THE SETUP

On Saturday the Hokies play Greenberg’s most hated game of the year: the short turnaround game.  Once every season the Hokies have to play an ACC game less than 48 hours after their previous game ended.  This year, for the second year in a row, the short turnaround game is about as far away from Blacksburg as it can be – in Boston, Taxachusetts.  Approximately 47 hours after the end of the clemson game, Tech will be back on the court trying to sweep the eagles.

While Seth hates this short turnaround game, the Hokies have actually been money in the bank in them.  In Tech’s four years in the ACC, they are a perfect 4-0 in these games.  Here’s a look back at them:

• 2008 – VT 81, @bc 73 (OT) – Hokies won without suspended Jeff Allen just 2 days after duke blew them out
• 2007 – VT 92, @miami 85 – The ACC sure doesn’t do any favors for VT by making these games close!  This win was less than 48 hours after the Ice Bowl ended (the win over maryland at home).
• 2006 – VT 76, @wake 70 – This was A.D. Vassallo’s coming out party, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to give the Hokies their first ACC win.  Tech was playing without a suspended Deron Washington (hmm… I see a pattern… wonder who will be suspended next year?)
• 2005 – @VT 71, miami 58 – Tech has just upset #7 duke on Thursday in a landmark win for the program, but there was no letdown in this game as VT blew the hurricanes out of town

THE SERIES

Meeting Two Weeks Ago: Recap – @VT 79, bc 71  |  Game Film  |  Niemo’s Notes on the Game

The Hokies will look to continue their recent success against the eagles.  Virginia Tech has won the last four meetings between the teams.  That reversed a previous trend of failure against bc.  In Tech’s first 10 games against bc as a member of the Big East and ACC, the Hokies won just once. 

The eagles’ talent has fallen off a bit over the last few years, and Tech has been able to exploit them.  VT has superior athletes to bc.  boston college historically wants to grind things out and play a Big East style of ball.  But the Hokies have been able to use their athleticism to beat the eagles. 

Last year at bc, the Hokies led most of the game before a late rally sent the game to overtime.  Hank Thorns scored nine points in OT to lead VT to a 81-73 victory.  Jeff Allen was suspended for this game.  In his place, J.T. Thompson continued his coming out party with 14 points and 12 rebounds.  J.T.’s hustle helped Tech get numerous second chance points.  (Game Film)

In the meeting at Cassell, VT played fantastic defense and used a 19-3 run in the second half to roll to a 67-48 beat down of the eagles.  Tech dominated the glass again, out-rebounding bc 46-31.  Jeff Allen had 13 points and 10 rebounds in his debut against the eagles.

• All Time: bc 9-6
• At bc: bc 6-1 (the “one” was last season)
• In the ACC: VT 4-3
• Streak: VT 4 in a row
• In the Big East: bc 6-1

LINEUPS

THE OPPONENT

While bc was colder than my car’s leather seats at 12 AM last night when they came to Blacksburg two weeks ago, they are now hotter than that chili cheese Big Bite I ate from 7-11 last night.  The last four weeks have been quite the roller coaster for the eagles.  bc upset then #1 unc in Chapel Hill on January 4th for their 10th consecutive victory.  The eagles entered both polls. 

Then, the eagles promptly lost to harvard (harvard’s first ever win over a ranked team), miami, and wake, all at home, then lost at Virginia Tech.  But since the loss to the Hokies on January 17th, bc has won three in a row.  Granted, they have beaten winless georgia tech, nubbins nc state, and a quickly fading maryland team, but this has to give the eagles confidence.  In the maryland game, bc trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and were down 11 at the break, but outscored the terps 47-27 in the second stanza on their way to a 76-67 road win.  The amazing thing is Tyrese Rice scored just four points in the first 38 minutes of the game while battling foul trouble, yet bc found a way to win.

It is not that surprising that the eagles have been up and down of late, especially now that they are in ACC play.  They are a very young team.  They have just one senior (Rice) and one junior (Roche).  The eagles play two freshman and six sophomores, including one player, Joe Trapani, who is in his first season with bc after transferring from vermont.

The eagles are led by their lone senior, Tyrese Rice.  Rice is from L.C. Bird HS in Richmond, VA.  He earned first-team All-ACC honors last season and is well on his way again this year (he was All-ACC 2nd-team his sophomore year).  Tyrese is averaging 18.0 ppg and 5.8 apg, but also 3.7 turnovers.  The offense runs through him, plain and simple.  His career reminds me a lot of Zabian Dowdell’s, and not just because both are left-handed.  He started as a long range bomber (and he has NBA range), but has developed into a player that can split any double team and get to the hoop.  Tyrese gets to the line a lot and nails free throws at an 86% clip.  He shoots 38% from downtown, though his three-point shooting has become less frequent (better shot selection).  Rice is similar to Malcolm Delaney in that he is more of a shooting guard playing the point.  Rice had 19 points in the game at Blacksburg but was just 6/19 from the floor.

Shutting Rice down is not the key to victory — he is going to get his points.  The key is to limit what he creates for others.  In bc’s six losses, he has been held to 4 or fewer assists in each game except one (he had five at VT).  In their 16 wins, he has had at least 6 assists in 12 of those games.  Tech does need to keep him from going nuts, which he did in two of their bigger wins against st. john’s and unc.  Last year he nearly beat unc by himself, scoring 46.  He had maybe the greatest half of basketball I’ve ever seen in that game.

The big surprise for bc this year has been the play of Joe Trapani.  The 6′8″ transfer from vermont has averaged 13.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg.  He was a good player as a freshman for vermont, but has really stepped up his game in the ACC.  However, he is lanky and can be out-muscled on the glass.  Joe has a good inside-outside game.  He hits about 1.5 threes per game, but also can score in the low post and gets to the line a fair amount.  VT will have to guard him from anywhere on the floor. 

In the first meeting, Trapani was bc’s best player.  The eagles were killing the Hokies with the pick-and-pop.  Trapani would screen for Rice on the perimeter, then move to an open spot where Rice would hit him with the pass for an open three.  The Hokies were keying on Rice, but also need to make sure someone is in range to get a hand in Trapani’s face.  He won’t shoot unless he’s wide open.  Trapani had 23 points in the game at Blacksburg, but 18 of those were in the first 21 minutes.  Tech did a much better job on him in the second half.

Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders start on the wing for bc.  Both average between 11 and 12 ppg.  But Raji is in a major slump.  He has reached double digits just twice in their last ten games, after hitting double digits in six straight.  He has seen his minutes greatly reduced the last two games in favor of freshman Reggie Jackson.

Sanders is a streaky shooter.  If he’s on, he’s deadly.  If he’s off, he can become invisible on offense.  If he makes his first three-pointer, look out.

Josh Southern is the classic bc goon they like to have inside.  Big body.  Not a great scorer, but decent on the boards.  He isn’t a great shot blocker, either.

Jackson, bc’s top recruit from this past class, has seen his minutes increase since his career high 17 point effort at unc.  The 6′3″ guard chipped in 14 against miami, but pooped the bed against wake going 1/6 from the floor.  He is also foul prone, reaching in too much instead of moving his feet.  Tech limited him to four points in the first meeting, but Reggie has played well since.  He was the ACC Rookie of the Week last week.

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Despite Malcolm Delaney’s heroic 37-point effort and three 15-point leads, the Virginia Tech Hokies managed to lose on their home floor, 82-86, to the No. 12 clemson tigers.

Everything seemed to be going right for the Hokies. They scored a season-high 53 points in the first half; shot 60% from the field; 40% from three-point range; and 81% from the free throw line – all in the first half. Delaney had 22 first-half points and finished with 37, which set a school record for most points by Hokie in ACC play. Naturally, it was also a season- and career-high for the sophomore who is quickly making a name for himself.

The Hokies were on fire in the first half. They hit almost every thing they threw up, outrebounded the much bigger and more physical tigers and with the help of a raucous, packed house at the Cassell, they pushed their way to a 14-point lead, 45-31, with 4:44 to play.

However, clemson cut the Hokies’s lead to just five, 49-44, on Trevor Booker’s three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the half. A.D. Vassallo missed the back-end of a pair of free throws and clemson pulled down the rebound. With time winding down, clemson missed two shots before Delaney grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled to half court and launched a shot at the buzzer that hit nothing but net. The Cassell erupted into a deafening cheer that sent the Hokies to the halftime break with a 53-44 lead.

The second half began much like the first half ended. The Hokies raced out to a commanding 15-point lead early in the second half with an 8-2 run to make it 61-46. But, clemson then went on a 24-3 run to catch and then pass the Hokies. At one point, Tech went 6:56 without a single point and it was that scoreless drought that doomed the Hokies.

The tigers were virtually unstoppable in the second half. They shot 13 percentage points better from three-point range, 56%, than they did from the field, 43%. K.C. Rivers, who led clemson with 29 points, was 7 of 10 from behind the arc.

As Niemo pointed out in his preview, Tech just got manhandled by clemson’s big men. The Hokies couldn’t seem to get a single 50/50 ball and were out-rebounded 29-36 for the game, despite a healthy rebounding edge at the half. Niemo was also right (not that this should come as a shock to anyone) in that the Hokies just got winded – clemson’s bench is deep and the Hokies just couldn’t match that depth.

Despite giving up the 15-point lead and falling behind by six points, 66-72, with 7:30 to play; Tech got its second wind and came back to tie the game before Delaney drained a trey to put the Hokies back in the lead, 79-76 with 3:25 to go.

The tigers pulled even with the Hokies at 80 before David Potter nailed a triple that put clemson ahead for good. Tech got within one, 82-83, but with the shot clock at 1 second and clemson inbounding the ball, Dorenzo Hudson tipped the inbounds pass out of bounds. However, the shot clock did not begin to run and the official did not see the deflection. This gave clemson another inbounds play which they converted into a layup and an 82-85 lead. The Hokies couldn’t recover and eventually fell 82-86.

The loss overshadowed a historic night for Delaney who had 22 points in the first half and 15 in the second. He made 6 of 10 three-pointers and played 39 minutes. Vassallo struggled in this game and only had 10 points and made just 1 of 6 trey attempts. Jeff Allen was the only other Hokie to score in double digits – he had 13 points.

Delaney’s performance, though in vain, should earn him serious consideration for back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors.

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THE SETUP

The Opposing View  |  Series History

Spread: VT favored by 1 (this actually stunned me – had to do a double take)

In case you haven’t heard, Brent Woody Musburger and the General, Bob Knight, are working this game. Big time!

Tech returns from a memorable two-game road trip for a battle against #12/11 clemson.  It is a BLACKOUT, people!  Wear your Blackout t-shirt, black leather, black dress, black chaps, or anything else black.  Not really sure where this came from, but what the heck.  It is all in good fun.

As with the miami game, this is another test to see where the Hokies match up against the teams they are comparable with, or at least the teams the media thought they would be on par with before the season.  The tigers were picked by the media to finish fifth in the ACC, just ahead of the Hokies.  A win here would be another big Top 50 win (clemson is currently 10th in the RPI) and help with ACC tiebreakers, although the two teams play again at the end of February in Clemson, SC.  And with miami losing to nc state on Tuesday, that win is looking a little less impressive.

Malcolm Delaney will need to keep playing at an incredibly high level to get the Hokies a win in this one.  His passing and ballhandling will really be put to the test against the press crazy tigers.

Niemo’s News & Notes 6-Pack:

• A win Thursday would be Tech’s sixth in a row and mark the longest VT winning streak under Greenberg
• With the win at miami, VT has now won seven straight ACC road games.  Tech is 8-1 in ACC overtime games, but 0-3 out of conference under Seth in the extra session.
• A.D. Vassallo became the 14th Hokie to eclipse the 1,500 point mark in the miami game.
• Malcolm Delaney was named ACC Player of the Week for this past week.  He is the third Hokie to win the honor and fourth time a Hokie has done it (Dowdell twice and Gordon once).
• Four of the seven highest scoring games by Hokies in ACC contests have come in the last four games: Vassallo’s 29 against uva, Allen’s 30 versus bc, and Delaney’s 29/Vassallo’s 28 in the miami game.
• Virginia Tech’s first ACC win came against clemson at home in 2005.

THE SERIES

When the Hokies and tigers play you know one thing – the game is going to come right down to the wire.  Greenberg joked this week during his press conference that whoever leads with 30 seconds to go is going to lose. 

For more on the series since VT joined the ACC, check out Wick’s article: Hokies and tigers: An instant classic

• All-Time: VT 10-9 (note that clemson is one of just two ACC teams that Virginia Tech leads in the all-time series; georgia tech, surprisingly, is the other)
• At the Cassell: 6-3
• In the ACC: 2-4
• Streak: clemson 3 in a row
• Last Meeting: @cu 70, VT 69 – 3/9/08

LINEUPS

Virginia Tech

 clemson

THE OPPONENT

• ACC Tournament Titles: 0 (yep, the big goose egg and they were a founding member)
• Record at unc: 0-54 (just love throwing that in there)
• Worst commercial ever: About four or five years ago their commercial featured a dancing cartoon paw with buzz words flashing on the screen.  That’s it.  30 seconds worth.  No people, no shots of the campus, nothing.  A dancing paw.  A 5th-grader could have made it (in other words, probably the average clemson student – hope my cousin isn’t reading this).

Tell me if you’ve heard this before: the clemson tigers start out hotter than Casey Beamer, but fall apart more than a Jack Bauer interrogation subject as the ACC season goes on.  Well, this year is looking like it could go that way again.  The tigers started out 16-0, including quality wins at illinois, miami, and south carolina, and a home win over alabama.  But since then they have been beaten by wake (somewhat soundly) on their home floor and gotten blown out at unc (their 54th straight loss at unc in 54 tries).  The tigers looked sluggish on Sunday against the ACC’s lone winless team, georgia tech, before blowing out the jackets in the second half by a 73-59 margin.

Excuse me if I don’t betting on the tigers to make the Final Four.  As I mentioned, something-and-0 is not new territory for clemson.  Finishing strong would be, although they started to turn a corner last year.  Let’s look at recent history:

• 2007-08: Started 10-0, finished 24-10; including 10-6 in the ACC and making the ACC Finals (their best year)
• 2006-07: Started 17-0, went 4-10 in ACC play after that point
• 2005-06: Started 11-0, finished 19-13
• 2004-05: Started 7-1, finished 16-15

In other words, clemson is the anti-Virginia Tech.  They come out like a lion, and fade like a lamb.

KEYS TO THE GAME

As most of you know, two things happen once clemson gets off the bus:

• They start pressing you
• Oglesby is in range

The tigers love to full court press.  They will do it all game long after made baskets or out of bounds situations.  Normally they like to run a diamond-and-one trapping press (with the “one” in the back).  cu will have a big up front like Booker, Sykes, or Grant, and another big in the back as the safety.  The two guards will look to trap the inbounds pass along with the big man up front.  Rivers will be the back part of the diamond.  You cannot dribble your way out of this.  You must make quick passes.  At times, clemson will have four guys in the back court helping press.  If you can get the ball over them you could have numbers and attack the basket, though VT has not been good at doing this.  Another key is to inbound the ball quickly before they can set, and the deeper the better.

clemson will also show full court man at times.  This is their less aggressive press.

The over/under on Tech turnovers as a result of the press is 3.5.  More than that, and the Hokies are in trouble.  Less, and that means they did a great job.  clemson will never out-talent you.  Instead, they recruit great, long athletes that fit their system.   They want to create extra possessions to make up for their lack of talent.

Tech has to look to beat the press and make the tigers pay at times, but they cannot turn this game into a track meet.  clemson wants to suck you into an up-tempo game.  The Hokies must pick and choose their opportunities to go after the press, but slow the game down for the most part. 

Will the Hokies Big 3 get exhausted?  Tech has two players, Vassallo and Delaney, averaging over 35 minutes per game.  Allen averages 30 mpg.  With clemson’s press, they could get worn down in the second half as Odum pointed out in the Opposing View.  All three looked strong going 40+ minutes in the miami game, but this is a whole different tempo and strain on the guys.  Another reason why picking and choosing when VT attacks the press is key.

Another key is defensive rebounding.  If clemson doesn’t get scores, they cannot press.  Tech must keep Booker and Sykes off the offensive glass.

Oglesby can shoot from anywhere on the court.  And when he is on, he will keep shooting until he misses.  Very similar to Jack McClinton of clemson in that respect.  Although you do not have to respect Oglesby’s ability to drive.  Almost two-thirds of his shots have been three-pointers this year, and he doesn’t get many assists.  Tech must find him at all times on defense and be right up in his grill.  He is especially dangerous after turnovers when no one has located him yet. 

Oglesby is now tied with McClinton for most threes made in the ACC at 54 after drilling 5/13 against the yellow jackets.  He is 40% from downtown.

Oglesby torched the Hokies last season, going 5/7 on threes, including one from Columbia, SC.  Tech must limit his looks.  A big defender can really negate him, so expect Thompson and Hudson to draw the assignment.  I’d say Vassallo but he is lazy at times working through screens and is slow to flash out.  A.D. left miami’s Asbury wide open for the game-tying three on Sunday.

Inside, the tigers have a beast in 6′7″, 240 lb. Trevor Booker.  I would say he’s even better than Dwayne Collins of miami, who destroyed the Hokies on Sunday, scoring 23 points including 13 in a row at one stretch in the second half.  As I say every week, the Hokies’ low post players must do a better job of forcing a big man, Booker in this case, to catch the ball farther out from the hoop.  Too often low post players catch a pass on the low block, and against ACC talent, that’s an automatic deuce.  Diakite, Allen, and Davila had no answer for Collins, and double teams didn’t work well either as Collins would spin to the baseline and beat it.  Hopefully Seth has come up with an answer this week.

Booker’s production has dropped off in ACC play, though.  He is averaging just 11 ppg in ACC play, after averaging almost 16 ppg out of the league.  And if you throw out the 23 he had in an overtime game against nc state, his numbers are even worse.  Let’s wish for his slump to continue.

K.C. Rivers is another guy that it seems like should have his doctorate by now he’s been around so long.  And he has been a VT killer before, including hitting the game-winner at VT in the home finale of 2007 that kept VT from tying for the regular season conference title and getting the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament. 

Like Booker, Rivers has struggled in ACC play, scoring just 9 ppg in his last four ACC contests.  He can shoot from deep (36%) but also can drive and score.  He has a solid midrange game.

Sykes and Grant are similar to a James Mays (former tiger) in how they play.  They are athletic, but not particularly talented.  And they are scrawny for low post players.  They need to get their points off offensive rebounds or in transition.  They are not good with their back to the basket. 

Stitt, their point guard, is not a threat from long range.  He likes to push the ball and attack the rim.  The Hokies must get back on D to slow him, and can back off him in the half court set.  Andre Young, their 5′9″ freshman (same height as Hank Thorns), backs him up.  Young, like Thorns, is looking to drive and dish.  If he’s going to shoot, it is usually a layup or a three-pointer.

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clemson @ VT Preview

The Opposing View features our own Niemo interviewing guest columnists who are alums, or at worst, Super Fans of Virginia Tech’s upcoming opponent. Enjoy the perspective from the other side, and don’t be afraid to post your rebuttal in the Comments section at the bottom of the article.

This edition of the Opposing View features an interview of Odum, clemson c/o ‘99.  He also wrote a previous Opposing View for us two years ago: First clemson Opposing View

Basketball Questions:

Niemo: Tell me about this year’s clemson team.  What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Odum: This year’s Clemson team looks a lot like last year’s version, even though we did lose three key seniors from last year’s team (starters James Mays and Cliff Hammonds, and Sam Perry).  The most noticeable loss is Mays at the point of the press.  We have put Trevor Booker there this year, as much to keep him out of foul trouble as anything.  He has done a pretty good job playing interior defense in the half-court and leads the team in blocked shots.  Down low with him is Raymond Sykes, a guy who is 6′-9″ but on the thin side, and very much a raw player.  Sykes isn’t a big threat with the ball in his hands, but he’s a good rebounder and gets a lot of put back points. 
 
At point guard, we’ve got a second year player in Demontez Stitt.  He’s a slasher by nature, and is very good when he takes it to the basket strong, but he’s not that much of an outside threat.  Terrence Oglesby is still a threat to shoot it from anywhere on the court, but he’s actually gotten a lot better at putting the ball on the floor and creating his own shot; and, he’s improved as a passer this year.  The other starter is K.C. Rivers who can be a tremendous scorer at times, but he tends to disappear for large stretches.  Not coincidentally, our offense suffers when he’s not scoring – it’s critical for us for him to have a big game. 
 
The bench is deep, and you’ll see our second five before the halfway mark of the first half.  Jerrai Grant is another big guy who has played well lately and he’ll get plenty of minutes in relief of Sykes and Booker.  Andre Young has played well at the point, and Tanner Smith and David Potter are both 6-5 wing players who have been giving quality minutes.  Brian Narcisse (6′-9″) will also play some. 
 
Overall, we’re going to try to use the defense to force you to play out of synch.  VT can be prone to turning the ball over, and we’ll need that to be successful.  We’ll need to start out strong offensively, and we need to establish Booker on the inside.  On the defensive end, we have to limit your open looks from outside and slow your guards down if they break the press.  As usual, our team free throw percentage is marginally lower than the felony conviction rate for your incoming football recruits, so we need to make the most of our opportunities there, too.  [Niemo: Wow!  Their FT% is below 4%?!]

Niemo: The tigers currently sit at 17-2 after starting 16-0.  We’ve seen this song and dance before – clemson comes out hotter than Seth Greenberg’s daughter, only to fall apart more than Lindsay Lohan in a VIP room once the ACC slate starts up.  Will things be different this year?
Odum: Isn’t Greenberg’s daughter like thirteen?  [Niemo: I was thinking of Paige, who's in college and plenty legal, but I guess this sick-o likes eye-balling the younger one... perv!]  As for what we’ll do this year, who knows?  I’d say that this team appears to be mentally tougher than some in recent memory, in spite of losing those three seniors from last year.  I don’t think losing to Wake and UNC back-to-back is a harbinger of a collapse.   Don’t forget that included in this team’s undefeated start are road wins at Illinois, Miami (by 19) and South Carolina (by 11) and a neutral site win over a decent Temple team, so it’s not like we’ve just feasted on cupcakes.

Niemo: Dwayne Collins of miami owned VT on Sunday. Trevor Booker is no Dwayne Collins… he’s better. Can VT stop him?
Odum: Yes, it almost appears the most effective way to handle Booker is to just let him do what he’s been doing lately. After establishing himself down low in some key games in December, he has chosen to shoot a lot of fadeaway jumpers recently, and he hasn’t been effective at all. He reached double figures against GT because he made seven free throws. He can be very effective if he’ll be assertive and take the ball right at Jeff Allen and try to get him into foul trouble.

Niemo: What about Virginia Tech scares you in this game?
Odum: Now that Deron Washington’s (and his mom) ugly mug is gone, nothing really… Well, my golden retriever trembles a little at any mention of VT. Seriously, your team’s overall athleticism is impressive, but it’s their guard play from the last two games that worries me the most. With our full-court pressure defense, we sometimes have a tendency to leave guys wide open once the ball advances past half-court. If we do that with Vassallo or Delaney, we’ll be in trouble.

Click ‘Read more…’ to see the rest of the interview.
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When Virginia Tech and clemson are in the same sentence, there must be some reference made to each school’s rabid football fan base. Clearly, the Tech and clemson football programs have the two best fan followings in the conference. But did you know that the Hokies and tigers have had one of the most competitive basketball series since Tech joined the conference in 2004? The two teams have played six times as conference foes and the total point differential is 12 — an average of two points per game. That’s phenomenal.

As we gear up for the big game against clemson on Thursday night, here’s a brief history of past conference showdowns between the Hokies and the tiggers.

January 15, 2005 — Tech 59, clemson 57 @ Blacksburg
I was there. Tech’s first ACC win. The students were not back yet from winter break, so the Cassell was not very full. The tigers had a chance to put the game away as they held the ball with 19 seconds to go in a tie game, but Hokie senior Carlos Dixon took the game in his own hands — just after the tigers made it past the half court line, Dixon broke up the first pass of the clemson possession and took it himself the length of the court to dunk it home with 6.9 seconds remaining. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0sckju0mPY

March 1, 2005 — clemson 66, Tech 64 @ Clemson, SC
This one was painful, one of the most painful losses of the Greenberg era. The tigers scored five points in five seconds to tie the Hokies, and then won the game at the final buzzer. For the second time in a row in the clemson-Tech series, the last shot of the game was a game-winning dunk.

February 8, 2006 — Tech 75, clemson 74 (OT) @ Clemson, SC
The Hokies and the tiggers each had disappointing ACC records going into this game in early February. Tech improved to 3-7, while the tigers dropped to 3-7, after the Hokies’ thrilling win in OT. Zabian Dowdell drilled a three-pointer with 8 seconds left to tie the game at 67, and in OT, Dowdell gave the Hokies the lead for good @ 75-74 with a minute left. In the last minute, The tigers missed four shots while the Hokies missed three free throws, but Tech held on for the one-point victory.

March 1, 2006 — clemson 86, Tech 81 @ Blacksburg
The most lopsided game of the series. This was a painful ending to the already painful ‘05-’06 season. clemson was favored to win, but the refs stole the show and stole the game from Tech. Some of the worst officiating I have ever seen. I recall getting many stares from fellow Hokies as I turned beet red yelling at the zebras all night long.

March 4, 2007 — clemson 75, Tech 74 @ Blacksburg
While the 3/1/05 game was the most painful to stomach, the 3/4/07 game was the worst loss of the series for the Hokies. Tech had a chance to tie for the regular season conference championship with a W against the tigers. What’s even worse is that uva ended the season tied for first. It was also the biggest senior day in recent history (Gordon, Dowdell, Collins, Tucker, and Sailes were all seniors) and the Hokies were on their way to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. But the tigers pissed on the Cassell parade. clemson got out to an early lead and held off the Hokies for a depressing one-point Tech loss. Revisit the recap.

March 9, 2008 — clemson 70, Tech 69 @ Clemson, SC
In 2007-08 as the season wound down, Tech lacked a quality win needed to get one of 65 precious bids to the Big Dance. There were many missed opportunities, and this game was one of them. Once again, Tech and clemson played in the final regular season game of the year — this time it was clemson’s senior day, but the Hokies could not return the favor from the ‘06-’07 season, losing another last second nail-biter in Littlejohn Coliseum. Revisit the recap.

I’m willing to bet that history shall repeat itself on Thursday — another Tech-clemson nail-biter for sure.

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Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com, who has done a couple of previous interviews for TechHoops.com, released his most recent NCAA bracket as of games through January 25th.  No shock here, but VT is in after two huge road wins last week.  Here’s the link. 

In this release, Lunardi has the Hokies as a #9 seed in the East Region.  Pretty impressive move up in the world from a week ago.

Who does Joe have the Hokies playing???  The davidson wildcats!  Oh, the irony!  I have to believe he knows the story of Steph Curry and VT, so I assume he did this for shock value.  The NCAA Committee doesn’t do things like that.  And we have another seven weeks to go before Selection Sunday.  It isn’t a far trip to the penthouse to the outhouse, or vice versa as the Hokies have seen in the last five days, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

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Well, the Hokies haven’t cracked the polls yet, but they at least started getting some votes again.  Or, in the case of the coaches poll, vote.

Tech received 37 points in the AP Poll (#25 g’town has 189 points), good for 31st place.  In the Coaches Poll, the Hokies received just 1 point.  In other words, one coach had them at #25.  Gary Williams of maryland is the lone ACC coach of the 31 on the panel.  Not sure if he was the one to give VT props (I doubt it).

The Hokies were 35th in the preseason Coaches Poll with 15 points and 37th in the AP Poll with 16.  Tech peaked at 33rd in the Coaches Poll while their current location in the AP Poll is their highest of the season.

Here’s where the ACC teams are ranked this week (AP/Coaches):

• #1/1 – duke
• #5/6 – unc
• #6/4 – wake
• #12/11 – clemson (VT’s next opponent)

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Malcolm Delaney picked up ACC Player of the Week honors for the first time (but probably not last time) in his young Virginia Tech career.  The sophomore averaged 25 ppg, 6 rpg, and 2.5 apg in the two VT wins against #1 wake and miami.  His 29 points against the canes were a career high and tied for the fourth most points by a Hokie in an ACC game.  Delaney hit the go-ahead three pointer in the win over miami.

Malcolm is a big reason why the Hokies have won nine of ten.  In Tech’s last nine games, he is averaging exactly 20 ppg and 21 ppg in VT’s five ACC games.  He is the lone Hokie to reach double-digits in points in every game this season.

ACC Article

The last Hokie to win ACC Player of the Week was Zabian Dowdell, who did it twice in three weeks in January of 2007.  Jamon Gordon also picked up the ACC PotW honors that season.

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Erick Green

The Washington Post has a page for most of the DC area high schools and their players.  I found the page for Erick Green that has some of his stats for each game.  You can get to it from our page about Erick Green or here is the direct link.

Based on the WP data, he is averaging 15.3 ppg through 19 games, with a high of 27 points.  He is hitting 79% of his free throws and has 21 three-pointers made.

While Erick’s new team, Paul VI, hasn’t enjoyed the success Millbrook did last year, he is playing against much stiffer competition.  He has faced at least two big time guards this season: Josh Selby, #7 overall in the Rivals.com Class of 2010 rankings, and Kendall Marshall, who is #32 in the ‘10 Class.

Lamont “Momo” Jones

I found this article from USA Today about 2009 verbal commitment Lamont “Momo” Jones.  Changing of the Guard Works Out for Oak Hill’s Jones  [just kidding - vatechhokies50 found the article about Jones... thanks!]

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Recap | Box Score

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Boxscore

Malcolm Delaney scored a career-high 29 points, and A.D. Vassallo dropped in 28 to lead the Virginia Tech Hokies to a crucial ACC road win over the miami hurricanes, 88-83 in overtime. Delaney was lights out and his clutch three pointer in overtime with the shot clock expiring put the Hokies ahead for good.

This was another nail-biter of an ACC game as neither team could distance itself from the other. Tech’s “big three” once again powered the Hokies, combining for 74 of the team’s 88 points. Only four starters scored; Delaney – 29, A.D. Vassallo – 28, Jeff Allen – 17, and J.T. Thompson – 2. The fifth starter, freshman Victor Davila, did not score. The bench combined for 12 points, and Lewis Witcher had half of those. The “big three” truly lived up to their billing tonight.

The Hokies took a quick 2-0 lead, but miami came back and took the lead and kept it for most of the first half. The canes led by seven — their largest lead of the game — midway through the first half, but Delaney scored six straight points for the Hokies to pull Tech to within a bucket. But miami would pull ahead by five once again. The Hokies had an answer all night, though, whenever the u tried to distance themselves, and with 3:07 left in the first half, the Hokies tied the game on a pair of made free throws by Delaney.

Jack McClinton, miami’s much feared shoot-it-from-anywhere threat, turned the ball over on the canes’ next possession and Allen converted, giving the Hokies a 32-30 lead, their first since they led 2-0. Tech would relinquish the lead however, trailing 34-37 before Lewis Witcher got a tip-in with less than a second left to send Tech into the break down by one, 36-37.

The second half saw the canes jump out with a quick 4-0 run to stretch their lead to five. Tech kept it close, though, and the teams would trade the lead five times in the final five minutes. Tech grabbed a five-point lead with 4:38 to play, 70-65, but just as miami couldn’t pull away, neither could the Hokies. With Tech leading 77-74 and less than a minute to play, miami’s Brian Asbury buried a trey to tied the game.

Tech had the last possession and a chance to finally be on the winning end of a last-second shot, but miami’s defense did not allow Delaney a good look and his forced shot in the final seconds missed badly, sending the game into overtime tied at 77.  VT did not take a timeout, choosing to let Malcolm drain the final 20 seconds before attempting the fadeaway game-winner.

Overtime began with a miami 4-0 run and the Hokies quickly found themselves in a hole after only a minute had gone by in the extra session. But Tech tightened up on defense and shut down the canes for the final 3:57 of overtime. The canes managed only two free throws after their initial burst.

Meanwhile, Vassallo, Allen, and Delaney provided all the offense the Hokies would need to pull ahead for good. Allen attacked the lane from the left side and missed his initial shot, but grabbed his own rebound and put it back and got the foul. Allen missed the free throw, but 5′9″ Hank Thorns out-rebounded two miami post players (thanks to a Diakite tip of the ball), giving the Hokies a fresh shot clock.

Tech got the ball inside to Vassallo, who missed a baby hook shot, and the rebound was knocked out of bounds by miami. On the inbounds, Delaney got the ball at the top of the key before driving, spinning and dropping in a little jump hook to tie the game at 81.

A pair of free throws gave the canes the lead, but Delaney answered once again with a big three-pointer to push Tech to an 84-83 lead. Vassallo and Dorenzo Hudson each hit a pair of free throws in the final 25 seconds to put the game away and give the Hokies back-to-back conference road wins.

Even though miami’s star guard Jack McClinton had 20 points in the game, it was a quiet 20.  He started out 1/9 from the field and finished just 6/21.  Hudson, Thompson, and Delaney did an excellent job getting a hand in his face.

The real stars for the u were Brian Asbury, a senior averaging just 6.5 ppg coming in, and big-man Dwayne Collins.  The Hokies left Asbury wide open all night, and the 14% three-point shooter (coming into the game) made them pay, hitting three long balls and scoring 13 early points.  He finished with 21.  Meanwhile, Collins abused the Hokies inside.  At one point in the second half, he scored 13 straight points for the canes, keeping them in the game.  Allen, Diakite, and Witcher simply could not stop him inside, usually resorting to fouling him.

The Hokies now sit alone in second place in the ACC at 4-1.  They play #10 ranked clemson at home on Thursday night.  It’s a BLACKOUT, people!  See you in your finest VT black on Thursday!

Niemo’s Notes:

• This was a huge win. As noted in the game preview, this is the only time VT plays miami, so the Hokies now have the tiebreaker in a two-way tie for ACC Tournament seedings. More importantly this victory gives the Hokies a second quality win against an RPI Top-50 team.
• Delaney’s 29 points is tied for the fourth most ever scored in an ACC game by a Hokie.  Amazingly, four of the top seven ACC scoring performances by Hokies have come in the last four games: Allen’s 30 against bc (tied for 2nd), Vassallo’s and Delaney’s 29 against uva and miami respectively (tied for 4th), and Vassallo’s 28 tonight against miami (7th).  Zabian Dowdell (the Hokie from Pahokee) has the high mark with 33 at unc in 2007.
• Other than the Big 3, only one Hokie scored more than 2 points — Lewis Witcher had 6, all in the first half.  That’s not going to cut it.  Against wake, VT got 25 points from the supporting cast.  Tonight, just 14.  Witcher did have a solid first half though, with 6 points on 3/3 shooting, including a nice left-handed hook and 3 rebounds. In the second half, Witcher didn’t score and had just one board.
• Hank Thorns had a career-high 8 assists.  He looked like the Hank of last year in this one, setting up some easy buckets for teammates.  However, his jumpshot is just plain awful.  Thorns was 1/5 from the field, and the one make was a layup.  Tech’s starters had just 3 assists.
• Collins for miami simply manhandled the Hokies inside.  The boxscore only shows two offensive rebounds for Collins, but if you watched this game, there’s no way that’s correct.  Again, Tech’s low post players let him catch the ball way too close to the basket and he made the most of it.  Foul or layup, that’s all VT saw in the second half.  And if you think it will be easier against clemson, you’re wrong: The Hokies have to face 6′7″, 240 lbs Trevor Booker.  He is every bit as good and tough inside as Collins.
• McClinton and Collins had 24 of miami’s final 27 points in regulation (everything but the game tying three by Asbury).
• Victor Davila missed two easy layups early in the game and did not play in the final 30 minutes (does any team miss more layups or potential “and-ones” than the Hokies?).  Witcher and Diakite ate up his minutes.
• Tech’s offense looks great of late (well, I guess the Big 3 does).  They shot 49% tonight after shooting 50% against wake.  Since the duke thumping, VT has scored 78, 79, 78, and 77 in regulation in their last four ACC games.  Not bad for a team that wasn’t even averaging 70 points per game before that point.  The Hokies have been able to match the quality ACC offenses and play the higher scoring game.
• Tech had three players play 40+ minutes — the Big 3, of course.  Delaney and Vassallo played 43.  Yet they were still money in overtime when it mattered most.
• Speaking of money, how money was A.D. in the second half?  He had 17 second-half points, including three clutch long balls.  One of those tied the game at 63 with six minutes to go, and then A.D. hit another one on the next possession to put the Hokies ahead.  Vassallo also became the 14th Hokie to reach the career 1,500 point mark.  Congrats!
• The Hokies have now won 7 overtime games in a row in ACC play and are 8-1 all time.  The Big 3 is 4-0 in ACC OT games.
• Tech has won 9 of 10 games, tying the best 10 game run under Seth (also did it in 2006-07).
• This is the third time VT has won five in a row under Greenberg but they have never made it to six.

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The Hokies scored their most impressive victory of the season to date on Wednesday night with their 78-71 victory at #1 wake forest. One thing we learned very quickly after the results were final was that a victory over a #1 ranked deacon team scored nowhere near the publicity points with the media machine known as ESPN as a victory over unc or duke. In the aftermath we heard it all: wake, who maybe wasn’t that good after all, was playing their fourth game in 11 days, so there was no way they possibly could have been up for this game against the Hokies. Not to mention the poor deacs had to play at bc and clemson in the same week. How could they be expected to hang with the unranked Hokies?

Why is it that everyone was unwilling to come out and just say Tech stepped up and simply played a better game and beat wake, in their own building, the team who was the best team I’d personally seen play this year so far going into this game? How about some credit to the Hokies physical defense , especially the inside game led by Cheick Diakite, who played his best game of the season and helped get the wake interior defenders in foul trouble early and often. Credit is also due to little man Hank Thorns — his ball handling and ability to bring the ball up allowed player of the game Malcolm Delaney to grab a quick breather or two on the court and free up for his all important outside J.

Props also go out to Seth for his use of the 2-3 zone which effectively slowed down wake’s high octane transition game. The zone is a work in progress with Greenberg, who has almost exclusively used man to man D as his signature throughout his coaching tenure. It’s no coincidence that our use of the zone coincides with the hiring of former syracuse guard Adrian Autry — who played under zone proprietor Jim Boeheim at the cuse — to the Tech staff. The Hokies ability to mix up their defenses will certainly be key down the stretch this season.

The Hokies get another shot at a quality, resume’-building victory when they take on the miami hurricanes tonight in Coral Gables. The canes currently sit at 28 in the latest RPI and are led by sharp shooting guard Jack McClinton. This will be another stern test for Malcolm Delaney, who’s coming off impressive performances on both ends of the floor against backcourt studs Tyrese Rice and Jeff Teague. Greenberg has consistently preached since the final horn in Winston-Salem that he doesn’t want the Hokies to follow in the footsteps of the bc eagles, who promptly followed up their victory at then #1 unc with four consecutive losses.

Even though the canes have won seven of their previous eight games, don’t expect the crowd in BankUnited Center to be much of a factor. miami is averaging just over 3,500 fans per home game. We’ll see if the fact that students are back on campus and a Sunday night ACC hoops television game will draw more fannies to the seats.

This is by no means a must win game for the Hokies, but it would certainly look like a nice notch in the belt come the second week of March. Let’s hope the Hokies come to play with the same intensity that they showed up with at wake.

Finally, you’ve got to give it up to the clemson tigers, who on Wednesday night continued the most amazing losing streak in all of sports. The tigers are now a perfect 0-54 in Chapel Hill against the unc tar heels following this year’s 94-70 loss. If the economy doesn’t pick up I think the Balla will be trying to make up all his recent losses to his retirement account by betting the house the next time clemson suits it up in the Dean Dome. There’s got to be no surer bet, right? In fact, maybe the Obama administration should take a good hard look at betting a solid portion of the national debt on this baby. Bailouts galore!

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THE SETUP

Spread: miami is favored by 6.5

The Hokies return to Fox Sport’s Sunday Night Hoops, but hopefully with better success than their other appearance – a 69-44 loss to duke.  Right now Tech is riding the gravy train on biscuit wheels!  Since that duke game, the Hokies have won four in a row (and eight of nine), including a 78-71 win over #1 wake forest this past Wednesday.

With a win Sunday, the Hokies will be back above .500 in all-time ACC regular season action for the first time since February 25th, 2005.  Tech is currently sitting at 34 wins and 34 losses in their five ACC seasons.

This game could turn out to be huge in March for two reasons:

1. This is the only time these teams meet, so this game would affect the tiebreaker for ACC Tournament seeding.  Since these teams were picked fourth (miami) and sixth (VT) in the ACC preseason poll, they likely will be in the neighborhood of each other.
2. Both teams appear headed towards the NCAA Tournament bubble.  Last year, both teams had similar resumes, but miami made the Big Dance thanks to more quality wins, while the Hokies headed to the Junior Prom.  A win here would give Tech another big time notch in their belt since miami is firmly in the Top 50 of the RPI.

That said, if you had offered me a split on this two game road trip (wake and SoBe), I’d have taken it in a heartbeat.  In fact, if you gave me a guarantee Tech would split their next two games against miami and clemson, I’d sign on the dotted line instantly (regardless of which game was the win).  That would put the Hokies at 4-2 in the ACC heading into a less-taxing stretch of five games by ACC standards – @bc, nc state, ga tech, @md, and @uva – all five teams are towards the bottom of the ACC.

But first things first, if VT can steal another ACC road game on Sunday night, they will tie Seth’s longest winning streak since coming to Tech (five).  And who doesn’t like beating the canes!

THE SERIES

• All-Time: miami 8-6
• In ACC play: VT 5-2 (includes VT’s win in the 2008 ACC Tourney)
• In Big East play: miami 6-1 (the canes won the final six meetings)
• Streak: VT has won 3 of the last 4 match-ups and the teams split last year

THE LINEUPS

* Eddie Rios, a sophomore guard that lit up the Hokies in Blacksburg last season, has been suspended from the team and will not play.  His cane career is likely done.

Best Match-Up:

It’s the Crab Dribblin’ dual between Malcolm Delaney and Jack McClinton!  McClinton was miami’s first ever All-ACC First-Teamer last season after averaging 17.7 ppg.  This season he has picked up right where he left off averaging 17.8 ppg and has scored at least 9 points in every game.  Jack has had eight 20 point plus games this season, including the last two games against unc and fsu.

Malcolm comes in as the only Hokie to reach double-digits in every game.  He is averaging 18.9 ppg over the last eight games, seven of which were VT wins.

Both hail from Baltimore, that wacky crab-dribblin’ city.  But Jack is significantly older (he’s a redshirt-senior who originally went to siena), so they likely have had much chance to match-up other than last season.

THE KEYS TO THE GAME

• Get a hand in McClinton’s face:  He will shoot from anywhere inside of half court, and can hit them.  Incredible range.  And he hits three-pointers at an amazing 47% clip.  Jack leads the ACC in threes made, too, having hit 51 on 109 attempts.  He will force shots though, so if Tech can frustrate him, he will start chucking.  That leads to point #2…
• Crash the Boards… hard!  miami is not overly tall inside but they are beefy.  I like to call their low post players a hockey goon line.  When they go big, McGowan, Graham, and Collins are all 6′8″ to 6′9″ and 235 pounds plus.  Collins is the most talented of the bunch and is very good with his back to the basket or getting second chance points.  He averages 11.8 ppg (2nd on the team) and 7.8 rpg (1st).  Tech must limit his offensive rebounds.  Graham is the Dennis Rodman of the team (and just as ugly).  He collects almost 6 rpg, but is not a threat at all offensively.  He likes to grab the offensive boards and look to kick it out to McClinton for yet another three.  McGowan is also a banger but has a little more ability to score.  He collects a lot of offensive rebounds and gets his points that way.  miami’s long shots force your guards out onto the perimeter, meaning the Hokie bigs must get the job done on the glass.
• Donut Offensive Fouls for the Dunking Donut: Jeff Allen has picked up numerous offensive fouls of late, including two at wake.  He missed the last 10 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble.  Jeff has gotten much better at not committing dumb fouls 30 feet from the basket on defense, now he needs to show similar restraint on offense.  Both fouls at wake were on screens.  The Hokies must have him inside to battle with the miami goons.  Also – feed him the ball early, and he stays more involved in the offense.
• Forget Wednesday: The wake game is over.  The Hokies need to come out right from the start with the intensity they had in Winston-Salem.  Tech will not make the NCAA Tournament with three ACC wins and just one quality win.  This is another chance at a big time win, and against a team the Hokies are very comparable to.  Tech is 2-0 against the bottom of the ACC and 1-1 against the top.  Now we will see how VT compares to the middle of the pack.

THE OPPONENT

Since joining the ACC, the canes are 29-40 in ACC regular season play.  They have never finished better than 8-8 and have yet to reach the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals.  VT is 34-34 with two semi-final appearances.

The canes blow into this game red hot, much like the Hokies.  miami has won seven of their last eight, but they were blown out at unc last weekend and were killed by clemson in their ACC opener in December.

And with that, I’ll leave it up to Kartik from canesrising.com to tell you about this miami squad… The Opposing View – miami

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Niemo has once again interviewed his good buddy, Kartik Krishnaiyer, his favorite u of miami fan, for The Opposing View.  Kartik is the publisher of canes rising, providing unique insight into miami football, basketball, and baseball. He has been attending miami football games since 1981 and miami basketball games since 1986. Despite graduating from the university of florida, he bleeds orange and green, and continues to hold season tickets for miami football and basketball. He also hosts the American Soccer Show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network which deals with the US National Team, MLS, and NCAA Soccer.

Here are the past articles from Kartik:

• Last Year’s Opposing View: miami
• Kartik’s Views on the NCAA Selection Committee

You can also check out The Opposing Taunt – Niemo Mocks Sebastian the Ibis

OK, let’s get to the questions:

Niemo: Describe this year’s miami team.
Kartik:  Battle tested: A tough tournament down in the Virgin Islands which the team quite frankly wasn’t prepared for. We came back home and suddenly had to deal with the McClinton incident against Ohio State, and three days later had to withstand a great game from Patrick Patterson to get a great victory at Rupp [miami won at ky-kentucky], but then embarrassing ourselves on national TV against Clemson two weeks later.

Since the Clemson game, the team settled down and is playing at a fairly high level. Wins at St John’s and BC were good signs. But still the team is limited in its inside game. Jimmy Graham has been solid but cannot seem to stay out of foul trouble. Dwayne Collins is good but at times can be tentative. Arkansas transfer Cyrus McGowan was outstanding earlier in the year but seems to be a bit soft: what would you expect from a SEC transfer, and is not making an impact since ACC play began.

The Canes won a NCAA Tournament game last year and that imparted a toughness to get through what has been a year filled with distractions like Jack’s ejection, Hurdle’s injury, and the ongoing Eddie Rios soap opera.

Niemo: How well do you think VT matches up with the canes?Â
Kartik: The Hokies match up well with everyone in the league it seems [he obviously hasn't seen us play nc state], thanks to AD Vassallo’s unique skill set for a 6′6” guy. Seth Greenberg always has his troops ready for ACC play. The problem with the RPI and Selection Committee is that once again this year they are going to want VT to win 10 games in the ACC, a nearly impossible task. The selection committee can claim they pick the best at-large teams, but they don’t. I still do not accept any explanation for VT’s exclusion last year. In fact I believe Florida State and Maryland had good cases as well. Our league is tougher night in and night out that any other league in America. I just do not understand how Big East teams get credit for playing each other tough, but last year the Hokies took UNC down to the wire in Greensboro, and that was conveniently ignored the next day when the selections were made.

Niemo: What are miami’s keys to win?  VT’s?
Kartik: Miami must establish Dwayne Collins inside early, and not have to chase the game as we did against FSU and Maryland. Miami won both games, but those teams are more mistake prone and less experienced that the Hokies.

For VT, AD Vassallo creates headaches for opponents and Miami doesn’t have a guy that can really match up with him. It is possible we will see Frank Haith start DeQuan Jones, the freshman, or Adrian Thomas simply due to the need to guard Vassallo. Thomas has actually been playing very well since ACC play began after contributing little during the non-conference slate.

The other option for Miami is to play zone from the get go and Haith is not afraid to do that.

Niemo: McClinton and Delaney are both from Baltimore (the Crab Dribblin’ state!) and may be matched up on Sunday.  Think they will have some extra motivation to one-up each other?  Who wins the head-to-head battle?
Kartik: McClinton should win it, but Delaney is quicker and probably will spend as much time guarding Lance Hurdle as Jack. If Delaney gets matched up with James Dews, whose head seems not to be on basketball lately, he’ll explode.

Really this question brings another issue up: the collapse of Maryland from the national elite. I get the sense that for years the ESPN driven Tobacco Road elitism resented the Terps success. Now that Maryland is just another ACC team, they cannot protect their recruiting base and seem to be safely ignored by the national media. That’s good for stealing kids out of Baltimore or DC if you are VT or Miami, but may not be great for the ACC as a whole.Â
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Niemo: Seriously, Anthony King is gone?  He should have his doctorate with all the time he played for you guys!  And this is still a very veteran team.  Is that a good thing, or are you ready for some new blood?
Kartik:  Lindy’s Preview issue said 37 years in ACC Basketball for King. It wasn’t quite that long, but it seemed like it was [he actually started out in the Big East with the canes]. Now the ACC has Harvey Hale to celebrate as an ACC lifer.

Back to Miami: this is a veteran team that has been through the ACC wars and is engaged in battle again this season. Next year, Miami welcomes Durand Scott, the top high school player in New York City and three other prized recruits into the program. Frank Haith is recruiting well and the team is benefiting from not having any ties to the failed regime of Perry Clark remaining. Much like VT took off the second the last Ricky Stokes recruits were history.  [LOL -- Kartik knows how to play to me -- he bashes stokes in every article!]

Niemo: You have a 6′9″ 290 lbs. freshman.  What is the ideal height for someone that fat?  Um, is he in the wrong sport?  Are you trying to sneak in O-Lineman on basketball scholarships?
Kartik: He’s so fat he’s being redshirted. Why? He needs to lose weight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Niemo: The canes aren’t even averaging 4k per game at home, worst in the ACC.  What can we expect for atmosphere on Sunday?
Kartik: It’ll be a good atmosphere. Most of those games were during the winter break from school. Miami Basketball is very student driven, unlike Miami Football which is… well, I’ll skip that, but you know it’s not students who hassle your Hokie fans at the football games.Â
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Niemo: If McClinton could girl-slap one Hokie, who would it be?
Kartik: Probably Delaney. Old Baltimore thing. But then again Jack is really a good kid who had a moment of madness. [McClinton basically slapped an ohio state player in the ACC/Big(11)Ten challenge and got tossed from the game... can't believe Kartik missed the obvious Jeff Allen/referee reference here!]
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Niemo: Where do you predict miami finishing in the ACC regular season standings?  VT?  Tourney bound or NIT?
Kartik: 5th or 6th for the Canes and dancing again. VT should be somewhere between 5th and 7th. Florida State will be the other team in the mix for an NCAA bid in the league. Maryland just seems too weak inside and not able to close out games on the road. I think the Terps are staring down the NIT again this year.

FSU has more talent than Miami or VT, but again the Noles have a penchant for collapse at the end of every season when they need one more win to secure an NCAA bid. Should we expect any different this season?Â
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Niemo: In 3-5 years, do you see miami’s basketball program getting better or worse?  Where do you see VT’s?
Kartik: This is easy: both programs are emerging. The ACC elites got more than they bargained for inviting these two schools. The real victims I guess are Georgia Tech, NC State and YES, UVA, who now cannot compete year in and year out in the ACC. The Cavs wasted all that money on an arena no one is going to care to play in. The real question is how long until Virginia and NC State completely collapse? I don’t think either program can compete regularly in the current ACC. Think about it this way: Pete Gillen recruited top class after top class to Charlottesville yet UVA has two NCAA appearences in the last ten years? That’s pathetic. Now that they are lacking in talent consistently under Leito I don’t see a way out for them.

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Fun Stuff

Niemo: What did you think of that 3rd ACC football title the Hokies locked up this year?  Lessen the joy of your rare win over VT any?
Kartik: Never. These days any win over the Hokies is cause for celebration. I guess you can claim success after scoring 14 points at home against Duke. I’ll give you guys credit for knocking out TJ Yates, otherwise UNC would be celebrating today. Oh wait, they don’t celebrate football wins anyhow.Â
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Niemo: Your alma mater just won another football title.  Think about jumping ship back to the gators?  miami sports aren’t exactly on the rise (might need to rename your site).
Kartik: No way. The Gator fans are what drove me from my alma mater in the first place. I actually still support UF in basketball, much as I did when I was in school there. It was lonely being a hoops fan in Gainesville in the mid 1990s. Really lonely. But in football, UF has all the money, the prestige, the power: why would I jump on that bandwagon? It would be like rooting for UNC or Duke in basketball!!!!! (Then again, I did not want to see OU or Bob Stoops win a national title. Did any of you?)
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Niemo: Wish you could be back in the Big East?
Kartik: NO! How about you guys? As my co-host on our podcast Nate Skinner said the other night, the Big East is more a collection of teams than a real conference. Seriously does anyone really think of USF as a “Big East school?”
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Niemo: Bigger punk: Eddie Rios or Robert Marve?
Kartik: Marve, although you guys have the rare distinction of having lost to him this year, one of only two ACC teams that will ever lose to him. Rios was a real disappointment. Committed to UM as a sophomore in High School but never grew into the point guard role and eventually became one huge distraction.Â
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Niemo: Is Wet Willie’s the greatest drink place in the world?  (this is really a rhetorical question)
Kartik: YES!

[For those of you that have never been, Wet Willie's features drinks that can be only described as "slurpees on steroids" - they are frozen drinks filled heavily with grain alcohol.  They are currently banned by the Weekend Warrior for good reason.]

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I noticed on Hokiesports.com that today, January 22nd, marks the 100th anniversary of Virginia Tech’s first basketball game, a 33-26 win over emory & henry.  So Happy Anniversary!  Last night was quite the early present!

Also, TechHoops.com’s 2nd birthday came and went this past Monday (we forgot).  Guess we are in the terrible twos now, although some would argue the Weekend Warrior has been there the whole time.

Wick – We should have waited three days to get this thing rolling! 

Shout out to Wick, Davey, Cope, Balla, and Jay Adams (where have you gone?).  You guys have helped make this site the #1 place for Hokie basketball fans.  OK, enough mushy crap, let’s get back to throwing ‘bows!

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