UVa rolled over the Rider University Broncs 79-46 at home.

That hard work will come full circle today as Sanford, now at Massachusetts, plays what will likely be his final collegiate game in the state of Virginia.

Donnie, if you’re reading The Daily Progress on-line, listen here: Do whatever you have to do to draft Davidson star Stephen Curry. Trade your No. 8 choice plus ANY player on your roster for him.

Second-seeded Syracuse, behind four goals apiece from Kenny Nims and Patrick Perritt, hammered the third-seeded Blue Devils, 17-7, in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament at Gillette Stadium.

It wasn’t just that Connecticut claimed another title. It was how they did it.

Tyler Hansbrough wore a clipped-down net around his neck and a T-shirt proclaiming North Carolina as national champion. A few feet to his right sat Wayne Ellington, who had just been selected the most outstanding player in the Final Four.

Geno Auriemma hopes winning championships never becomes routine.

There was a team of destiny out there, all right.

Duke, behind 29 points from its Tournament MVP, defeated FSU, 79-69, in front of a crowd of 26,353 at the Georgia Dome to win its first tournament title since the 2005-06 season.

Dissecting Duke’s 79-69 title win over Florida State, which happened to move Krzyzewski into third place on the all-time coaching wins list with 832, provided some insight into what keeps Coach K ticking.

Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles, the surprise of the ACC all season long, crashed the party with a 73-70 stunner over top-seeded North Carolina.

“We knew that [Tyler] Hansbrough would really be the go-to guy down the stretch,” said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. “We told our guys that if they had a chance to dig it out, to go ahead and do so.“

On Friday afternoon at the Georgia Dome, UNC, playing without ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson, was able to fend off a pesky Virginia Tech team, defeating the Hokies, 79-76, in front of a crowd of 26,352.

When the Tar Heels checked out the chalkboard in their lockerroom before the game, there were a few messages, all keys to the game.

Scattershooting around the ACC, while expecting another down-to-the-wire, thriller-diller down in Blacksburg this evening when the Hokies and the Hoos mix it up …

It was a tough day for both the Virginia men’s and women’s tennis programs at Friday’s ITA Indoor National Championships at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

Often times, the hardest kind of tennis opponent is the one whose sole focus is keeping the ball in play via high-arcing topspin shots. The points tend to be long, leading to both mental and physical fatigue.

Kansas State coach Ron Prince will not return for the 2009 season, pushed out after failing to rebuild the Wildcats into a Big 12 contender.

Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting that the rest of the league better watch out for Florida State and Miami ...

Jones, who last season led the Eagles to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a Division I school, has signed a six-year contract extension that would keep in northwest Washington through the 2013-14 season.

In Bridgewater, Bridgewater College head basketball coach Bill Leatherman has announced his retirement after 23 years at the school.

On Sunday, chants of “UVa!” pierced through the Michael D. Case Tennis Center moments before Virginia’s Dom Inglot prepared to return a second serve from Baylor’s David Galic.

But facing the fifth-seeded Tar Heels, the Terrapins just about let the game slip away before holding on to win 6-4 at Scott Stadium on Friday.

It doesn’t look like Bo Carrington will ever experience the thrill of returning to his hometown to play college lacrosse in front of family and friends.

The former star Cavalier basketball player, who left school a year early in 1974 to play in the ABA and eventually the NBA, will deliver his talk, “The Long Way Home: Gus Gerard’s Path to Recovery,” at 7 p.m.  in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom.

Al Groh sent what could be construed as a strong message on Wednesday. Virginia’s football coach dismissed linebacker J’Courtney Williams, a promising inside linebacker and redshirt freshman, from the program.