Sene starting to make strides

When Virginia 7-footer Assane Sene blocked consecutive shots during the second half of Wednesday night’s win over Longwood, you half expected him to start waving his finger, a la NBA player Dikembe Mutombo. The freshman’s intimidation in the lane was palpable.
“He has really long arms,” marveled Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski. “I think he’s starting to get comfortable out there and is going to have a lot more blocks.”
Such a progression from Sene would be huge for UVa, which finished dead last in the ACC in blocks last season.
Sene, who had six points and five rebounds in addition to his two swats, seems to be building confidence on both ends of the floor.
“It felt good to get some minutes because everything is about what I show in practice,” said the Senegal native. “Coach trusts me and knows I can do what I do in practice in the games — that’s why I got minutes like that.
“Every time he puts me on the court, I’m just trying to do what I can do in practice.”
Leitao, whose team hosts Auburn on Saturday, seemed encouraged.
“He’s still got to get stronger and more seasoned and all that, but I think he gives us some more activity,” Leitao said. “He runs up and down the court better than any of our other big guys. …I keep giving him shots because I think his mind is right and he wants the same thing that I want from him.”
Jones motivated
Virginia guard Jeff Jones has tried to use getting benched to his advantage. The sophomore, who received the first DNP of his college career in the loss at Minnesota on Dec. 2, hit the gym hard during UVa’s recent 15-day winter exam hiatus.
“I just used [the benching] as motivation,” Jones said. “I didn’t take [any] days off. Even when we had days off, I was still here in the morning getting up shots. I just want to get my rhythm back and show people that I can score the ball.”
Against Longwood, Jones scored seven points on 3 of 4 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench — a positive sign after going 7 of 28 in his previous four appearances.
Jones is looking forward to playing more games.
“It felt like the longest break ever,” Jones said. “It felt like training camp, but it was good because it felt like we got our rhythm back from the three straight losses. Guys went out there and played hard.”
Bounding and astounding
Virginia’s 49-23 edge in rebounding was its largest margin since outrebounding Penn by 30 last season. UVa, led by Jamil Tucker’s 10 rebounds, had five players with at least five boards.
Switcheroo
Tucker started the game — and recorded his first career double-double — before injuring his ankle in the second half. It was the sixth different starting lineup Leitao has employed in seven games.
Mo blues
Mamadi “Mo” Diane continued his sub-par play. The senior was just 1 of 7 from the field, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range. Diane, who also missed a wide-open dunk, is now 0-17 from behind the arc this season.