Virginia and George Mason have used a trip to the Charleston Classic to show how much progress they have made.
These commonwealth rivals meet for the championship Sunday night, and the sixth-ranked Cavaliers will be wary after already losing to an Atlantic 10 foe.
One of the bigger early surprises of the college basketball season was Virginia's 73-68 loss at George Washington on Monday. The Cavaliers (3-1) have bounced back with two victories by an average of 30.0 points in this tournament.
''You grow and you learn,'' coach Tony Bennett said. ''That's what this early season is about.