Virginia faces PSU in ACC/Big 10 Challenge

For Virginia basketball fans, one of the frustrating things about the annual ACC/Big 10 Challenge has been the fact that the games have never really been against any of the so-called Big 10 blue bloods.
The powers that be have typically scheduled UVa to play bottom-tier teams. Even the year after Virginia won a share of the ACC regular-season championship in 2007, the Cavaliers were assigned to play Northwestern (and won by 42 points).
This season, however, you probably won’t get very many gripes from fans about the scheduling. Ditto for Virginia coach Tony Bennett. The likes of a Michigan State or an Ohio State is the last thing Bennett wants to deal with in Year 1 of his rebuilding program.
But that’s not to say Bennett is overjoyed to be playing Penn State tonight in this year’s installment of the Challenge.
“They have a terrific guard and just a solid team,” said Bennett, alluding to Nittany Lions guard Talor Battle, a first-team All-Big-10 selection last season. “I think they’ve struggled in a game or two, but they certainly have a lot of experience back and success [back] from last year.
“As with any team we play, we’re never in a spot where we say, ‘We can just coast in this one.’ We have to be so ready to play — to handle their guard, to handle their size, to rebound.”
Penn State, which won the NIT last season, has already lost twice — to Tulane and UNC Asheville. The Nittany Lions are coming off a narrow victory over Davidson.
Virginia, which has won all four of its home games in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, is coming off a gritty win over Cleveland State in the Cancun Challenge. In that game, Virginia guard Sylven Landesberg had his best performance of the season (20 points, five rebounds, five assists) and walk-on forward Will Sherrill came out of nowhere to register career highs in just about every statistical category.
One of the disappointments in Cancun for Virginia was the play of sophomore center Assane Sene. The 7-footer, who looked like he hadn’t missed a beat when he made his season debut against Oral Roberts nine days ago, had just a combined two points and four rebounds in the two games.
“I think he’s still finding himself a little bit, finding his legs,” Bennett said. “As his career progresses, hopefully his
timing comes and his feel and all that.
“He didn’t finish a couple of shots and was out of place on some defensive assignments. My hope is that as he gets more comfortable and his ankle continues to feel better, that we’ll be able to see get more established in that rotation.”
After going 1-1 in Cancun, Bennett seemed cautiously optimistic about tonight.
“Hopefully being back home, we’ll play at a high level,” he said. “I just want to keep taking steps toward better basketball.”
Dunks
Jamil Tucker has started practicing with the team but won’t be in uniform for tonight’s game. No word on when he’ll suit up for a game. ... The Cavaliers are
5-4 all-time in the Challenge, including a 4-0 home record. ... Tonight’s game is the eighth all-time meeting between Virginia and Penn State with the Cavaliers leading the series 5-2. The teams haven’t met since the 1984-85 season. ... The ACC has won all 10 previous challenges.