), then lower the expectations to a reasonable level and give the new guy a chance to do his thing. By firing Leitao and hiring Bennett, we’ve effectively hit the “reset” button on the basketball program back to four years ago, which is not a good place to be. And, frankly, I don’t see the outcome being any different four years down the road if people’s attitude doesn’t change.

All that being said, I’m beginning to really like this hire. Bennett played for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay and actually played a few seasons professionally for the Charlotte Hornets before retiring due to injury. He then joined his dad’s staff in Wisconsin (the Big 10 one, not Green Bay) and stayed there until 2003 when his dad took the Washington State job. He succeeded his father at Wazzou in 2006 and proceeded to take the team to the NCAA tournament his first two years (the Sweet 16 in 2008) and the NIT this season. That’s a pretty nice resume for a coach…but there have been several concerns from Cavlier fans about this guy. Let’s examine some of these concerns and see how he holds up.

He’s only been a head coach for three years.

A legitimate concern but again, if you’re willing to wait and let him do his thing, this shouldn’t be an issue. Coach K had only been coaching for 5 years when he got to Duke and he had much less success with those Army teams than Bennett had at Wazzou…I’d say Mr. Krzyzewski turned out to be a good hire.

He didn’t win with his guys/ he can’t recruit.

Well, when he was an assistant under his father, he did some of the recruiting for him at Wisconsin and then again at WSU. He recruited Devin Harris and Alando Tucker to play for the Badgers (maybe you’ve heard of them?) and recruited most of the guys he took to the Sweet 16 at WSU. This is made even more impressive considering WSU is the third best program in the state behind Washington and Gonzaga and it’s located in Pullman, Washington. My dad described Pullman to me yesterday: “Fly to Spokane (a Cville-esque size city) and drive two hours out of that.” Yikes…not exactly a glamorous place to attend school. I’d say he can do no worse than our previous guys.

He’s a flight risk.

Another legit concern since he has little connection to the area but I don’t think this is an issue. He’s already turned down big time jobs closer to his home area (Indiana and Marquette to name a few) and we’re paying him quite a bit of cash to come coach here. I don’t think he’s going to be able to find an upgrade in terms of exposure, money, and proximity to home…it just doesn’t exist.

His teams play boring basketball.

Ok, his teams averaged 2 points less than us per game this past season…big drop off there. But seriously, are we going to complain about the style if it produces wins? That’s just stupid. His teams are well coached and they win basketball games. Their opponents averaged 1.078 points per possession this past season…that would put them at number two in the ACC this year in defense, second only to Duke and well above the likes of us. The year they went to the Sweet 16, they coupled their great defense with a remarkably efficient offense as they averaged 1.425 points per possession and a differential of .3674…that’s just good basketball. We haven’t even come close to matching that efficiency since the expansion. And it’s not like those stats are inflated against a cupcake league; that was the Pac-10 when UCLA went to the Final Four, USC had OJ Mayo, and the Lopez twins were at Stanford. To really sum up his coaching ability, if you put the average WSU team he’s coached in the ACC, my predictor calls for them to win 70% of their games. That’s his average team…I like those numbers considering the best we’ve seen from our guys was a .650ish winning percentage in 2006-2007.

In closing, this guy can coach and I don’t think anyone can argue that. But what will determine his tenure here at UVA is what we the fans view as success. If success is reaching the ACC Championship and maybe the Final Four within four years, then he’s in for a short stay. But if it’s to build the program steadily and end up in 5-6 years making it to the NCAA Tournament regularly, I think Mr. Bennett could be here for quite some time. We aren’t Carolina or Duke; let’s hope we realize it before we reset again.