Virginia had the marquee matchup of the night when they opened up their 130 million dollar John Paul Jones Arena with #10 Arizona. Virginia opened up the arena in style with a 93-90 win over the Wildcats. UVA was led by 25 pts from Sean Singletary (6 asts, 13-14 FT) and Mamadi Diane (4 rebs, 8-9 FG, 5-6 3P). Jason Cain added a double-double with 13 pts and 12 rebs.
Virginia trailed for most of the game, even double-figures for quite a while, as the Cavaliers had trouble guarding the quicker Wildcat lineup. With the crowd behind them, Singletary and suprisingly Diane hit big shot after big shot to pull UVA closer. Arizona had a chance to tie the game, but missed the 3 to give Virginia the win.
In other ACC play, the Duke Blue Devils opened up their season with a 86-43 win over Columbia. Duke's top three scorers were all freshmen, with Brian Zoubek (18 pts, 6 rebs, 10-13 FT), Jon Scheyer (12 pts, 4-6 3P) and Lance Thomas (12 pts) all reaching double-figures. Demarcus Nelson also reached double-figures scoring 11 pts, while Josh McRoberts added 8 pts and 7 rebs, while only taking 2 field goal attempts. The Blue Devils had Greg Paulus back in the starting lineup, although maybe not at full strength, but Paulus finished with 7 asts in 24 minutes of action.
FSU opened up their season with a 85-65 win over McNeese St on Sunday. Al Thornton led the way with 17 pts and added 7 rebs. Sophomore Uche Echefu, who the Noles need to step up this season, added 14 pts and 4 rebs while Toney Douglas had 12 pts on 6-7 shooting.
Maryland moved to 3-0 on the season as they beat Florida A&M 93-54. Mike Jones scored 16 pts and added 9 rebs while Greivis Vasquez finished with 13 pts, 7 asts, and 6 rebs.
Clemson finished their 3rd game in as many days as they barely beat Old Dominion 74-70. Vernon Hamilton led a Clemson team that had 5 players in double-figures, as he finished with 13 pts and 5 rebs. The Tigers turned the ball over 17 times, but outrebounded ODU 40-34.
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