Clemson, S.C. — Roger Mason was upset about Virginia's second-straight loss after a 9-0 start. But something else bothered him even more.
"I told the team that this is not the worst it can get for us," Mason said after the seventh-ranked Cavaliers lost 68-52 to Clemson on Tuesday night.
"It's bad right now and we feel terrible," Mason said. "But there's a long way ahead. I just told everybody they have to look in the mirror. Changes."
Those changes will need to come before the Cavaliers (9-2, 0-2 ACC) go to North Carolina on Saturday.
Virginia rose as high as No. 4 in the rankings with nine straight victories. But the Cavaliers were beaten at home by North Carolina State 81-74 last Saturday and had their worst shooting performance of the season, going 22-of-61 (36.1 percent).
Mason led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Travis Watson, the team's high scorer the past three games, was held to six points. Chris Williams, averaging nearly 16 points a game, missed all seven shots and did not score.
The Cavaliers were 2-of-24 on three-pointers and held to their lowest point total of the season, more than 30 points below their 84.8 point average coming in.
"Maybe we think we're a little bit better than we are," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.
No. 10 Cincinnati 71, Charlotte 58
Cincinnati Leonard Stokes scored 19 points and Cincinnati's half-court defense frustrated Charlotte's long-range shooters as the Bearcats pulled away. Cincinnati (14-1, 2-0) won its 14th in a row the longest active streak in Div. I.
No. 12 Syracuse 85, Seton Hall 70
Syracuse, N.Y. Preston Shumpert scored 19 points and DeShaun Williams had 18 as Syracuse beat Seton Hall.
St. John's 71,
No. 21 Miami 60
New York Marcus Hatten scored 25 points and St. John's held Miami to one field goal over the final 16 minutes as the Hurricanes lost for the second straight time after opening the season 14-0.
Arkansas 75,
No. 22 Mississippi St. 64
Fayetteville, Ark. Brandon Dean and Michael Jones keyed a 14-0 run, and Jannero Pargo stopped a Mississippi State rally by scoring five straight points.
No. 23 Pittsburgh 66, Rutgers 58
Piscataway, N.J. Jaron Brown scored 14 points and sparked a decisive run after Pittsburgh blew a 15-point lead against Rutgers.
Indiana 83, No. 25 Michigan State 65
Bloomington, Ind. Tom Coverdale scored 22 points and Jared Jeffries added 21 as Indiana made 14 three-pointers.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.