Feb. 27
Duke is coming to Charlottesville on Thursday to visit Virginia (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) -- and it's a huge game for coach Pete Gillen's Cavaliers, baby! The Cavs have their backs against the NCAA Tournament wall.

	Since starting the season 9-0, Pete Gillen and the Cavaliers have fallen to 16-9.

After Virginia's tough loss to Georgia Tech last weekend on Marvin Lewis' buzzer-beater, the Cavaliers are in trouble in their search for an NCAA tourney bid.

I remember when journalist Doug Doughty of the Roanoke (Va.) Times said that the Cavaliers, after following a 9-0 start with losses to N.C. State and Clemson, were going from a top-four team to a team on the bubble. Everyone laughed at the time.

But right now, the Cavaliers are definitely than on that bubble -- and we will hear that well-worn term often until we reach Selection Sunday.

Virginia is 2-7 in its last nine games, and after facing No. 3 Duke on Thursday, the Cavs travel to No. 2 Maryland on Sunday for the finale of Cole Field House. Virginia's overall record is 16-9 (6-8 in the ACC). The Cavs rose to No. 4 in the polls following the 9-0 start but tumbled out of the top 25 this week.

My friends, it won't be easy for Gillen's club to reach the Big Dance. To have hope, the Cavaliers MUST beat Duke. That would get them to seven conference wins, and maybe the jury would decide in Virginia's favor. Even with a victory over coach Mike Krzyzewski and company, Virginia may need two wins in the ACC tournament to make the NCAAs.

The bottom line is, if the Cavs lose their last two regular-season games, I see no shot whatsoever of their making the Big Dance (unless they win the ACC tournament). So right now, the chances have to be considered remote.

Virginia found a way to beat Duke in Charlottesville last season 91-89, with the fans cheering them on right from the start. The Cavs visited Upset City then and posted another '00-'01 upset when they beat North Carolina 86-66.

For Virginia, the ball is in the hands of Roger Mason, Travis Watson, Chris Williams and company. They must design a plan to get them to the winner's locker room. Virginia played Duke tough for a while in the first meeting this season, but it wasn't enough.

The emotion of Senior Night will be a plus, but will it be enough against a fired-up Duke team? It's hard to believe how Virginia has fallen after the 9-0 start, but it's crunch time now for the Cavaliers.