ncaa tourney moves on without four teams

After 34 years, Debbie Ryan is stepping down as Virginia coach.

But she will not celebrate an NCAA appearance in her last year with the Cavaliers. Still, Ryan will get a taste of the postseason as Virginia plays Morgan State in a first-round Women's NIT game at 7 p.m. EST Thursday at home.

Virginia is one of four teams that are hosting first and second-round NCAA tournament games, but are not participating in NCAA play. The others are Wichita State, New Mexico and Auburn.

Wichita State, which lost in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals, plays at Kansas on Wednesday in a first-round WNIT game. The Shockers (17-14) are playing in the WNIT for the first time in 10 years.

"Even through the losses this year, we are still a great team," Wichita State coach Jody Adams told the WSU Sunflower on Monday. "We have great talent. We have just got to grow, and that is what you saw in this long run was some growth; some youth blown away."

Auburn travels to Tennessee Tech to play the Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion Eagles in a first-round WNIT game at 8 p.m. EST Thursday. Auburn is 15-15.

New Mexico will not be playing in the postseason. The Lobos' season ended at 13-18 with a 61-40 loss to TCU in the Mountain West semifinals last week at Las Vegas. New Mexico's only chance of getting to the NCAAs was to win the Mountain West tournament.

The Cavaliers will come in Thursday's game against Morgan State with a 16-15 record. The 94-92, quadruple-overtime win over North Carolina State on Feb. 10 was the main reason Virginia's season -- and Ryan's coaching career at Virginia -- continue on Thursday. Had the Cavaliers lost, they wouldn't be playing on Thursday.

Virginia will be playing a Morgan State team that is making its first postseason appearance in the NCAA Division I level. The Bears, who lost in the MEAC semifinals, will take a 17-14 record into Thursday's game with the Cavaliers.

Ryan began coaching in Virginia in 1975 and took over head coaching duties two years later. She has posted a 736-323 overall record and led the Cavaliers to 24 NCAA tournament berths, including last year's first-round exit. Led by Dawn Staley, Virginia made three straight appearances in the Final Four from 1990-92, including a trip to the national championship game in 1991.

"This has been a great ride for me," Ryan told the Cavalier Daily on Tuesday. "It's been really fun; it's been the best years of my life."

Now, the Cavaliers are setting their sights on giving the longtime coach a nice send-off present and that's a WNIT championship. Virginia played in the tournament's quarterfinals in 2006 and 2007, but never won it.