Associated Press

UVa's Sylven Landesberg (left) goes for a rebound against Hampton on Wednesday.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett rarely talks about sophomore Sylven Landesberg without emphasizing a need for Landesberg to make his teammates better.

If his teammates had kept up their part of the bargain, Landesberg could have had a triple-double Wednesday night.

As it was, Landesberg finished with his first collegiate double-double, notching 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in an 80-54 victory over Hampton University.

Landesberg had seven points, eight rebounds and five assists by halftime, but teammates were unable to convert several of his best second-half passes.

"For good players, the challenge is to be complete," Bennett said. "I think he's getting 'tagged' a little harder. People know his game a little more, so I think he's drawing a lot of attention.

"When he draws that attention and drops those passes off, I think it makes his game step up to another level. I think that is such an attractive feature. I love it when he's on the glass [and] when he's drawing and kicking and then getting to the line. And his shot has improved."

Landesberg, the ACC rookie of the year in 2008-2009, was one of seven UVa players who made at least one 3-pointer on a night when the Cavaliers were 11-for-23 from behind the arc.

The Cavaliers (6-4) also had a season-high 22 assists, including 14 on 19 first-half field goals.

"Early on, I thought that was the most unselfish our team has been," Bennett said.

The Cavaliers led 60-30 before undergoing a dry spell midway through the second half, when they failed to score on 10 straight offensive possessions and were outscored 11-0 by the Pirates (2-10).

Bennett substituted an entire five-man unit with 9:28 remaining and the Cavaliers increased their lead to 31 points on two occasions before Bennett pulled the last of his starters.

The Cavaliers again were without the services of second-leading scorer Mike Scott, a junior forward who has a high-ankle sprain and has not played since Nov. 30.

"He did more today [in an early practice] than he has and we'll see how he responds," Bennett said. "I asked [trainer] Ethan [Saliba], 'If this were Game 7 of the world championship, could he play?' He's getting closer."

Bennett hopes to have Scott available when the Cavaliers return to action next Wednesday against visiting Alabama-Birmingham (11-1).

At one time, Bennett had hoped that 6-9 senior Jamil Tucker would become eligible after first-semester exams but Virginia announced Tuesday that Tucker is academically ineligible and will miss the remainder of the season.

"It's unfortunate; I wish we had him because I know he's been a contributor," said Bennett, whose staff had put Tucker through a tough workout prior to UVa's game Monday night against New Jersey Institute of Technology. "You could see [he had] the ability to shoot and a good feel for the game."

Tucker's unavailability could mean increased playing time for 6-8 freshman Tristan Spurlock, who played the last 9:28 and finished with five points Wednesday. Counting Virginia's 68-37 victory over NJIT, Spurlock has had 11 points in 14 minutes this week, including two 3-pointers and a pair of dunks.

Six Virginia players had eight points or more Wednesday, with only three in double figures, led by Landesberg's 14.

"For us, he's a match-up nightmare," Hampton coach Ed Joyner Jr. said of Landesberg.

Hampton was the first team that had played a lot of zone defense against the Cavaliers, who were able to make the Pirates pay by going 7-for-12 on 3-pointers in the first half and grabbing nine offensive rebounds in that half.

"If we can get the ball inside as easily as we did [against the zone], it definitely helps us locate people on the wings for open shots," said UVa sophomore Sammy Zeglinski, who had a team-high three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.

Many of the Cavaliers left for their homes after Wednesday night's game. Practice resumes Sunday.

"I think this is a dangerous team," Zeglinski said. "If the ball takes some different bounces, we might be 7-3 or maybe 8-2. It's a hungry team, too. We know the ACC [schedule] is right around the corner."

HAMPTON (2-10)

Pellum 1-5 0-0 2, Simpson 2-7 0-0 5, Brooks 0-1 0-2 0, Tunnell 0-1 0-0 0, Funches 3-9 4-4 10, Freeman 3-7 2-4 8, Tolson 3-6 0-0 7, Morgan II 6-12 2-2 18, Ntoko 1-2 0-0 2, Reed 1-1 0-0 2, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Lola-Charles 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 8-12 54.

VIRGINIA (6-4)

Browman 0-0 0-0 0, Evans 2-2 0-0 4, Farrakhan 3-5 2-2 10, Baker 2-4 0-0 5, Sene 3-6 2-2 8, Jonke 0-0 0-0 0, Kody 0-0 0-0 0, Zeglinski 4-9 2-2 13, Landesberg 5-13 3-3 14, Sherrill 4-8 0-0 9, Jones 3-6 0-0 8, Spurlock 2-5 0-1 5, Tat 2-2 0-0 4, Meyinsse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 9-10 80.

Halftime--Virginia 48-28. 3-Point Goals--Hampton 6-21 (Morgan II 4-7, Tolson 1-4, Simpson 1-5, Funches 0-1, Brooks 0-1, Pellum 0-3), Virginia 11-23 (Zeglinski 3-8, Farrakhan 2-2, Jones 2-3, Spurlock 1-2, Landesberg 1-2, Baker 1-2, Sherrill 1-4). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Hampton 26 (Funches 10), Virginia 41 (Landesberg 12). Assists--Hampton 7 (Brooks 5), Virginia 22 (Landesberg 6). Total Fouls--Hampton 12, Virginia 12. A--7,803.