Virginia, behind 17 points and nine rebounds from Mike Scott, 12 points from Sammy Zeglinski and a spark off the bench from walk-on Will Sherrill, led Rider almost from wire to wire and notched the first blowout win of the Bennett era — a 79-46 dismantling of the Broncs.

Celebrating her 20th birthday, Shine torched USC Upstate for a career-best 27 points as Virginia rolled to an easy 110-63 victory inside John Paul Jones Arena.

After wearing an orange necktie during Virginia’s season-opening victory over Longwood last week, Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett didn’t wear one in the team’s loss at South Florida on Monday night.

Calvin Baker, who served as one of the team’s three captains last season, made his return to the court in Virginia’s 66-49 loss to South Florida on Monday night.

South Florida, behind 22 points and seven rebounds from junior guard Dominique Jones, and 18 points and eight rebounds from Augustus Gilchrist, avenged their loss to Virginia last season in Charlottesville with a 66-49 victory in front of a crowd of 4,193 at The Sun Dome.

Tonight, the Cavaliers, with first-year coach Tony Bennett, hope to put the trend behind them when they play at the University of South Florida. UVa has a 10-game losing streak in the Sunshine State.

When Virginia freshman Jontel Evans checked into Friday night’s game against Longwood at John Paul Jones Arena, there was a noticeable ovation from the crowd.

Almost immediately after taking his seat at the podium for his post-game press conference on Friday night, Virginia coach Tony Bennett was asked about his team’s defensive letdown late in its easy 85-72 victory over Longwood.

The season-opening victory, which required a second-half surge, gave Ryan her 700th career win. It made her the 12th coach to accomplish the feat.

New Virginia Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tony Bennett summarizes his team’s 85-72 season opener victory over Longwood.

Debbie Ryan and Virginia hit the road to open the season tonight at Maryland-Baltimore County at 7 p.m. as the Hall of Fame coach attempts to join a star-studded list of coaches with 700 victories.

Meyinsse is one of several Virginia players with a lot to prove as the Tony Bennett era officially kicks off tonight at John Paul Jones Arena against Longwood.

No matter what happens in his Virginia debut tonight against Longwood at John Paul Jones Arena, don’t expect new coach Tony Bennett to sweat through his entire suit, a la Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl.

On Wednesday, Virginia fans received some more bad news when the school announced that senior forward Jamil “The Thrill” Tucker was taking an “indefinite leave of absence” from the team.

It was over the summer in the Big Apple when Sylven Landesberg began to see just how much potential teammate Assane Sene really had.

Last November, Sylven Landesberg’s stat line was borderline ridiculous.

Well, everything, not surprisingly, starts on the defensive end.

Bennett was, and still is, a player at heart.

Just six days from the season opener and the start of the Tony Bennett era, the Virginia men’s basketball program has suffered a big loss.

When you consider that doing so is one of the fastest routes for a freshman player to earn playing time, Evans could be in good shape as he begins his college career. Factor in that he’ll be playing for one of the most defensive-minded coaches in the country in Tony Bennett, and he could be in excellent shape.

Moore was joined on the preseason squad by teammate Tina Charles, Stanford’s Jayne Appel, Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender and Virginia’s Monica Wright.

Virginia earned the No. 14 spot in the poll and was the third-highest ACC team.

One thing is very clear when you talk to Virginia freshman Tristan Spurlock — he’s not some shy, timid kid who’s just hoping to make an impact on the program someday in the future.

On Tuesday, UVa senior Calvin Baker underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out a loose piece of cartilage in his right knee.

Wright landed the honor at the annual ACC media day, which was held at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina.

At ACC Media Day on Sunday, John Clougherty, the ACC coordinator of men’s basketball officiating, announced a new rule in which help-defenders will be whistled for fouls if they attempt to take a charge within an 18-24 inch “imaginary” line, extending from the edge of the backboard to the front of the rim.

Last season, UVa was picked by the media to finish 12th in the 12-school ACC. The Cavaliers ended up 11th, and replaced former coach Dave Leitao with Bennett at season’s end.
On Sunday afternoon at ACC Media Day, Virginia was predicted to finish 11th.

“We’re just trying to work hard,” said Bennett, whose team opens its season against Longwood on Nov. 13. “We certainly have a lot of work to do. We’re just trying to get better every day.“

With the start of official practice on Friday, smiles abounded — something that was missing the last couple of years when many Virginia players seemed as if they were walking on egg shells.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Mitchell joins Will Regan, Joe Harris, K.T. Harrell and James Johnson in Bennett’s inaugural 2010 recruiting class.