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With the 2004 football recruiting season coming to a close last week, there isn't much to report in the way of new happenings. But, you'll be pleased to know that we're providing additional information on the 2004 football recruiting class. We've added several extended recruiting profiles on Virginia's signees to the site, with more on the way. Take a look at the links below. You must be a Sabre Edge subscriber to read the features.

At TheSabreShop.com, we are committed to providing you with the highest quality UVa related items at the best prices. Our order processing and shipping is fast, safe and reliable.

For those waiting on some of the orange related items to return, we will be restocked this coming month and we will begin to introduce new designs for the spring as well. Check us out!

The men's basketball team put a couple more L's in the win-loss bracket this week, dropping a home contest to N.C. State on Saturday, then fighting tough on the road against Duke Wednesday night.

The Hoos played tough early on against N.C. State. The defense was a definite improvement, at least early in the contest, but the offense was nonexistent for most of the game. The Wolfpack heated up offensively in the second half, stretching their lead to double digits and finishing off the Cavaliers 79-63.

Virginia had a much better showing against top-ranked Duke in Durham, even though the score might not indicate that. The Hoos stayed within five points midway through the second half and were playing toe to toe with the Blue Devils, but foul trouble and a host of missed opportunities took away any chance of the Hoos pulling off the upset. Duke eventually stretched out to a commanding lead, winning the contest 93-75.

The team is now on a slide that it may not be able to recover from, at least this season. The Hoos have lost their last five consecutive games, and the schedule isn't going to get any easier. With the overall loss column steadily making its way even with the win column, you've got to wonder if the Hoos will achieve another victory this season. And if they can, will it matter much in the grand scheme of things? The Hoos started the season with the goal of making it to the NCAA Tournament. If their current trend continues, they'll be lucky to make it to the NIT.

Things weren't always so bad, at least in the beginning. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 10-2 record the first part of the year, with their only losses coming to conference foe N.C. State on the road and a very good Providence team at home. Perhaps the easy out of conference schedule was just a big smoke screen? The Hoos have lost seven of their last nine games since they began the heart of the conference schedule on January 11th. UVa's only wins over that stretch have been home contests against reigning conference cellar dwellers Florida State and Clemson. And even those games were nail biters. Florida State is better this year than in years past, but the Noles (4-6) are still ranked in the bottom four of the conference, along with North Carolina (4-6), Virginia (2-8) and Clemson (2-8).

The Cavs have three of their toughest remaining games at home, but even home court hasn't been much of an advantage for this squad. To be considered an NCAA bubble team, Virginia would most certainly have to finish the conference slate at 7-9. But with six remaining regular season games, there are no pushovers and all of the opponents except one (Clemson) are looking at getting into the postseason. Virginia's easiest conference competition this year, contests against FSU (win), Clemson (win) and Maryland (lost in the final seconds), will all be road games over the next few weeks. And UVa's last three home games aren't exactly sure wins. The Hoos will face 16th-ranked Georgia Tech, 17th-ranked North Carolina and 18th-ranked Wake Forest in University Hall.

Which games would an optimist pencil in as wins? North Carolina at home? Clemson on the road? Even if the Hoos were to scrape up a couple more conference wins, that would give the Cavs a 14-13 overall record and leave them at 4-12 in the conference. Is that enough wins to get a bid to the NIT? Perhaps it would be, especially considering the fact that the ACC is hands down the toughest conference in the nation this season. If things do not look up for the Hoos, and they fail to win another regular season game, that would close them out at 12-15 overall and 2-14 in the conference. That wouldn't do much for fan support or the confidence of the players for the 2004-05 season, even with the magic of incoming superstar point guard Sean Singletary.

At some point, things have to point back to the coaching staff, and you have to wonder why the staff has been so reluctant to take on part of the blame. It's not exactly like Coach Pete Gillen's first year, when he had only six scholarship players to work with and a bunch of role-playing walk-ons.. Gillen and his staff enjoyed the return of four of five starters from last season. The Hoos also saw the return of 5th-year senior point guard Majestic Mapp and junior forward Jason Clark, as well as the addition of five very talented freshmen. Of course, the one player that did graduate from last year's starting lineup was Travis Watson. Even with his decline over the last two years, he was still one of UVa's best interior defenders and arguably the best rebounder for the Hoos since Ralph Sampson. Virginia got some rebounding and defensive help when Clark returned mid-season, but that hasn't translated much in the way of wins.

The Hoos still have 11 able-bodied scholarship players, yet they have not improved much since game one of the season. Defense is good one minute and terrible the next. And the players have no level of consistency on the offensive side of the ball. Rebounding is an adventure, as is free throw shooting. With all that the Cavaliers have to work with, they should be better. Some will say that the team's woes are just a result of not having a capable point guard, but that may only be a small part of the problem. While a talented point guard can help the offense improve and cut down on turnovers, he isn't going to shoot free throws for the rest of the team and he's certainly not going to play interior defense or crash the boards enough to make the difference in the rebounding column. UVa needs better fundamental play before it gets any better, and a point guard can only get you but so much. When was the last time a player improved from one season to the next under the current staff? I guess you could point to Roger Mason, Jr., but former assistant coach Tommy Herrion was still on board then.

Things aren't looking good for Virginia right now, and the program may see the worst slide it's seen in a very long time - perhaps worse than when Gillen took over from former Coach Jeff Jones. Jones' final year, the Cavaliers finished 3-13 in the league. Still, his players played with heart, played excellent defense and rebounded well most outings. Jones' teams often shot near the top of the ACC in free throw percentage. Jones' problems with winning his last few years could have been more a problem of attrition than coaching. He lost several star players to legal troubles, and that surely had an impact on the win-loss column. Courtney Alexander eventually went on to star in the NBA. Melvin Whitaker would have given the Hoos an excellent inside scoring threat. All things considered, Gillen's in much better shape with his players now than Jones was in his final year, yet Virginia may finish worse than it did in 1998.

What if Virginia finishes 2-14 in the league? UVa has never finished with less than three wins since the ACC expanded to eight, and eventually nine teams. The last time the Hoos finished with just two wins in the conference, the ACC only had seven teams. Terry Holland was in his third year as head coach of Virginia, and the Cavaliers finished 2-10. But even that team won three games against ranked conference opponents and played its way to only a six-point loss in the ACC Championship game against #6 North Carolina.

That was 17 years ago. Since then, the Hoos have done some remarkable things, reaching the NCAA's Final Four twice (1981 and 1984), the Elite 8 three times (1983, 1989 and 1995), the Sweet 16 twice (1982 and 1993), and they've won the NIT twice (1980 and 1992). None of these accomplishments have come in the six years that Pete Gillen has coached the Cavaliers. Fans and alumni have to be asking themselves how this program has gone from greatness to where it is now, and if the addition of a top point guard next year will really change much in that regard. Only time will tell, but things better happen in a hurry. UVa will need to start filling a brand new 15,000-seat arena in 2006.

Next up for the Hoos?

UVa will face 16th-ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday, February 14th at 2:00 PM EST in University Hall. The Hoos dropped their first meeting to the Yellow Jackets, 75-57 in Atlanta. The game will be televised by the ACC Sports Network (Raycom Jefferson Productions).

The Hoos will travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State this Tuesday at 7:00 PM EST. The Hoos defeated the Seminoles at home earlier this year, 76-67. The game will be televised by Comcast and Fox Sports.

Check your local listings for appropriate channels in your area.

For pregame notes, cumulative season stats, postgame articles from all previous games and links to Internet radio broadcasts of the games, please see the link below.

We've posted the 2004 UVa football schedule in a more permanent location on the site. Use the link below for access, or access the page from our home page or any of the message boards.

Every month, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including weekly recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your online purchases through TheSabreShop.com during your subscription.

Still not convinced? Well, we've made it even easier for you to subscribe. We offer three subscription options, including a yearly rate of $34.95, a quarterly rate of $10.95 and a 'what the heck is this thing all about' monthly rate of $4.95. So, if you're unsure, check us out for a month and see what we are offering.

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