Virginia, SMU meet in opening game

Virginia (18-9, 9-7 in conference play) is coming off a disappointing season by school standards and though tonight will mark the 15th straight time the Cavaliers have made the tournament, it is also the first time they have not hosted the first and second rounds.

Cavalier coach Debbie Ryan said her team, which finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has recovered well from its 20-point loss to North Carolina in the conference tournament.

"They came into practice ready to practice and I think we (the coaches) have to back off a little bit and let them do it now," Ryan said. "It's up to them at this point. Coaches don't win these tournaments - players do."

One player Ryan will not have - at least in the starting lineup - is senior guard Mimi McKinney.

Ryan said McKinney was pulled from the starting lineup for violating an unspecified team rule and that she could also begin the game on the bench for a possible second round matchup against the Arizona/Santa Clara winner.

McKinney, who scored a NCAA season high 48 points in a triple overtime win over then-seventh ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., is second on the Cavaliers in scoring (15.1 ppg) and led the team in steals (2.1) and assists (3.8). She also grabbed 5.8 rebounds a game.

As for SMU (21-7, 11-3 WAC), the Mustangs are coming off an overtime loss to Colorado State in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament, which may be a good sign since they haven't lost two games in a row since late December.

Those two games also happened to be against the two best teams SMU has played - a 76-74 loss at home to then-No. 4 Louisiana Tech and a 78-55 defeat at then-No. 6 Texas Tech.

In the loss to Colorado State, junior center Claudia Brassard paced the Mustangs with 23 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four steals. Sophomore forward Karlin Kennedy, who leads SMU with 15.9 points a game, was shut down from the field, missing all eight of her field goal attempts. She did grab a game-high 14 rebounds.

A key to the game will be if SMU can get any production in the post against Cavalier center DeMya Walker, who led the ACC and was second in the nation with 3.4 blocks a game.

If the Mustangs are shut down inside, their only chance will be to get hot from three-point range, which they certainly can do with two players hitting over 40 percent from long distance.

Senior guard Kveta Truchlikova has hit 54 of her 126 attempts (42.9 percent) and junior guard Karen Blair has hit 24 of 60 (40 percent).

No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 11 SMU

(18-9, 9-7 ACC) (21-7, 11-3 WAC)

When: Tonight at 7:30

Where: McKale Center

Admission: $10

TV/Radio: none

What: The winner will face the Arizona-Santa Clara winner at 9 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN2 - SMU opponents have hit only 37 percent of their field goals this season - Virginia has played four overtime games this season, SMU has played two - Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan has a 480-164 career record in 21 seasons with the Cavaliers