The importance of this game for Maryland can not overstated.

MD must win their home games vs UVA, BC, Miami, VaTech – and three road games against GaTech, Clemson, NCST, and UVA.

That gets them to 8 wins in conference, and that combined with wins against Michigan St, and Michigan will have them on the bubble.

That with 1 win in the 5 games vs UNC, Duke, and Wake will have them in.

If you slip up in a game like tomorrow night at home, that forces you to win a game you currently expect to lose elsewhere.

MD is 12-5 overall, 1-2 in the ACC.

The Cavs are 7-7 overall, 1-2 in the ACC.

Winning tomorrow night not only gets you back to 500 in conference, it further seperates MD from the bottom of the league.

UVA has:

Wins against – VMI, South Florida, Radford, Longwood, Hampton, @Georgia Tech, and Brown

Losses against – Liberty, Syracuse, Minnesota, Auburn, Xavier, @VaTech, UNC

The Cavaliers have 3 players avg in double figures, and 6 players avg at least 6 points a game:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/vaf/stats

They are led by the Freshman guard Landesberg.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2009-ncaab-vaf&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report&print=1

Virginia Team Report
Yahoo! Sports Jan 18, 10:46 pm EST
Getting Inside

The Cavaliers (7-7, 1-2 ACC) are the only team in the Atlantic Coast Conference without a winning overall record.

They could fix that on Tuesday with a road victory over conference rival Maryland, who is coming off back-to-back losses to Miami and Florida State.

If the Cavaliers are to win in College Park for just the third time since 1993-94, they’ll have to shoot better from 3-point territory.

They were just 4-of-27 from behind the arc in an 83-61 loss to North Carolina on Thursday.

They’re last in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (29.8). Cavaliers head coach Dave Leitao said his players must do a better job with shot selection.

“I think any time you go 4-for-27, I can tell you a number of those were not rhythm shots,” Leitao said. “I can tell you a number of them were not the best shot you could get for each possession.”

Notes, Quotes
• Freshman guard Sylven Landesberg was held to a career-low two points against North Carolina on Jan. 15. He shot just 1-of-9 from the floor. He was fourth in the ACC at 18.5 points per game heading into the contest. He’s now sixth in the conference in scoring (17.3 points per game).
• Freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski struggled mightily against North Carolina with three points, one assist and four turnovers. It was the first time since a 66-56 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 2 that Zeglinski finished with more turnovers than assists.

Quote To Note: “It’s a difficult position, but to whom much is given, much is expected. It’s a chess match, and he’s going to face that more.”—Virginia head coach Dave Leitao on the way North Carolina focused its defense on stopping Landesberg, who was held to two points.

Strategy And Personnel
In addition to their struggles shooting behind the 3-point line, the Cavaliers are also having serious defensive issues. They’re last in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.

Player Rotation: Usual starters—PG Sammy Zeglinski, SG Sylven Landesberg, SF Mamadi Diane, PF Mike Scott, C Assane Sene. Key subs—G Calvin Baker, SG Jeff Jones, F Jamil Tucker, SG Mustapha Farrakhan.

In Focus: The Cavaliers haven’t won at Duke since 1994-95, and that won’t likely change this year. The Blue Devils have won 16-of-17 games to open the season and are contenders for the conference title.

Roster Report:
• Freshman center John Brandenburg was viewed as a recruiting coup for the Cavaliers when he signed a national letter of intent. He was rated a four-star prospect by rivals.com and also had scholarship offers from Florida, Wisconsin, Stanford and Missouri. But he’s appeared in just five games for the Cavaliers for a total of 15 minutes, making him nothing more than a project at his point in his career.
• Senior SF Mamadi Diane hasn’t been helped much by his insertion into the starting lineup for the past three games. He’s averaging just 5.0 points per game as a starter. For the season, he’s shooting just 29 percent from the field and 2-for-29 from 3-point range.
• Sophomore SG Jeff Jones was thought to be a major contributor coming into the year. He scored 26 points in the Cavaliers’ 2007-08 season finale against Bradley in the College Basketball Invitational. But this season, Jones has yet to start a game. He’s scoring just 4.5 points per game and shooting 31 percent from the field.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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