University of Virginia NCAA News

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The pregame video at John Paul Jones Arena advertised a new beginning for the Virginia men's basketball program, with first-year coach Tony Bennett as the impetus for the excitement. It helped that the opening night of the Bennett era came against Longwood, prolonging the honeymoon period at least a few more days.

The first public glimpse of Bennett's team appeared as he had warned -- a group with much work to do. For all the excitement about Bennett, his team did not appear to be one that followed his traditional blueprint during an 85-72 win over the Lancers. The defense suffered from lapses, turnovers were too frequent and the win could be attributed to a fast-paced offense. Despite Bennett's first victory as Virginia's coach, he was not left encouraged after the game.

Virginia and Boston College have been virtual strangers since the Eagles entered the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005, meeting only during that season.

The question seems absurd. You have a better chance of reaching Dr. Naismith during a seance than Longwood has tonight in the basketball season opener for both at John Paul Jones Arena, right? After all, the Cavaliers have smacked the Lancers each of the last four seasons with an average margin of 33.5 points.

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Virginia senior forward Jamil Tucker will take an undetermined leave of absence from the basketball program, coach Tony Bennett announced Wednesday.

Kickoff: Noon, Land Shark Stadium TV: ACC Syndication . Weather: High 70s, 30 percent rain chance.

In many ways Virginia basketball has had this sign up in their gym since the departure of three-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson.

For Virginia coach Al Groh, watching the tape yesterday of a 52-17 loss to Miami was just confirmation of what he'd suspected.

For all of the revivals his Virginia football teams have enjoyed in the 10th month, coach Al Groh has never been known as Mr.

Saturday's game at Land Shark Stadium was a far cry from Virginia's last appearance in Miami in 2007, when the Wahoo's closed the Orange Bowl with a 49-0 win.

BKCVirginia-Sene Suspended,0195 Virginia center Sene suspended 3 games Eds: APNewsNow.

The last time Virginia coach Al Groh was on the sideline in South Florida, his Cavaliers ended Miami's era at the Orange Bowl with a stunning 48-0 romp over the Hurricanes.

On April 1, 2009, Tony Bennett was introduced as the 11th head coach of Virginia's basketball program ... in three seasons at Washington State, Bennett led the Cougars to a 69-33 record, including a 32-22 mark in the Pac-10 ... Washington State's 69 wins were the most in a three-year span in school history ... the 2007 consensus National Coach of ...

The Virginia football team has gone 26 years without consecutive losing seasons, but now finds itself in danger of seeing that happen.

As a passer, Jameel Sewell has been plagued by wildness at times, but opponents generally have had to his honor his running ability.

For better or worse, Virginia's football players are given a game plan for their upcoming contest on a weekly basis.

We'll begin today by trying to make you laugh, or at least smile. Because even though it hasn't been much fun to be a college football fan in this state the past few weeks, you've got to remember to laugh.

An offseason pledge to improve Virginia's special teams, one that included hiring former Kansas State coach Ron Prince to coordinate the unit, has not yielded results as Coach Al Groh had hoped.

Aside from place kicker Robert Randolph's impressive accuracy (he's made 12 of 13 field goal attempts), no other component of Virginia's special teams has positively swayed games. The Cavaliers are eighth of 12 ACC teams in both punt and kickoff coverage.

'The major thing is your specialists have to have an outstanding performance,' Groh said. 'That is, kickers and returners on two of the three units, let's say we're not shooting par, and we're looking for a much-upgraded performance in punting the ball and kicking off.'

Walk-on Nathan Rathjen took over as Virginia's punter Saturday, replacing sophomore Jimmy Howell, who had done virtually all of UVa's punting for the past two seasons.

Duke's players charged toward midfield at Wallace Wade Stadium when the clock expired in last season's 31-3 win over Virginia, reveling after they snapped a 25-game ACC losing streak. The image is ingrained in the mind of Cavaliers fullback Rashawn Jackson, who sounded as if he wanted to pound a blocking sled -- perhaps one adorned with a Blue Devils jersey -- while recounting the celebration earlier this week.

'We were embarrassed,' said Jackson, who has a chance to even the score on Saturday at Scott Stadium.