Cavaliers set up challenging schedule

By Jay Jenkins

Published: September 2, 2008

Virginia coach Debbie Ryan has eliminated one series of questions long before the NCAA Tournament selection process will arrive.

While other concerns may arise, the women’s basketball selection committee will be unable to validate knocking the Cavaliers regarding their strength of schedule.

In fact, Ryan thinks the slate, which was announced Tuesday, may be the most challenging of her illustrious career.

Contests with 15 postseason participants, including the defending champions of the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT, highlight a 30-game schedule that opens at John Paul Jones Arena on Nov. 14 with High Point.

“We have competitive games up and down the schedule,” Ryan said. “I really like the fact that we are playing a difficult schedule, but at the same time it is the schedule that we need to play.”

Virginia, expected to enter the year ranked, returns four starters and eight of its top nine scorers from last season’s team. Those players will be counted upon in the opening month, one that includes a trip to face Tennessee, the defending national champions, on Nov. 17.

“We just decided that it would be a good idea to try and get Tennessee on the schedule,” Ryan said. “They are so hard to get and as it turned out they had a cancellation and came to us. We were like, ‘Wow, we would love to get it.’

“I think that is going to be a great experience and it will be a very competitive game and one that will show us where we are with the top teams in the country.”

Virginia also plays at Old Dominion (Nov. 17) and in a four-team, round-robin tournament at Marquette in the opening month. In addition to the Golden Eagles, the defending WNIT champ, the Cavaliers will face Utah and Gonzaga in the three-day event.

Playing back-to-back-to-back in an “exempt event” was intriguing to Ryan after reaping benefits from a similar event last year at Hawaii.

Non-conference contests at home with Georgia, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, and a possible title showdown with Louisiana Tech in the four-team Cavalier Classic are included among the team’s 17 home games.

UVa will also face Illinois on the road on Dec. 4 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

“It will be orange and blue night,” Ryan chuckled.

Collectively, the schedule should accomplish Ryan’s top initiative.

“I do have a lot of confidence in my players,” she said, “and I want them to be conference-ready when we have to take the floor against our conference.”

Virginia will play Florida State, Maryland and Virginia Tech twice in league play and the remaining schools one time. The four additional home games in the ACC include Boston College, Duke, Miami and Wake Forest. The Cavaliers will play Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and North Carolina State solely on the road.

Season tickets go on sale Thursday.