The Hokies used a 19-3 run in the opening 5+ minutes of the second half to blow out the boston college eagles by a final score of 67-48. It marks the first time that the Hokies have swept bc EVER. bc couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn tonight, and had very little second chance opportunities as Tech out-rebounded bc 46-31.
It took the Hokies 20 minutes to break out of the same offensive funk that bc found itself in for the whole game. The first field goal did not occur until 15:52 left in the half. A.D. Vassallo did not score his first points until the second half. In fact, A.D. only took three shots in the first half. Vassallo ended up with 12 points, 2 of 4 from behind the arc.
The highlights tonight were from the post players. Jeff Allen recorded his second double-double in ACC play in his first opportunity to play against bc with 13 points and 10 boards. J.T. Thompson who had a break out game the last time the Hokies beat the eagles, also came up big tonight with 13 points and 5 boards in only 18 minutes. Thompson appears to be taking the torch from Deron when it comes to monster dunks. He had a couple nice ones in the second half tonight, including one that resulted in a warning from the refs after Thompson hung on the rim slightly longer than necessary. It was sweet though. Lewis Witcher, who got the start tonight, was active on both ends of the court. Witcher had 6 points, 5 boards, and 4 blocks.
Niemo’s Notes (Presented by Niemo):
- The second half of this game was déjà vu of the second half in last year’s bc @ VT game where VT just blew the doors off the eagles to start the half.
- The Hokies are 11-0 when leading at the half, including 4-0 in ACC play (yes, that’s right, they’ve only led at the half in 4 of the 14 ACC games and 2 were against bc).
- Other victory formula? Win/tie the rebounding margin, turnover margin, and free throw attempt battle. VT won/tied all three categories tonight: +17 on rebounds, tied on turnovers, and +4 on free throw attempts. VT is 6-0 when winning/tying all three in ACC play.
- Hank Thorns had a career high 7 assists. That is just 1 behind Malcolm Delaney’s team season high 8 assists against charleston southern.
- Jeff Allen had his eighth double-double and second in ACC play. He has two in his last three games. With his 2 steals tonight, he is 2 steals away from setting the VT freshman record for steals.
- Deron Washington’s 10 points moved him into the #20 spot on the VT career scoring list. He will move into the #19 spot with his next 2 points. His shot selection has been much better the last several games.
- VT continues to push the tempo. They outscored bc 19-6 on fastbreak points. In the first half, the results weren’t positive, but in the second half, VT destroyed a tired, thin bc team on the break and got several easy dunks.
- The Hokies only had 8 turnovers in 45 minutes at bc. Tech had 6 turnovers in the first 7 minutes tonight, but settled down and only had 14 turnovers for the game.
- I’m going out on a limb and guessing Lewis Witcher’s 4 blocks were a season high. He also had 6 points and 5 rebounds and played a solid game.
- VT is now 8-15 in ACC games all time decided by 10+ points.
- Tech had 50+ rebounds in both games against bc, the only times all season they’ve passed that mark.
- Downside: VT was only 2/13 on threes. Guys not named Vassallo were 0/9.
- Good: bc shot just 31%. This looked like the Hokie D from earlier in the season.
- Down: Jeff Allen, despite still being over 50% on FGs for the season, is just 15/46 in his last four games.
- Good: VT was -50 in rebounding margin in their recent 3 game losing streak, but are +36 in their 3 game winning streak.
- REALLY Good: VT is 8-6 in ACC play. Amazing. Seriously, amazing. If they can win at home against wake on Senior Night next Tuesday (they have this weekend off), this team picked to finish 10th will lock up a winning record in ACC play. If VT does that, just go ahead and give Seth the ACC COY trophy then.
Around The World (Wide Web)
Hokies continue their renaissance | The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
Hokies ruffle Eagles’ feathers | Collegiate Times
Virginia Tech drubs Boston College, 67-48 | AP
Popularity: 4% [?]
Loading ...
Wick, let me be the first guy to say that we will also beat Wake Forest (they will be a tired team by the time they come to Blacksburg, VA).
If you all might recall, I said that he Clemson game is going to be big… these freshmen will have to play the game of their lives on the road… they will have to have a hand in the face of Clemson guard, Terrence Oglesby… he’s not as quick as our players, but he has range and someone has to have an eye on him. Read: Deny him the ball.
Because I’m in fricking Northern Virginia and have Comcast (No ESPN-U), I had to listen to the radio tonight for the Hokie game, but it actually wasn’t that bad… Seth Greenberg made a passionate appeal to fans to donate their ticket for the Wake Forest game if they aren’t using them… he indicated that he wants A LOUD arena on Senior night… sounds like he’s going to make an appeal to the students again. I’ve also put a plug on my blog… I hope you all do the same on your site… guys like Deron Washington deserve to have a full house on Tuesday, March 4, 2008.
http://firebryanstinespring.blogspot.com/2008/02/virginia-tech-hokies-pound-boston.html
Witcher had 5 blocks against Iowa last season. But 4 is still his season/ACC high. He’s certainly looked like a different person than the player we saw earlier in the season.
hey vatechhokies50 – I think I have you beat on that wake prediction. Check out my md recap. It is going to be an exciting last week of the season. Who would have thought!
Lewis Witcher has amazed me. He is becoming a fan favorite. Everytime he touched the ball last night, the students cheered out LEEEEEEEWWWW. Gotta love it, hopefully that adds to the fire.
One other note to add … Tech held the iggles to just 48 points – the fewest points Tech has ever allowed an ACC opponent since it joined the league in 2004.
I had to go to 2 different places to find the game, but I’m certainly glad I did. My brother, who was at the game, was telling me that we were off to another sloppy start. By the time I got to sit down and watch the game, it was all hokies. The second half was a treat, just like last year vs. BC. I wanted to see a little more flare out of Thompson on the big dunks, only because we were up by so much. Washington had nothing to prove though. Last year vs. BC was his best dunk ever. I think since its senior night next week, we should vote for Deron’s best dunk ever and try to get the top 3 dunks played at the game. His big dunks just get people pumped, I don’t know what it is, but after a montage of Deron slams, I can’t imagine the team starting off sluggish.
Okay, wick.. you beat on on the wake prediction… I own the playoff prediction lol… I hope the Cassell is rocking next Tuesday…
And wow, that game on Sunday, March 9 at clemson is huge… we have to beat the tigers (they have games on the 2nd, 6th, and 9th of March… hopefully, they are tired)… 10-6 will get us in… a win or two in the ACC tournament will get us better seeding… I can see us playing some team like Winthrop… which would be interesting.
I’m still not ready to predict an NCAA bid (staying with the NIT)… maybe one of you guys will take the first step, Niemo, Gary, or Wick?
I think too many other factors are at play right now. UNC, Duke, and Clemson have all locked up NCAA bids. Miami needs one more win and they are in. With the parity in the ACC this year, I can’t imagine more than 5 teams getting a bid. This leaves Virginia Tech, Maryland, and possibly Florida State fighting for that last spot. The easiest way for us to get to the NCAA is by winning out, period. Any losses in these final two games will require some work in the ACC tournament.
Maryland plays Wake tonight, and I think we need Wake to win for us to gain some distance on Maryland. Then Maryland plays Clemson and UVA, which they will probably go 1-1. If they lose 2 of the next 3 and don’t perform in the ACC tourney, Maryland is done.
Florida State is making a good case but they play UNC next followed by Miami. Florida State won’t make it in unless they win these two games.
There are a lot of bubble teams this year. The easiest way for Tech to get in is win these last two games and then evaluate where everyone else is at. A lot can happen in these last 2-3 weeks, but I think we control our own destiny as of right now.