UVa, Bradley recording fantastic finishes in CBI

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 25, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s trendy to bash the inaugural College Basketball Invitational as a watered-down postseason event. But even the CBI’s most ardent critics can’t deny that the tournament has had some exciting finishes.
Both Virginia and Bradley, who meet at the John Paul Jones Arena tonight at 7 in the CBI semifinals, have faced some daunting odds and made spectacular comebacks just to get this far.
The Cavaliers (17-15) rallied from 12 down against Richmond in their opener before Sean Singletary singled-handedly brought them back from the dead with eight points in the final 29.6 seconds against Old Dominion in the quarterfinals Monday.
“With a player like Sean, it’s never over,” UVa forward Jamil Tucker said. “He can do something miraculous like he did. … We knew it wasn’t over.”
Bradley (19-15) needed a second-half jolt to get to the semifinals as well. The Braves trailed Ohio by 14 in the second half Monday before using a 25-4 run to pull out a six-point win.
They did it with their M.O. — outside shooting. The Braves start three guards, Jeremy Crouch, Daniel Ruffin and Andrew Warren, who shoot better than 38 percent from beyond the arc.
Bradley, the last remaining Missouri Valley Conference team in postseason play, made 311 3-pointers on the season, 14th most in the country. By comparison, Virginia finished third in the ACC with 263.
UVa’s most accurate long-range shooter against ODU was the 6-foot-8 Tucker, who doesn’t look the part. But the sophomore has found a niche, camping out in the corner and patiently waiting for the ball to come to him. In the second half against the Monarchs, he made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
That’s three double-digit performances in four games for the reserve forward, but coach Dave Leitao has been more impressed with Tucker’s rebounding and assertiveness. Tucker has four or more rebounds in each of the last six games and has improved his defense.
“Jamil has really become much more aggressive,” Leitao said. “I’ve told him a lot of times during the year, somebody would get an offensive rebound and an and-one because he’d reach over and try to pluck the ball. Something as simple as a hard foul shows progress for him. He’s maturing and he’s growing up.”
Tonight’s winner advances to the best-of-three CBI championship series against the winner of the other semifinal between Tulsa and Houston.
The home-away-home series begins March 31 at the higher-seeded team’s arena.
The second game is April 2 and the final game April 4, if necessary.