The Setup

The Hokies return home for the first time in over three weeks and look to snap a three game losing streak against the unc-asheville… hmm… what could their nickname be? bulldogs! That’s it! Didn’t even have to look it up [uh huh].

On paper, this should be an easy game for the Hokies. But this year there are no easy games for the Hokies. They have to show up every game until they find some consistency. The dawgs are 6-1 on the year, but three of those wins have been against non-Division-I teams. Yes, there’s over 300 Division I teams, but they decided to play three non-D-I teams. That’s a sign. However, this is a pretty good team and they have a giant on their team (7’6″ kenny george), so VT can’t win this by name. Don’t be surprised if this game is very close.

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Hi! I’m Gary Cope. You may not remember me from such small market television sports broadcast on WSLS in Roanoke and WVIR in Charlottesville. Or, you probably didn’t hear my not-so-popular radio show, “Riding the Bench with Gary Cope” on Sports Radio 1400 “The Ticket.” No? Well, there’s 10 seconds of your life you’ll never get back. How ’bout we chit-chat us some Tech hoops?

If you haven’t read The Wick‘s recap and analysis of the penn state game (game sounds much nicer than “loss” don’t you think?) click here and get caught up.

This was Virginia Tech’s fifth game of the 2007-2008 season, yet it was my first look at the team and I find myself somewhat surprised at the potential I saw on the floor, especially for such a young team. I fully expected this year’s team to be downright awful with the departure of three of the school’s best players ever; the transfer of a would-be starting point guard (Munson); and the defection of he-who-must-not-be-named. Punk.

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We usually don’t post highlights after a L, but given that many fans haven’t seen the Hokies this year, we thought it was worth it.

Plus, we are happy to announce a new partnership with Gary Cope, the founder of vthokiefans.com, whom will be providing most of our game film this year along with some commentary and game recaps. To read more about Gary and vthokiefans.com, click here.

To read the Tech Hoops game recap, click here.

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Another tough loss for the Hokies tonight, as that big ten powerhouse penn state (oops, football on the brain) fought off a second half comeback by Tech to win 66-61.

This was the first time that many Hokie fans got to see the team in action this season, and unfortunately our freshman guards had their worst performance of the young season. Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney were outplayed on both sides of the ball by the nittany lions’ freshman Talor Battle and senior Mike Walker. Walker, who only was averaging 6.6 points per game, poured in 17, and many of those jumpers were open looks. Battle, who chipped in 9, made Thorns look like … well, a freshman, when he stole the ball from Thorns as Hank was focused on the play Coach Greenberg was calling. Down the stretch, the Hokies had two separate possessions to tie the game. First, with the Hokies trailing by 3 with ample time remaining to shoot for 2, Malcolm Delaney threw up an off balance three in traffic. Then, the Hokies got a gift when Mike Walker, an 88% free throw shooter last season, missed 2 free throws with 16 seconds left. Hank Thorns raced down the court and into the lane, only to miss a layup. So, basically, we shot a three when we could have used a 2 and then went for 2 when we should have kicked a field goal (sorry, football on the brain). The main issue here is neither Delaney or Thorns got the ball to our go-to guys: Deron, A.D., or Jeff Allen (who very quietly led all players with 18 points and 14 boards). All in all, we have to expect these type of mistakes. This is only their fifth collegiate game.

The most disappointing development of the night was that penn state’s best player only scored 8 points, and the Hokies still lost. Geary Claxton who leads all big ten active players in points scored and double-doubles was in foul trouble most of the game, but Tech could not capitalize.

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Deron Washington scored his 1,000th point with his first bucket in tonight’s game against penn state.

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Spread: penn state by 2 

The Setup

Whoa, nelly!  Brent Musberger would be chugging brewskis like nobody’s business for this game… if it was a football game.  Instead of playing in front of 100,000 bumpkins in white, this game will be played in front of about 5,000 people who probably can’t name three guys on the penn state team.  I bet more people at this game could name penn state’s Linebackers Coach than their basketball Head Coach.  Anyway, this could give the Hokies a chance to regain momentum after losing their last two games.

The Hokies return from Alaska having gone 1-2 and finishing in 5th Place.  Not sure what kind of award you get for that.  Maybe the coveted “Everyone Participating” ribbon?  The Hokies beat ewu in the first round, lost a heartbreaker to #16 butler in the semi’s, and were blasted by #19 gonzaga in the final game.

The Hokies are 1-1 all time in ACC-big 10/11 Challenge play, having lost at ohio state in 2005 by a score of 69-56, and having beaten iowa at home 69-65 last year (there’s that creepy 69 thing again!!!). 

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Due to some little ol’ football game on Saturday, the Hokies’ game at home against unc asheville has been pushed to 7PM.

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This team is going to have games like this. Hopefully fewer than most people expect.

The Hokies were sluggish tonight, committing too many turnovers and being out-hustled by the most complete team the Hokies have played to date. I realize that this is not a bold statement, but it’s the plain truth. The zags dominated the guard play, led by Matt Bouldin with 20 points and 6 of 8 from behind the arc, and by Jeremy Pargo with 10 points and 13 assists. The zags also dominated inside, led by Abdullahi Kuso with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

In addition to the turnovers, the other disappointing development of the night was the foul trouble of Jeff Allen. There was no battle of the Super Freshman, as gonzaga’s Austin Daye rarely got a chance to play against Allen since he was sitting the pine for most of the first half, eventually fouling out in the second half (Coach Greenberg’s reaction to the ref’s call of Allen’s fifth foul is below). For the first time this season, Allen was not a force for the Hokies, only scoring 6 points and hauling in 1 rebound.

A.D. Vasallo led the Hokies with 20 tonight, followed by Deron Washington with 11. Deron had another clip for the Human Highlight Reel, late in the second half when the outcome of the game was already in hand.

All in all, I have to believe that the Great Alaska Shootout was a positive experience for the Baby Hokies. Just like the lsu football game prepared the Hokies for their Coastal division title run, the competition in the Great Alaska Shootout should help the freshman prepare for ACC play. The only problem is that every ACC team plays in a tough holiday tourney, instead of lining up against patsies like wyoming and middle tennessee state.

The Hokies finish this four game road span with the big ten-ACC challenge against penn state on Wednesday night. Niemo should be back in the saddle with a game preview early this week.

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FINAL – zags 82 VT 64

zags 75 VT 61 | 3:55 to go: Allen fouls out on a fast break drive to the hoop.

zags 73 VT 60 | 5:13 to go: First look at Terrell Bell tonight. It’s nice to see him in after his surgery.

This is definitely the most complete team we’ve played thus far. I know that’s not saying much, but I have seen 3 of the 4 games, and no disrespect to eastern washington, I think the zags got you beat.

zags 69 VT 56 | 7:55 to go: I seem to recall that I wrote in my preview that you shouldn’t expect many threes from the zags. Well, Bouldin just hit his fifth of the night.

zags 61 VT 51 | 10:19 to go: A couple threes, one by A.D. and another by Malcolm Delaney has cut the lead to 10. The damn announcers continue to discuss Tech’s decision to hold scrimmages with georgetown and south carolina in the pre-season instead of playing exhibitions against DII teams. Yawn.

zags 55 VT 39 | 14:32 to go: BTW, the court has the VT ribbon logo in two places – very nice gesture by UAA.

zags 52 VT 37 | 15:24 to go: Allen pours in 2 buckets, his first two of the night. The Hokies are standing around on offense. They don’t look sharp at all, while the zags are the complete opposite. Sounds like they were sluggish last night against texas tech. Maybe the long trip has finally caught up with the Hokies.

zags 48 VT 33 | 17:43 to go: Huh … I kind of wish 360 still wasn’t working. That stretch, albeit short, consisted of a bunch of one and dones for Tech and crisp offensive execution by the zags.

Second Half underway

BTW, in case you were wondering, at halftime of ESPN360 games, there is a stationary shot of the scoreboard. Not only do you get to watch the clock tick down, you also get to see the Great Alaska Shootout sponsors. The audio is still going, so you hear the halftime show in the background as well. It’s Not So Must See TV.

Halftime – zags 41 VT 33 | The ESPN 360 feed finally comes on! I get to watch the last minute of the first half. The Hokies are wearing their orange road unis, first time this year. We had 12 turnovers in the first half and 0 points from Allen. ugh

zags 41 VT 33 | Doing an in-game without watching the game is challenging. Hey, we beat the hoos today!

zags 35 VT 30 | 2:57 to go: Turnovers and Allen’s foul trouble have been the killers tonight.

zags 24 VT 21 | 7:54 to go: I’m still getting no love from the Ocho, but it didn’t work until 25 seconds left in the first half last night. First basketball thought of the night – to only be down 3 with no points from Allen seems positive.

13-13 | 11:21 to go: Got the radio feed and CBS Sportsline going now. ESPN360 hoses us again.

zags 10 VT 7 | 12:45 to go: I’m on CBS Sportsline cause 360 is still not working. Looks like we’ve already turned the ball over 5 times tonight.

10:08 PM – I assume the game is started, and once again ESPN360 is not showing the game. Let’s see how long it takes the IT geeks in Bristol to get our game on the little screen.

Hello? What the hell are you doing reading this? It’s Saturday night. The Hokies just beat the hoos (again), but this time for the ACC Coastal Division and here you are… sober enough to read my in game commentary. You must be a Hardcore Hokie Basketball Fan.

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Note: TechHoops.com will doing In-Game Commentary tonight as The Wick will be watching the game on ESPN360. We will also be giving away 2 tickets to see the Hokies play unc-greensboro on Dec. 4 to the first person who posts a mildly intelligent comment during tonight’s In-Game. I realize we might not get any comments given some little ‘ol football game today, but this site is for the Hardcore Hokie basketball fans, so lets see what you got.

The Setup

Thanks to Niemo’s 14th straight Tech-uva football game, you are stuck with me for today’s preview of the Hokies’ clash with nationally ranked, super mid-major gonzaga for the 3rd-5th place game of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. The game is on espn 360 (ie: your computer). Click here for more info: espn 360

The zags were upset by texas tech late last night by the score of 73-63. It was gonzaga’s first loss of the season after victories over montana, idaho, uc-riverside, and western kentucky. The last two losses by the zags have come from Bobby Knight’s current team and former team, as they were beaten in the first round of the NCAAs at the end of last season by indiana.

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The Hokies impressed me tonight in defeat. It’s rare I feel this way after a loss, but if butler is as good as they were last year (a Sweet 16 team), then the Hokies put together a hell of an effort. Considering the youth, and the tournament location a billion miles away (as opposed to a million for butler – they are in indiana), that Tech was down 11 in the second half, AND its the third friggin’ game of the year, the Hokies looked very impressive in taking the 23rd ranked bulldogs to overtime after having a chance to win the game at the line in the final seconds.

Player of the Game – Jeff Allen
He continues to impress, and this time in front of ESPN (360, I know, but Hubie Davis was one of the commentators). Allen played 39 minutes, scored 21 points on 10 of 18 shooting, and grabbed 9 boards. Allen’s last bucket was his biggest, tying the game at 68 with 7 seconds remaining in regulation. Allen was fouled on the play, and had a chance to give the Hokies their first lead since 33-32 early in the second half. The free throw hit the back of the iron. butler rebounded the ball and raced it up the court, only to miss a baseline jumper at the buzzer.

To get to that point, the Hokies had to overcome an 11 point deficit in the second half. Allen and A.D. Vassallo sparked the comeback. Vassallo had 19 points tonight on 7 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 6 from behind the arc.

Despite the fantastic effort, the Hokies lost this game behind the arc. butler scored an amazing 42 points from three point land compared to the Hokies’ 18. Pete Campbell lead the bulldogs with 7 three pointers. Both teams shot the ball well – Tech at 52% and butler at 46%, but the bulldogs got some kind iron and a lot of string music from three point land, which helped propel them to victory.

A look at the other stats portray a pretty evenly matched game. The Hokies won the battle of the boards 35 to 31, but had three more turnovers than butler (13 to 10). The Hokies had 5 blocks, including a sweet one by Allen late in the game during the Hokies’ comeback (screen shot from the ESPN360 feed below). Unfortunately, the Hokies once again shot below 70% (8 of 12) from the line while butler was 14 of 18.

I have to believe that a loss like tonight is only going to help this team in the long run. Yes, a win would have been better, but when your expectations are somewhere between ACC cellar dweller and NIT, a performance like tonight makes you think that the latter is definitely in reach.

The Hokies close out their Alaska trip tomorrow night at 10:00 eastern time against gonzaga on ESPN360.

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FINAL – bu 84, VT 78 OT

bu 78, VT 73 | 1:39 to go: They can’t miss threes. Pete Campbell makes his 7th three, and Green follows with another one. That must be 34 threes made by butler tonight.

bu 70, VT 68 | 3:41 to go: This is the only time you will see me admit this, but Niemo is a genius. If Allen had drained that And one, the Hokies would have won 69-68. If you don’t know what I am referring to, check Niemo’s preview.

OVERTIME (whew) – butler doesn’t score a field goal in the last three minutes. Graves missed a baseline J at the end, but Vasallo was all up in his junk. Allen did miss a free throw to convert the and one, but what a comeback. Allen has 24 pts and 9 boards. He is 10 of 17 from the floor.

VT 68, bu 68 | 14.6 to go: We steal the inbound (baseball pass by bu) and then Allen does it again – drives and scores

bu 68, VT 66 | 32.6 to go: Allen takes it from behind the arc and drives to the hoop and scores. Unfortunately, butler is an awesome free throw shooting team and we need to foul since the shot clock is off.

bu 68, VT 64 | 42.3 to go: butler misses, Hokies ball – timeout Tech

bu 68, VT 64 | 1:16 to go: A few tough breaks for the Hokies in that last stretch. An in and out and in again three by Graves, and then Allen gets stripped in the key, capped off with a loose ball going out of bounds off a butler miss.

bu 65, VT 60 | 3:52 to go: The last two minutes have been brought to you by Jeff Allen. A block, two buckets, and two of bu’s post players have fouled out. I just wish one of them was Pete Campbell. We are still in the thick of this one.

bu 63, VT 54 | 7:55 to go: Two more threes by bu, one by AJ Graves from beyond NBA range.

Jeff Allen, who is getting some serious props from Hubie Davis, is also looking winded. Pete Campbell, who Allen has been defending at times tonight, has made 6 threes tonight.

bu 52, VT 45 | 11:39 to go: Senior AJ Graves drives the baseline past A.D. for two and gets the foul. Ugh.

butler starting to create some breathing room, and I’m getting worried that we won’t reach that magical number of 69.

bu 50, VT 43 | 12:20 to go: The difference in this game is from behind the arc. bu has 9 threes to our 3 (but we are 2 of 2 in the second half).

10:42 PM: Niemo – Thanks for filling in, but don’t drink and blog. ESPN360 is working.

Allen has 15 points already. Fine, I’ll say it. He’s the best low post player for VT since Ace Custis (but yes, I’ve been drinking (hope Mom isn’t reading this)). f$u beat florida tonight.

bu 41, VT 38 | 16:38 to go: Their big man, campbell, has hit FIVE three’s against us. Maybe go out and guard him???

10:30 PM: Niemo thinks Wick sucks.

10:20 PM: So, my first ESPN360 experience has SUCKED so far.

I leave Charlottesville this morning (yes, I am missing the game tomorrow) and travel 11+ hours to Florida. What are the chances that my parents have ESPN360? Bonus. They do. Text Niemo that I’ll do an in game and the recap.

One hour later, I experience the massive ESPN hose job as they show the south alabama – san diego game from the Anaheim Classic instead of our game until there are 25 seconds left. Luckily, I got the radio feed online (I am in Florida this week) for the first half.

So, it’s #23 ranked butler 30, Hokies 28 at halftime. Be back for the second half.

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The Setup

Thanks to a dominating performance against a very weak eastern washington team, the Hokies are set to take on the nationally ranked butler bulldogs in the semi-finals of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. The game is on espn 360 (ie: your computer). Click here for more info: espn 360

This will by far be the Hokies toughest test to date. butler reached the Sweet 16 last season, knocking off odu and maryland before losing to eventual national champion florida by just eight points. butler won 29 games last season.

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Virginia Tech kicked off Hokie Day in fine fashion with an easy win over the offensively inept eastern washington eagles 69-52 in the opening round of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. The Hokies will face #23 butler in the next round on Friday (no game today) at 9:30 EST. butler cruised to a 79-65 win over michigan earlier in the night.

Four of the five starting Hokies reached double figures in points, and Malcolm Delaney added a team-high 18 off the bench. Even more impressive, the Hokies drained 10 three-pointers on 20 attempts. That’s the most three’s made in a game since the Hokies made 10 against unc-greensboro on January 10, 2007.*

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Tournament Synopsis

The Hokies begin their quest for the Great Alaska Shootout title in the wee hours of Wednesday night. The local start time is 9:45 PM in Anchorage, Alaska, or 1:45 AM Eastern, making this the latest start time ever* for a VT basketball game. [* I didn't actually research that but I'm fairly confident in this assumption.]

Tournament Teams/Schedule:

• michigan, #22 butler, ewu, VT, texas tech (bobby knight), u of alaska-anchorage, western kentucky, and #14 gonzaga
• If VT wins Wednesday night, they will play the michigan-butler winner at 9:30 PM EST Friday.
• If VT loses Wednesday, they play at 4 PM EST Friday against the above loser.
• The championship game is at 12:30 AM Saturday night on ESPN2

gonzaga is the team to beat in this tournament, though butler is very good, too. In all likelihood, butler is who VT will play in the semi-finals and not michigan (michigan is lousy). Both gonzaga and butler are 3-0. And keep in mind, butler beat odu and maryland last year to make the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual champ florida by just 8 points.

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The Collegiate Inn of Blacksburg (Holiday Inn of Blacksburg) has 4 rooms available for the miami football game this weekend. Two night minimum – call (540) 552-7001 and reserve right away!

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