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Virginia To Host South Carolina In NIT Wednesday
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March 12, 2002
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
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UVa Makes Third Consecutive Postseason Appearance
The Cavaliers bid to the 2002 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) marks their third consecutive postseason appearance. UVa also played in the 2000 NIT and received an NCAA Tournament bid in 2001.
Virginia will host South Carolina (18-14) in the first round of the 2002 NIT on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m. in University Hall. The game will be televised by ESPN2. Brad Nessler will handle the play-by-play and Larry Conley is the analyst.
Virginia Makes Ninth NIT Appearance
Virginia is participating in the National Invitation Tournament for the ninth time. The Cavaliers have won the NIT championship twice, in 1980 and in 1992, and have compiled an overall record of 13-6 in their eight previous appearances in the tournament.
UVa’s most recent appearance in the NIT was in 2000 when it lost in triple overtime, 115-111, to Georgetown (Mar. 15) in University Hall.
In 1992, the Cavaliers rolled to the tournament championship. Virginia won at Villanova 83-80 in the first round and then defeated Tennessee 77-52 at home in the second round. The Cavaliers defeated New Mexico 76-71 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va., in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals at Madison Square Garden, UVa defeated Florida 62-56. Virginia won the 1992 NIT Championship with an 81-76 overtime victory over Notre Dame in the championship game.
The Series vs. South Carolina
Virginia leads the all-time series against South Carolina 25-23. The two schools met often from 1955-71 when South Carolina was a league foe in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since South Carolina left the ACC following the 1970-71 season, the teams have met just three times -each in early season tournaments – the Maui Invitational, the Great Alaska Shootout and the Puerto Rico Shootout.
The Cavaliers have won two of the last three meetings in the series. UVa won 65-59 in the second round of the Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 23, 1990) and 93-70 in the first round of the Maui Invitational (Nov. 25, 1996). In the latest meeting in the series in the 1999-2000 season, the Gamecocks won 73-71 in the first round of the Puerto Rico Shootout (Nov. 25, 1999).
The series with South Carolina dates back to the 1920-21 season with the Cavaliers winning 44-9 at home. UVa is 16-7 all-time against South Carolina in Charlottesville. Virginia is 3-3 versus the Gamecocks in University Hall. In the last game between the two teams in U-Hall, the Cavaliers came away with a 50-49 victory on January 11, 1971 when UVa great Barry Parkhill canned a baseline jumper to help Virginia upset second-ranked South Carolina.
Mason and Watson Named to USBWA All-District Team
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., and junior forward/center Travis Watson have both been selected to the 2001-2002 United States Basketball Writers Association All-District III team, as voted by the association’s membership.
Four Cavaliers Earn ACC Accolades
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., and junior forward/center Travis Watson were both selected to the 2001-2002 All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team. In addition, forward Elton Brown and guard Keith Jenifer were honorable mention selections to the 2002 ACC All-Freshman Team. The teams were voted on by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association.
Watson was a second-team All-ACC selection last season, while Mason was a third-team All-ACC pick in 2000-2001.
Members of the All-ACC first team are Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and Jason Williams of Duke, Juan Dixon of Maryland and Anthony Grundy of N.C. State. In addition to Mason and Watson, the second team is made up of Tony Akins (Georgia Tech), Lonny Baxter (Maryland) and Darius Songaila (Wake Forest). The All-ACC third team is comprised of Steve Blake (Maryland), Jason Capel (North Carolina), Josh Howard (Wake Forest), Edward Scott (Clemson) and Chris Wilcox (Maryland).
The ACC All-Freshman Team is made up of Julius Hodge and Josh Powell of N.C. State, B.J. Elder and Ed Nelson of Georgia Tech, and Jawad Williams of North Carolina.
Non-Conference Teams at University Hall
Virginia is 194-28 (.874) all-time in University Hall against non-conference opponents since the building opened for the 1965-66 season. The Cavaliers have won 76 of their last 85 home games, including the last 15, against non-conference opponents dating back to the 1989-90 season.