Box Score

2012 has not been good to Virginia Tech’s men’s basketball team, save for their win over then No. 16 uva in Charlottesville. Thursday night, the Hokies got trucked in their own house by fifth-ranked duke and two days later, Tech blew a 14-point lead with five minutes to play against clemson. Amazingly, Tech held on to win, 67-65, despite not scoring a field goal for much of the final 8 minutes of the game.

With the Hokies up 64-50 with about 7 minutes to play, Tech went into basketball’s version of the prevent offense (yes, offense, not defense) and it nearly doomed them. Tech managed just three free throws in the remaining 7 minutes and change while clemson went on a 15-3 run.

Victor Davila missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 30 seconds to play and leading 67-65, giving clemson the final shot. Their freshman K.J. McDaniels had a career-high 14 points and got fouled with :03 left (fouling out Jarell Eddie), sending him to the line for a pair of free throws that could tie the game.

The freshmen missed both free throws and after the second miss, his teammate Tanner Smith grabbed the rebound and missed a shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. The Hokies escaped by the narrowest of margins.

If ever a win felt like a loss, this would be one of those times. The win-that-nearly-became-a-loss sends the Hokies to 13-10. Finney-Smith finally broke out of his six-game slump in a big way, scoring 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Doe Doe, after missing 25 straight field goal attempts over the last six games, got the Hokies on the scoreboard first. In fact, the highly-touted freshmen shot an impressive 5/8 from the field.

Jarrell Eddie played perhaps his best game of the year and definitely gave you some hope for next season. The sophmore scored a team-high 15 points. Meanwhile, junior guard Erick Green extended his double-digit scoring streak with a free throw late in the game, the Hokies’ 67th and final point. It was Green’s only point of the second half.

Tech led this game from the opening tip and led by 16 midway through the first half. Every time clemson tried to make a run, the Hokies would answer in kind and took a 14-point lead at the half.

The Hokies have five days off before they take their talents to South Beach to take on the canes on Feb. 9. Tipoff is at 9 p.m., and the game will be on either ESPN or the Deuce.

Play-by-Play
Accuracy not guaranteed

2-0 VT – DFS breaks the 0/25, 6-game FG drought!
– turnover clemson –
– turnover VT, backcourt violation –
– steal by VT –
5-0 – Rankin hits a three-pointer
– clemson misses, DFS get rebound –
– shot wedged between the rim and the glass, clemson ball –
5-3 – clemson’s Booker gets the hoop and the harm, foul on Davila
– clemson fouls DFS, non-shooting –
– Rankin misses, clemson rebounds –
– foul on Rankin –
– clemson misses, DFS rebounds –
8-3 – Green hits a three pointer
– clemson misses three, Eddie rebounds –
– DFS gets a rebound, feeds Eddie, misses the dunk, but is fouled –

U16 Score – 8-3 VT

10-3 – Eddies makes 2 FTs (VT 2/2 FTs)
– clemson misses, gets the rebound, fresh shot clock –
– clemson misses, Hudson rebounds –
– VT misses, loose rebound, out of bounds off clemson –
– Green misses, clemson rebounds –
– clemson turnover, stepped out of bounds –
– Raines misses jump hook, clemson rebounds –
– Hudson blocks shot, clemson rebounds, Green steals it –
12-3 – Green converts fast breaks after getting a steal
– Eddie commits his first foul –
– clemson just 1/9 shooting so far –
– clemson playing three freshmen –
12-5 – Cole scores off the inbounds play
14-5 – Raines tips it a missed shot
– clemson turnover –
16-5 – Brown scores off the fast break following the turnover
– clemson calls a timeout –
– clemson has 5 turnovers so far –
– clemson misses, Barksdale rebounds –
18-5 – Nice crossover by Rankin, goes in for the layup

U12 Score – 18-5 VT

18-7 – Smith makes 2 FTs
– VT turnover –
– VT foul –
18-7 – Clemson misses both FTs
– DFS misses a dunk, but Rankin slams home the miss –
21-7 – Rankin follows DFS’s miss with a dunk and gets fouled, Rankin makes the FT
– clemson has three freshmen in the game, turns it over –
23-7 – Green makes 2 FTs
– clemson misses, Davila with the rebound –
– VT turnover –
23-9 – Clemson freshman dunks it from the baseline
– longest losing streak at the Cassell in 10 years –
25-9 – Green hits a jumper
– Eddie blocks a shot out of bounds –
– Green called for the foul –
– clemson in the
25-11 – Smith hits fadeaway
– VT misses, clemson rebounds –
– clemson airballs it –
25-13 – Booker dunks it on a fast break
28-13 – Eddie hits a three, with an assist from the top of the backboard
– clemson misses, Davila rebounds –

U8 Score – 28-13 VT

– Barksdale misses jumper, clemson rebounds –
– clemson misses two shots, held ball, possession to VT –
– VT misses three, clemson rebound –
28-15 – Narcisse makes 2 FTs (Green picks up 2nd PF, sits, Rankin comes in)
– clemson goes to full court press, Greenberg calls a timeout –
– clemson misses, but Davila commits 2nd PF, one and one for clemson –
– Davila out, Raines in –
28-15 – Narcisse misses, clemson rebounds
– clemson misses, Eddie rebounds –
30-15 – Hudson drives and shoots
30-17 – McDaniels with the follow slam
33-17 – Eddie hits a 3 points and is fouled by Narcisse, chance for 4-point play

U4 Score – 33-17 VT

34-17 – Eddie makes the FT to complete the 4-point play
34-19 – clemson scores
– VT with only 4 turnovers so far –
36-19 – Eddie playing lights out, underneath layup
– Rankin steals, but has shot blocked by McDaniels –
– foul on Rankin, his 2nd PF –
36-21 – Young makes 2 FTs
38-21 – Eddie scores, assist to Brown (Eddie with 11 points)
– clemson misses three, gets own rebound –
38-23 – 7-2 kid gets the hoop and the foul
38-24 – 7-2 kid makes the FT to complete the 3-point play
40-24 – Brown feeds DFS for the alley-oop dunk!
40-26 – clemson scores at the other end
42-26 – Eddie gets a rebound off a miss and scores (Eddie with 13 points)
42-28 – clemson scores
– clemson commits foul away from the ball with :03 left –
– VT can’t get a shot off before the buzzer –

Halftime Score – 42-28
Eddie – 13, Green – 9, Rankin – 8, Finney-Smith – 4, Raines – 4, Hudson – 2, Brown – 2

42-30 – clemson hits opening shot of the 2nd half
– Davila misses, gets rebound –
44-30 – DFS puts back a miss (has 6 points)
– Eddie commits 2nd PF on Booker –
44-32 – Booker makes 2 FTs
46-32 – Davila scores in the low post
– clemson misses, but Eddie picks up his 3rd PF –
– clemson misses, out of bounds off VT –
46-35 – Young hits a 3 pointer
49-35 – DFS drains a 3 pointer, has 9 points
49-37 – clemson scores
51-37 – Davila turns and jams it home on the 7-footer
– clemson misses a three, VT rebounds –
– VT called for illegal screen, Davila picks up his 3rd PF –

U16 Score – 51-37

– Raines fouls Booker, Raines’ 2nd PF –
51-39 – Booker makes 2 FTs
– Hudson misses, clemson rebounds –
– clemson misses, VT rebounds –
53-39 – Raines scores with an assist from Eddie
– clemson misses, VT rebounds –
– McDanials blocks his fourth shot of the game, on Green –
– clemson misses three, but gets rebound –
53-41 – McDaniels with a Deron-like dunk
– Hudson misses three pointer –
– Green commits his 3rd PF –
– clemson misses, VT rebounds –
– Brown misses 3 pointer, clemson rebound –
– clemson misses 3 pointer, gets the rebound –
– clemson airballs it, VT rebounds, foul on clemson –
– Green misses 3 pointer, clemson rebound –
– Barksdale commits the foul –

U12 Score – 53-41 VT

– clemson misses 3 pointer, Eddie rebounds for VT –
55-41 – Brown to Raines on the pick and roll
– timeout clemson –
55-43 – Hall scores for clemson
– Eddie misses the 3 pointer, clemson rebounds, but travels –
– VT can’t inbound the ball, calls timeout –
– clemson foul (McDaniels) away from the ball –
– Smith fouls Davila –
57-43 – Davila makes 2 FTs
57-45 – Young score at the other end
– Smith fouls, VT to the FT line –
59-45 – Hudson makes 2 FTs
59-47 – clemson scores
– McDaniels with his 5th blocked shot, still VT ball –
– Eddie misses the 3 pointer, Hudson misses putback –
– clemson foul against DFS –
61-47 – Eddie scores (team-leading 15 points)

U8 Score – 61-47

– clemson misses first FT of a one-and-one –
– clemson foul, Booker’s 2nd, both teams in bonus from here on out –
– clemson steals the ball –
61-50 – Smith hits a 3 pointer
64-50 – DFS drains his second 3 pointer of the game (12 points for Doe Doe)
– VT is a perfect 10/10 from the FT line at this point –
– clemson is 2/17 from 3 point range –
64-52 – clemson scores
– Green airballs a 3 pointer, clemson rebound –
– clemson turns it over, VT ball –
– Hokies called for 10 second violation, clemson ball –

** Radio Broadcast went out at this point **

Clemson apparently on a 7-0 run, cuts VT’s lead in half, from 14 to 7 (3:11 to play)

U4 Score – 64-57

66-57 – VT hits both FTs (perfect on the day)
– clemson misses 3 pointer, Eddie blocks a second attempt –
– 2:30 to play –
– VT misses, clemson rebound –
– 2:00 to play –
66-59 – clemson scores
– 1:40 to play –
– Eddie misses three pointer, clemson rebound –
66-61 – clemson scores on the fast break, McDaniels with 12 points
– 1:12 to play –
– Hudson throws the ball away, clemson ball –
– 1:03 to play –
– clemson misses, McDaniels rams home the miss –
66-63 – McDaniels with the follow slam off the miss (career-high 14 points)
67-63 – Green at the FT line, makes 1/2 FTs (first missed FT of the game for VT)
– Hokies with just one FG in the last 8 minutes –
67-65 – clemson scores
– timeout Hokies –
– :26.4 left to play –
– clemson on a 15-2 run in last 4 minutes –
– clemson fouls Davila –
67-65 – Davila missed the front end of a 1-and-1
– clemson rebounds Davila’s miss –
– :11 left to play –
– Eddie commits the foul and fouls out –
67-65 – McDaniels at the FT line, missed the first
– McDaniels missed the second FT on purpose, clemson gets the rebound and misses a shot at the buzzer, Hokies hold on to win –

Final Score – Hokies 67, clemson 65

Popularity: 13% [?]

Box Score

Fresh off a vote of confidence from Virginia Tech Athletics Director Jim Weaver, Seth Greenberg and his struggling Hokies hosted fifth-ranked duke Thursday night in front of a national TV audience. The game presented a wonderful opportunity for this talented, but young team to turn its season around.

But duke had too much depth, experience and talent for the Hokies to hang for a full 40 minutes. As a result, the Hokies lost for the seventh time in their last eight games, 75-60, at home to duke.

As usual, junior guard Erick Green led the Hokies with 17 points, while Victor Davila played a solid game and added 16 points. Marquis Rankin was Tech’s third-leading scorer, but he scored all 8 of his points in the final minutes, at which point the game was well in hand for the dookies.

Statistically speaking, the game came down to three-pointers, rebounding, and turnovers. And the blue devils outrebounded the Hokies 31-26, hit more threes (8/18) than the Hokies (3/13), and committed fewer turnovers (7) than did Tech (13).

Tech trailed the entire game, save for a 21-21 tie with less than 8 minutes to play in the first half. After Dorenzo Hudson hit a pair of free throws to tie the game, duke got away with an apparent shot clock violation on the next possession and got credit for the basket. From there, they went on a 17-4 run to take a 13-point lead.

The Hokies stole a little of that momentum with Green’s buzzer-beating three to cut duke’s lead to 10 at the break.

The second half was all duke as it stretched its lead to 22 points and cruised from there. Tech got absolutely owned on the boards in the second half. The blue devils didn’t even really need an outside shot (though they seemed to his everything) because they had free range in the lane.

Poor Doe Doe (Dorian Finney-Smith) struggled again, but he did manage to come up with a couple of big blocks, so hopefully he can build on that. At least he’s still getting quality minutes, but you hope that it’s not going to damage his confidence.

I finally figured out what’s missing with this team… JT Thompson. His fire and intensity is what’s missing from this team. Even if he were healthy, he may not be enough to beat a team like duke or unc, but he would certainly be enough of a spark and talent to help win games against bc, wake and georgia tech.

Next up for the Hokies is clemson on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Below is my stream of consciousness during the game. Accuracy not guaranteed.

– Doe Doe misses twice –
– Good defense by Green, forces turnover –
– DFS steps on baseline –
– DFS commits foul –
– Moving screen on Davila –
2-0 duke – Plumlee wide open underneath for the easy dunk
– duke foul, non shooting –
2-2 Eddie hits the pullup jumper
– duke foul, non shooting –
– Rankin misses, duke rebound –
5-2 duke 3-pointer
– Green misses jumper —
7-2 Plumlee easy hook over Davila
7-4 Davila works hard for the bucket underneath

Under 16 media timeout – 7-4

– DFS commits foul, his second —
9-4 Kelly hits 2 FTs
9-6 Eddie drives and dishes to Raines for the layup
– Green steals, but can’t get the layup –
– duke foul after great effort by Hokies —
9-8 Hudson with the crazy fall-away jumper of the inbounds pass
– Hokies called for blocking call, clearly looked like a charge —
11-8 Curry hits 2 FTs
11-10 Raines with some nifty double move underneath for the bucket
– Plumlee misses badly –
– Blocking call against duke, kinda surprised we got that consider it’s duke –
– Hokies turn it over and Dawkins celebrates like it’s the national title
14-10 duke’s Dawkins gets called for a technical foul for taunting

Under 12 media timeout – 14-10

14-12 Green makes two Technical FTs
– Stupid foul by duke’s Plumlee, his second –
14-13 Davila makes 1/2 FTs
16-13 Rivers drives empty lane for layup
16-15 Davila picks up rebound off Eddie’s miss, puts it back up for the bucket
18-15 duke scores
– Hokies turn it over, but duke gives it right back –
18-17 Davila backs down Plumlee, knocks him down (he flopped) and Davile DUNKS IT!
– duke misses three, VT rebounds –
– Eddie misses three, duke rebounds –
– duke misses, VT rebounds –
– Eddie misses, duke rebounds –
21-17 Curry buries a wide open three
21-19 Green drives the lane for the layup
– Kelly called for a foul –

Under 8 media timeout – 21-19

– Ranking comes in at PG –
– Hudson called for foul away from the ball –
– Hudson fouled in the act of shooting –
21-21 Hudson makes 2 FTs
23-21 duke gets away with a walk, plus shot clock expired
– Hokies turn it over –
– Foul on Raines –
25-21 Kelly dunks it
– Green misses three –
27-21 Kelly goes down the lane untouched
– Thorton picks up 2nd PF –
27-23 Green hits 2 FTs
29-23 duke scores down the lane … again (8-2 run)
– Rankin misses –
32-23 Kelly hits the three pointer
– Eddie misses –
34-23 Dawkins make another easy bucket in the lane
34-25 Davila cleans up Brown’s miss with a beautiful bucket

Under 4 media timeout – 34-25

36-25 Plumlee makes 2 FTs
– Raines misses hook shot –
– Brown commits foul –
– Jump ball, possession to duke –
– Duke on 15-4 run –
– Green bad pass, turns it over –
38-25 duke did something amazing
– DFS turns it over again, VT’s 8th turnover —
38-28 Green hits a three-pointer at the buzzer!

Halftime score – 38-28

40-28 – duke opens the scoring
40-30 Davila makes 2 FTs
42-30 Reverse layup
– Foul on Hairston, his second –
42-32 Davila with a two-handed slam
45-32 Rives buries a three, quiets the crowd
45-34 Hudson hits a jumper off the screen, top of the key
– Green called for a handcheck –
– Kelly called for offensive foul –
– Hudson called for a moving screen –
– VT with near steal, jump ball called –
47-34 Curry driving layup
– VT sloppy pass, turns it over -
49-34 Duke fast break dunk
– Rankin fouled by Kelly –
49-35 Rankin makes 1/2 FTs
51-35 Plumlee misses twice, third time a charm, VT getting owned on the boards
51-38 Brown buries a three from the top of the key

Under 16 media timeout – 51-38

– Raines called for his 3rd PF –
– Brown called for the PF –
52-38 Kelly makes 1/2 FTs –
– Brown misses –
– duke turns it over, bad pass –
– Barksdale in the game –
– Plumlee called for reach-in foul –
52-40 Green hits a tough jumper with defender in his face off the dribble
55-40 Rivers buries a deep three
– VT misses, duke rebounds –
57-40 Cook to Plumlee dunk
59-40 duke on 7-0 run
– VT misses, duke rebounds –
62-40 Kelly drains a three, 12-0 run
– VT turns it over –
– God, just make this end –
62-42 Green with the floater
– Kelly picks up 4th PF –
62-43 Davila makes 1/2 FTs
64-43 Rivers to Hairston for the alleyoop dunk
64-45 Green with the circus shot, he has 15 points
– Brown misses dunk –
66-45 Hairston gets the hoop and the harm (DFS with the foul), misses FT
66-47 Eddie with the baseline jumper
66-49 Green drives untouched for the layup (17 points)
66-51 Davila gets a rebound off DFS missed three, puts it back
– DFS with two blocks, YAY! –
– Brown with the steal, but Green got fouled, but no call, out of bounds on VT –

Under 8 media timeout – 66-61

68-51 Curry hits 2 FTs
– Brown with the foul –
70-51 Curry hits 2 FTs
– duke steals it from Davila –
– Green travels, turnover VT –
70-54 Rankin hits a three
70-56 Eddie with a fast break jumper in the lane
72-56 Thorton hits 2 FTs
72-58 Rankin gets the bucket
75-58 Why the hell is duke shooting three pointers up 14 with 1:35 to play?
– Davila airballs a hook shot –
– Duke misses another three pointer attempt, why are they shooting threes? –
75-60 Rankin with another jumper

Final Score – duke 75, Hokies 60

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before… the Hokies got off to a painfully slow start and fell behind early, but played just-good-enough defense to keep it somewhat close. Then, in the second half, they more than doubled their first half scoring and made a game of it, but committed one-to-many turnovers and fouls to be able to pull off the road win.

Virginia Tech lost to the terps 73-69 after scoring just 19 first-half points. The terps’ Terrell Stoglin led all scores with a blistering 28 points. Erick Green paced the Hokies with 18. Victor Davila and Dorenzo Hudson both had 14 and Jarrell Eddie added 11 points.

Cadarian Raines made his first career start, but managed just 4 points. Dorian Finney-Smith continued to struggle in ACC play failing to get a field goal in yet another game. He scored one point and looked lost while taking some bad shots. He’s looking like a freshman, but I can’t imagine he’ll struggle this mightily for the entire season.

Freshmen Robert Brown and Marquis Rankin played pretty well… for the most part. Tech had cut the terps lead down to 5, 63-58 in the final minute and change, and forced maryland to take a bad three point attempt as the shot clock wound down. But Brown fouled Sean Mosley’s three point attempt with the shot clock at zero and Mosley made the Hokies pay by making all three free throws to put the terps’ lead back to 8.

Tech didn’t give up, though. The terps inexplicably seemed to just give the Hokies points in the final minute. Green had a pair of easy layups and fed a wide-open Davila for an easy dunk to keep the Hokies in the game.

Brown atoned, somewhat, for his egregious foul by burying a three pointer with :03.6 seconds left to cut the maryland lead to just two, 71-69. Tech immediately fouled Stoglin on the inbounds pass, but he made both free throws to put the game away.

The Hokies shot just 24 percent in the first half and as has been so often the case this season, it was their undoing. After managing just 19 points in the first 20 minutes, Tech dropped 50 on the terps in the second half.

Niemo can speak more intelligently to the Greenberg’s alternating between the zone and man-to-man defense, but whatever they were doing, it didn’t stop Stoglin. That kid was in the zone and made some crazy shots, even when he was well-guarded.

Look, this is a tough loss, and the first half was just plain awful, but I have to say that I’m somewhat encouraged by the play of Rankin and Brown.

Rankin had a key steal in the second half where he literally just took the ball away with both hands and immediately passed it a streaking Green for the easy bucket. A few plays later, Rankin drove the lane from the right and drew the double team and fed Raines for the bucket.

The one thing I haven’t seen much of from this team is a high level of intensity and emotion that we’ve seen from previous teams. They play hard and they didn’t quit today, but where’s the floor-slapping and chest bumping? This team is subdued and I think it drives the fans and even the coaches a little crazy.

Looking ahead is pretty gloomy. They have duke and clemson at home before hitting the road against the canes. Then back home to face the eagles, at fsu, home against ga tech and uva, at duke and clemson, and back home to wrap up the regular season against nc state. Ouch. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t see many wins in there. Maybe bc and gt? I don’t see the hoos losing to us twice.

Tech returns home to take on the dookies next Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.

Play by Play
accuracy not guaranteed

– Raines made his first career start –
5-0 maryland to start the game
Hokies missed first 2 shots
5-2 Green jumper off the screen
8-2 Mosely 3pter

Under 16 – 8-2

8-5 – Erick Green 3 ptr (all 5 points)
– Doe Doe missed badly –
11-5 – Mosley 3 ptr
11-6 – Doe Doe fouled, makes 1/2 FTs
13-6 – 2 MD FTs
– MD in man-to-man defense –
13-9 – Green with another 3ptr
16-9 – Howard 3ptr
16-11 – Zo jumper in the lane from Barksdale

Under 12 – 16-11

18-11 – 2 MD FTs
20-11 – inside post move
22-11 – stoglin driving bucket
24-11 – panky dunks
– 8-0 terps run –
24-13 – raines with the rebound and putback

Under 8 – 24-13

24-15 – Davila rejected, but gets rebound and puts it back up and in
– Jarrell Eddie picks up 2nd foul on Stoglin while attempting a 3 ptr –
25-15 – Stoglin makes 1/3 FTs
26-15 – Len makes 1/2 FTs
26-17 – Davila makes 2 FTs
– Davila nice move but blows the easy layup –
28-17 – Stoglin fast break off Green’s missed three

Under 4 – 28-17

28-19 – Jarrell Eddie makes 2 FTS
– Hokies missed 2-on-1 break layup –
30-19 – Len dunk
– Hokies shooting 25% –
32-19 – Stoglin hits a jumper
– Hokies have gone nearly 5 minutes without making a FG –
– Hudson misses front end of 1-and-1 –
– Stoglin fouls Rankin –
– Rankin misses front end of 1-and-1 –
– VT 2 of last 14 –
– VT shot 24 percent in the first half –

Halftime score – 32-19

– Hudson starts 2nd half, misses –
34-19 – Stoglin
34-21 – Davila one-handed dunk after Green misses a runner
– Davila misses hook –
– MD turnover, walk –
– Eddie misses –
– Hudson airballs a floater –
– Davila has hands of stone, couldn’t catch a cold –
– Green misses –
36-21 – Faust finishes fast break
36-24 – Hudson hits a three pointer
– MD turnover –

Under 16 – 36-24

36-27 – Hudson buries a three from the corner
– Hokies cut lead to single digits –
36-29 – Robert Brown with the steal and the dunk
– MD timeout, has four TOs in the 2nd half –
38-29 – Pageant scores
38-32 – Hudson with the hoops and the harm, converts the three-point play
– Hudson has 9 points in 2-1/2 minutes –
40-32 – Mosley scores for MD
40-34 – Davila works the low post and scores (8 points)
43-34 – Stoglin hits a three pointer
– Hokies turn it over –
46-34 – Stoglin hits another three pointer
46-37 – Eddie buries a three pointer (his first FG of the game)
48-37 – Mosley jumper
– Turnover by the Hokies –

Under 12 – 48-37

50-37 – MD two
50-40 – Eddie makes the layup and is fouled, makes the FT
50-42 – Rankin steals it, passes to Erick Green for the fast-break layup
– MD turnover, but VT can’t convert, Green missed —
51-42 – MD makes 1/2 FTs
– Green drive, feeds Eddie who is fouled going to the hoop –
51-44 – Eddie makes 2 FTs
54-44 – Stoglin hits contested 3 pointer
54-46 – Ranking drives, dishes to Raines down low for the layup
– Weiss picked up 2nd PF –

Under 8 – 54-46

– Stoglin throws it away –
– DFS walks —
56-46 – Pageant scores inside over Eddie
– Turnover by VT –
– VT fouls Stoglin hard, Eddie hurts his elbow, picks up 3rd PF –
58-46 – Stoglin makes 2 FTs
58-48 – Hudson misses, but Rankin skies for the one-handed putback
– Like what we’re seeing from Rankin –
60-48 – Pankey makes 2 FTs
– Eddie fakes a three, passes inside the Davila who is fouled –
60-50 – Davila makes 2 FTs (10 points for VD)
– Green taking some quick, bad shots –
– Rankin foul on the Green miss –

Under 4 – 60-50

60-52 – Hudson makes 2 FTs
– Hudson gets stuffed on a layup –
60-53 – Hudson makes 1/2 FTs after technical foul against MD’s Mosley
60-55 – Green does right down the lane for easy bucket
63-55 – Stoglin step back 3 pointer (has four so far)
– Faust misses front end of a 1-and-1, Hokies get rebound –
63-57 – Green feeds Davila for the layup (Davila has 12)
– Hudson gets called for a blocking foul, but it looked like a charge –
– Faust misses front end of 1-and-1, Mosley gets the rebound, but called for off foul –
63-58 – Eddies makes 1/2 FTs (has 11 points)
– Jump ball, :03 left on shot clock –
– Brown commits foul on a 3 point attempt –
66-58 – Mosley hits all three FTs
– Stoglin commits offensive foul –
66-60 – Green easy layup
– Brown foul on inbound pass –
– terps miss both FTs –
66-62 – Green with another easy layup (:26 left)
68-62 – Mosley makes 2 FTs
68-64 – Green feeds Davila for the dunk (Davila has 14)
69-64 – Stoglin hits 1/2 FTs (:17 left)
69-66 – Green with a tough layup
71-66 – Howard makes 2 FTs (:10 left)
– Timeout maryland –
71-69 – Brown hits a three pointer (:03.6 left)
73-69 – Stoglin makes 2 FTs

Final Score: terps 73, Hokies 69

Popularity: 18% [?]

For at least a half, the Virginia Tech Hokies didn’t look like the only winless team in the ACC. The Hokies hosted No. 8 unc at the Cassell Coliseum Thursday night and used some hot three-point shooting to take a surprising 39-34 lead into the half.

But the tar heels, still reeling from their embarrassing road loss to fsu – the worst loss ever by unc under Roy Williams, came out in the second half a much different team than a packed Cassell Coliseum saw in the first half.

The second half started off pretty good for Tech with Victor Davila’s spin move to open the scoring and give the Hokies a 41-34 lead. unc answered but Green’s three from the top of the key gave Tech it’s largest lead of the game, 44-36. And then the wheels came off.

Tech’s hot shooting cooled off, unc’s defense tightened up and it was all downhill from there. The heels used an early 19-0 second-half run and never looked back on their way to the 82-68 win. Harrison Barnes led all scores with 27 points.

On the plus side, junior guard Erick Green extended his ACC-leading streak of scoring at least 10 points to 19 straight games. He had 17 points to lead the Hokies, 10 of which came in the first half. Jarrell Eddie scored 15 while Robert Brown added 12.

Meanwhile, struggling senior guard Dorenzo Hudson came off the bench for the first time all season and he played lights out… in the first half. Zo was a perfect 5/5 from the field in the first half, including 4/4 from three-point range and 2/2 at the free throw line. He led the Hokies with 16 points in the first half, but disappeared in the second posting a big zero.

The Hokies got off to their traditional slow start, but also held unc in check to keep it close. Trailing 4-1 four minutes into the game, Green got the Hokies’ first field goal with a three-pointer that tied the game. The heels pulled ahead slightly and held a 17-12 lead before the Hokies exploded for a quick 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 20-17.

From there, the Hokies started raining threes. Brown’s three gave the Hokies a 27-23 lead. Eddie’s trey made it 30-26. Hudson’s triple kept the Hokies in front 33-28. Immediately after that three, Green stole a unc pass, fed Hudson who laid it in at the other end for a 35-28 lead, Tech’s largest of the half.

Brown added a baseline floater and Green buried his second three of the half to cap VT’s first-half scoring. In all, the Hokies hit 8/16 three pointers in the first half and that was the difference. The tar heels did steal the momentum going into the break with an inbound pass and dunk with .9 seconds left.

As we said, the second half was all tar heels.

With the loss, Tech’s fourth straight, the Hokies fall to 0-4 in the ACC and 11-7 overall. They play at No. 16 uva on Sunday at 6 p.m.

SCORES AT THE MEDIA TIMEOUTS:

1st Half:

• U16: unc 8-4
• U12: unc 15-12
• U8: VT 24-23
• U4: VT 35-30

HALF: VT 39-34

2nd Half:

• U16: unc 53-44
• U12: unc 58-46
• U8: unc 67-49
• U4: unc 78-61

FINAL unc 82-68

Popularity: 17% [?]

Box Score

There’s ugly and then there’s the way the Hokies played Tuesday night in their 2012 ACC home opener against florida state. It was about as ugly as you can imagine. The final score, 63-59, wasn’t indicative of how poorly the Hokies played, but all you needed to do was look at the box score and wonder how it wasn’t much much worse.

Tech shot a dismal 30 percent from the field on 18 of 59 shooting. They shot the ball 59 times and made just 18 of them. And their three-point shooting was even worse – just 16 percent, or 2 of 12. The noles weren’t much better at 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc.

Junior guard Erick Green led all scorers with 21 points, but it was fsu’s Bernard James and his 18 points and 15 rebounds that killed the Hokies. That and the 15 blocked shot fsu put up against Tech. That was the difference in the game.

The Hokies actually won the turnover battle, but couldn’t buy a bucket. If they’d shot 35 percent, they’d have won this game. Instead, Tech falls to 0-2 in ACC play and are looking at long road ahead. Niemo suggested Tech needed an 11-5 ACC record to get into the tourney, so at 0-2, that means Tech would need to go 11-3 from here on out. Based on what we’ve seen so far, that looks very doubtful.

Tech looked sloppy and out of sync. They just couldn’t get it going it looks like frustration is setting in. To make matters worse, people can’t give their tickets away to these games. The university opened up public sale of tickets to the UNC game next Thursday. Based on actual attendance thusfar, the fans are losing interest and support is waning.

Earlier today, ESPN’s Jason King put Seth Greenberg on his list of college coaches “who are on the hot seat (or should be).”

Tech will lick its wounds for a few days before it heads north to take on the boston college iggles for a Saturday, 3 p.m., matchup. Niemo already has the highlights up and will likely chime in with his thoughts on the game, but from what I can see, this team is on the brink and needs something good to happen very soon, or I worry that this season could spiral out of control very quickly.

SCORES AT EACH MEDIA TIMEOUT:

1st Half:

• Under 16: fsu 6-2
• U12: fsu 13-4
• U8: fsu 17-11
• U4: fsu 26-16

Half: fsu 30-21

2nd Half:

• U16: fsu 35-27
• U12: fsu 42-36
• U8: fsu 50-43
• U4: fsu 57-51

FINAL: fsu 63, VT 59

Popularity: 20% [?]

Box Score

Another slow start to a game and another ACC opening loss. The Hokies trailed early and for most of the game as they fell to 1-7 in ACC openers, 55-58, to wake forest in Winston Salem.

Tech fell behind early and trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, despite committing just one turnover. But it was the rebounding and poor shooting that killed the Hokies. The deacons out-rebounded Tech 42-31 for the game.

Both teams shot about the same from the field – VT was 23/58 for 39.7%; wake was 20/52 for 38.7% – but wake shot and made more threes and free throws. wake as 8/18 from three and 10/13 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Hokies were just 6/22 from behind the arc and only 3/6 from the free throw line.

Erick Green led the way for Tech in the loss, scoring a game-high 19 points. Jarrell Eddie was the only other Tech player in double-digit scoring with 12. Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davila each had 8 points; Robert Brown dropped in 6 and Marquis Rankin added 2. That was it. Only six VT players scored. CJ Barksdale, Cadarian Raines and Dorian Finney-Smith all got goose eggs.

The Hokies fell behind early, but fought back to cut the first-half deficit to three, before wake pulled ahead to take a 32-24 lead at the half.

Tech twice tied the game in the second half and even took a brief lead, 53-52, with 1:20 left in the game, but wake’s C.J. Harris drilled a three to retake the lead :15 later. Green answered quickly a jumper at the other end to tie the game at 55, but again, Harris was clutch for the demon deacons, drilling a critical three-pointer with just 18 seconds to play.

The Hokies called a timeout and inbounded the ball a mid-court and nearly had it stolen. wake put the pressure on Tech and the Hokies couldn’t get a good shot off to tie the game. The deacons got the last rebound, the Hokies fouled, wake missed the free throw and time ran out.

On the one hand, it’s hard to be disappointed with a loss like this because Tech relies heavily on young players who were playing their first road game in the ACC. And this game was pretty intense for a first conference game. Both teams were taking this game seriously and Tech played close and didn’t let it get out of hand.

But on the other hand, as Niemo pointed out in his video lowlights, wake was terrible last season at just 1-15 in conference play, so you kinda cringe at a loss like this. This is a bad loss in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee and if Tech can’t play with teams like wake, it doesn’t look good against the top half of the ACC.

SCORES AT EACH MEDIA TIMEOUT:

1st Half:

• Under-16: wake 10-5
• Under-12: wake 20-8
• Under-8: wake 26-15
• Under-4: wake 26-20

HALF: wake 32-24

2nd Half:

• Under-16: wake 36-33
• Under-12: wake 40-38
• Under-8: wake 45-40
• Under-4: wake 50-46

FINAL: wake 58, VT 55

Popularity: 12% [?]

Reminder: Highlights won’t be up until Niemo returns from vacation on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Two words. De and fense. After a slow start, the Hokies dominated eastern michigan tonight, 71-50. Tech held the eagles to just 9 first-half points – the fewest allowed in the first half since the Hokies surrendered just 8 to north carolina central in January 2010, nearly two years ago.

Tech, winners of their last five, used a 16-0 run to close out the first half and take an 18-point lead (27-9) into the break. Seth’s stingy defense held emu scoreless for the final 8:38 of the opening half. Raines has really been playing well of late. He scored 10 points – his third double-digit performance in his last five games and two shy of his career-high of 12.

Junior guard Erick Green led an evenly balanced scoring effort for the Hokies with 12 points, while Cadarian Raines was the only other Hokie to score in double figures with 10. Senior Dorenzo Hudson added 8 points.

The Hokies opened the second half with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 22 points. But the eagles would need just 7 minutes of the second half to match their first-half offensive output. From there, they played Tech pretty evenly, only being outscored 44-41 in the second half.

Unfortunately for emu, it found its offense too little too late. It wasn’t even close to being enough. Not even a little bit. The Hokies were too talented and too athletic. Plus, you have to figure that Seth opened it up just a bit and he certainly got his young guns some quality minutes.

Dorian Finney-Smith got his 31; C.J. Barksdale played 18 minutes, nabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored 6 points; Robert Brown had 17 minutes and 9 points; and Marquis Rankin registered career-highs in minutes (18) and points (6).

Popularity: 17% [?]

UPDATED 7:16 p.m. 12/22/2011

According to articles on Roanoke.com, Virginia Tech place kicker Cody Journell and two other Blacksburg men were arrested and charged with breaking and entering a residence Wednesday night.

The Roanoke Times reports that the three men entered the residence of Virginia Tech basketball player Dorenzo Hudson and his roommate, Sean Allen. The three men arrested were apparently looking for Allen, but when they didn’t find him, they left.

Police say that Zo and Allen then went after the three and an altercation ensued. The weapon turned out to be an Airsoft gun, not a real handgun.

Athletics director Jim Weaver issued a statement saying that Journell had been suspended from the football team immediately and indefinitely per the Athletics Department’s policy.

Visit Roanoke.com to get caught up.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Highlights and Commentary | Boxscore

True freshman Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points, as did fellow freshman Robert Brown as the dynamic duo helped Virginia Tech (9-4) to an 84-55 win over north florida. The home victory is the Hokies’ fourth straight.

Tech bolted out to a 13-5 lead, but let the ospreys keep it close and eventually saw its lead shrink to just one point, 32-31. But the Hokies used a late 8-0 run capped by a Jarrell Eddie three-pointer in the closing seconds to send Tech into the break with a 40-31 lead.

The fighting jacksonvilles out rebounded the Hokies in the first half, 16-15, but Tech was money from the charity stripe, hitting 11 of 13 free throws. Doe Doe was a perfect 6 for 6.

Tech had 6 steals in the first half alone, while the osprey hit 4 of 7 three point attempts to keep the Hokies from pulling away. It was only delaying the inevitable, though.

The second half was all Hokies. Eddie picked up two quick personal fouls in the first half, giving him four for the game and landing the sophomore on the bench. In stepped Brown, who scored 8 of his 14 points in the second half.

Senior Dorenzo Hudson followed up his 15-point performance against the camels with a game-high 16 points. Meanwhile, junior guard Erick Green added an even dozen, meaning he’s scored in double figures in all 13 games this season.

Next up for the Hokies is eastern michigan on Thursday at 7 p.m., on ESPN3.com.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Erick Green came off the bench to lead the Hokies with 24 points, Cadarian Raines scored a career-high 12 points, and Marquis Rankin made his first career start as the Hokies shook off a sluggish first half to beat rhode island 78-67.

Green, a junior guard, started the game on the bench because of “the manner in which he was carrying himself.” Sounds like someone was getting a little too big for his britches, but when you’re the Mean Green Machine, can you blame him? Whatever he did to draw the ire of Greenberg, starting the game on the bench seemed to motivate MGM, because his 24 points led all scorers and was a bucket shy of setting a new personal best.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 11 points, the fifth time this season he’s reached double figures. Meanwhile, fellow freshman Robert Brown had an off game for him, registering only two points. After scoring 15 points against kansas state and 13 against minnesota, UPS didn’t quite deliver tonight, but as a freshman, you can’t expect double digits every night. He’s already shown that he can play big time ball, so he just needs more playing time.

The Hokies and rams both started off slow offensively, but that’s probably because of the defense both teams play. Tech fell behind early, 7-0, but used a 9-2 run to pull even. Raines was a lot more aggressive on the boards tonight and scored the 6 of the Hokies’ first 11 points. Doe Doe’s first six points were three pointers, one of which gave Tech its first lead of the game.

Tech built a 7-point lead, 24-19, but allowed the rams to stay close and ended up with just a 1-point lead at the half, 28-27.

The second half featured a lot more offense. The Hokies nearly doubled their first half points total, outscoring rhode island 50-40. Sophomore Jarrell Eddie got hot in the second half including a key sequence in which he blocked a shot by the rams and then went down at the other end and buried three pointer. Eddie scored 15 points, two shy of his career best. Eddied was 5/6 from the field including a perfect 3/3 from behind the arc.

The Hokies pulled away late in the second half and put it away down the stretch. The first half was interesting, but Tech was too much for the struggling rams.

Two more disappointing performances from senior Victor Davila who put up a big donut in just 13 minutes while fellow senior Dorenzo Hudson managed just 8 points. Raines, if he can stay healthy, could probably take most of Davila’s minutes as he did tonight. Raines was 6/8 from the field in a career-high 25 minutes of play.

The Hokies return to the Cassell Coliseum to face norfolk state on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN3.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Box Score — The Hokies lost another tough one tonight in similar fashion to their other two losses: they led at the half, but came out flat and sloppy in the second half and lost 69-61 to kansas state.

Freshman Robert Brown came off the bench and played well to lead the Hokies in scoring with 15 points. He didn’t shoot particularly well, just 6/17, but he’s playing with confidence. Junior guard Erick Green was the only other Tech player and the only starter to score in double figures – he has 14 points. Dorenzo Hudson bruised his left knee yesterday and was questionable going into the game, but still played. He struggled, however, contributing only 7 points in 25 minutes.

Marquis Rankin made his first appearance of the season. The 6-1 freshman from Charlotte, N.C., played seven minutes and scored 2 points. Rankin looked solid on defense and has a good handle. He took all of Tyrone Garland’s minutes. Garland did not appear in the game.

The Hokies continue to play agressive and smothering first-half defense, holding the wildcats to just 22 first-half points. k-state took an early 8-4 lead, but the Hokies slowly pulled even after a layup by Brown and a pair of free throws by C.J. Barksdale. The teams traded buckets before the Hokies used a 10-3 run to take a 20-13 lead.

The wilcats closed the game to 26-22 with time winding down, but sophomore Jarrell Eddie buried a jumper with :03 left to give the Hokies a 6-point half-time lead, 28-22. Tech has led at the half of every game this season.

The second half got off to an inauspicious start for VT as freshman Dorian Finney-Smith picked up his third and fourth personal fouls in the first 29 seconds, putting him on the bench for most of the second half. And the Hokies missed his rebounding. After leading the wildcats in rebounding in the first half, 23-21, k-state dominated the boards in the second half, even though VT won the overall rebounding stat.

k-state opened the second half with a 12-2 run to turn a 6-point half-time deficit into a 4-point lead. The Hokies pulled even at 43-43, but another wilcat run, this time a 10-0 burst, gave the visitors a 10-point lead and it was all downhill from there.

Tech made it interesting down the stretch, but came up short, losing its second straight game. Next up for the Hokies is a road game against Rhode Island on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. The game is not on TV, so snuggle up to your radio.

Also, if you’re looking for Niemo’s Emmmy Award-winning narrated highlights, he’ll have those up tomorrow. Patience you must have.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Highlights up by 1 AM  |  Boxscore

This was a resume building opportunity for the Hokies, even if the gophers were without two of their best players in Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III. But Tech couldn’t get it done as the lost in the final seconds, 58-55.

Tech got all it could handle in the first half from 6-11 freshman Elliott Eliason. The towering rookie kept the Hokies out of the paint for much of the half until he picked up his second personal foul.

When Eliason left the game, the gophers were leading. By the end of the half, the Hokies had surged ahead to take a 28-25 halftime lead behind 12 points from junior Eric Green and 8 points from freshman Robert Brown off the bench.

Senior Dorenzo Hudson was held scoreless the entire game, and freshman Dorian Finney-Smith managed only three points.

The second half was a back and forth affair, with the gophers using a 10-4 run to take a lead in the early minutes of the half. The Hokies tied the game at 51 with 3 minutes to play when Doe Doe scored his first and only points of the game — a three from the corner. Green gave the Hokies the lead back, 53-51.

Green scored again after minnesota tied it at 53. The Green Machine, who led the Hokies with 25 points, got a tough layup with :25 to play to give VT a lead. However, Green fell off the elevated court at the other end with 18.9 seconds left and appeared injured.

Meanwhile, minnesota hit two free throws to take a 56-55 lead. The Hokies, with a banged up Green checking back into the game, called a timeout with 9.9 seconds left. On the inbounds pass, however, Robert Brown fumbled the pass into the back court, committing the turnover.

Tech fouled immediately, sending the gophers to the line where they hit both free throws to push their lead to 58-55. Green got a good 3-point shot off at the buzzer that would have tied the game, but it hit the back of the rim and fell away. Game over. And a key resume building opportunity was wasted.

***** NIEMO’S THOUGHTS (Think of it as the Recap, Part Two) *****

Virginia Tech fell off the cliff… literally… in the final 30 seconds and lost a heartbreaker to a short-handed minnesota team 58-55 in the ACC/Big(12)Ten Challenge.  Tech falls to 2-5 all time in the Challenge, with both wins against iowa.

In what was a see-saw game the final 22 minutes, Tech took a 55-54 lead with 26 seconds left on an Erick Green putback.  But the gophers pushed the ball up the court and that’s when the insanity ensued.  For those of you that are not familiar with ‘The Barn’ minnesota plays in, the court is a good two-feet above the stands and benches.  As Julian Welch drove to the hoop for a shot, Green elevated and blocked the shot.  Green then fell awkwardly and literally slid off the court, over the edge, and likely hit the metal stairs (yeah, that makes sense to have them right behind the basket) with his right (shooting) shoulder.  To make matters worse, Welch grabbed the block, got fouled, and promptly sank both free throws to put minnesota up 56-55.  Green laid on the floor (ie: the stand’s floor) for several minutes and went to the bench holding his right shoulder nearly in tears from the pain.

After a ball was deflected out of bounds, Tech called their final timeout and Erick, being the warrior he is, re-entered the game.  VT inbounded the ball to Robert Brown who fumbled the ball into the backcourt.  In what was a questionable call since he never had possession in the frontcourt, the officials ruled it over-and-back and gave the gophers the ball.

After Welch sank two more free throws with 6.5 seconds left, Erick Green rushed the ball up the court and launched a 3-pointer to tie as time expired.  But the ball rolled around and off the rim, sending the Hokies to defeat.

Erick was the star of the game for Tech.  He scored 25 points on 9/19 shooting and 4/8 from deep.  He also added 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, a block and 0 turnovers.

The big news was the absence of Dorian Finney-Smith and Dorenzo Hudson.  Both played, according to the scorebook, at least, but not on the court.  Dorenzo Hudson put up a big goose egg, 0 points on 0/4 shooting.  And Doe Doe had just 3 points, although they came on a huge 3-pointer to tie the game at 51 with 3:47 to go.  If I had to guess, I’d say Zo is worn down from how much VT has been playing lately while getting his legs out, while tonight showed again how easy it is to shut down DFS if you play good defense and keep him off the offensive glass.

It was a game of runs in the first half.  minnesota opened to an 8-0 lead, forcing Seth to burn a TO.  But the Hokies battled back and took a 28-25 lead into the break thanks to an 11-3 run to close the half.  Brown had two 3s and Green a 3-point play to fuel the run.  But the second half was similar to the first — a slow start for the Hokies.

minnesota played without their two best post players.  Trevor Mbakwe, their leading scorer, is out for the season with an ACL injury, while Ralph Sampson III, also a senior and 6’11″, was out with an ankle injury.  Yet the gophers absolutely dominated VT in the paint.  6’11″ freshman Elliott Eliason, who looks like a cross between Lurch from Addams Family and a ‘before’ person in a proactive commercial for Sasquatches, had 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Welch led minnesota with 15, while super athlete Rodney Williams had 14 on 6/7 shooting.  For some reason Tech tried fronting him, allowing the gophers to easily feed the ball over the D for layups or dunks.

The gophers were awful from deep, hitting just 2/13.  They are an awful 3-point shooting team.  So I’m not sure why VT didn’t play more 2-3 zone and get guys inside, especially since they were getting burned off the dribble.

Meanwhile, 3s were the only thing keeping Tech in the game.  Tech hit 8/17, including 7 of their final 11. Brown was 3/3 from deep and scored 13 points.  15 of Tech’s 27 points in the second half came from behind the arc.

Victor Davila also had a solid game, at least on the offensive end.  He tallied 10 points, his second straight game in double figures.

Well, here we are.  It is tough winning on the road, and this was Tech’s first road game.  But this is a team that is just now adjusting to losing their best player, and also were without another key.  This is a bad loss, in my opinion.  I don’t foresee minnesota being a top 100 team in the RPI by the end of the season.  And either way, there’s no such thing as good losses in terms of the Tournament.  Tech really needs to beat kansas state in the Cassell Sunday at 5:30 PM… let’s hope Green is OK.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Heeeeeeee’s baaaaack! Virginia Tech’s redshirt senior Dorenzo Hudson was admittedly a little “rusty” in the first two games of the young season, but he shook off that rust tonight in the Hokies’ 78-63 win over florida international.

Hudson led the Hokies with 31 points in 34 minutes of action. Three other Hokies scored in double figures, including freshman phenom Dorian Finney-Smith, who had 14 points. Erick Green returned to the starting five and added 12 points while senior Victor Davila contributed 11, including a wicked “one-handed ram” … whatever that is.

Finney-Smith is the real deal, people. For reals. Doe Doe had a double-double tonight – 14 points, 10 rebounds – and still managed 5 assists and a pair of steals. It was his second d/d of the season.

It’s been a long time since Hokie fans have seen a freshman step into the starting lineup and play this well and more importantly, with this much poise and confidence.

Jarrell Eddie, a sophomore back from a semester suspension, was the only starter to not score, but he did contribute 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Tech’s bench threw in 10 points, getting two each from Robert Brown, Cadarian Raines, Ty Garland, C.J. Barksdale, and Joey Racer.

This game was never in doubt, folks, so it was a great game to sit back and enjoy watching the young guns get some quality playing time and build some confidence.

Tech led 33-26 at the half and came out in the second half with a zone defense that completely smothered fiu. The Hokies built a huge lead and then coasted to a 15-point victory, their third of the season.

The bad news is that Green left the game in the second half with an injury – presumably the same Achilles that’s been hampering him early this season. He played 25 minutes before coming out for good. When we know more, we’ll pass it on.

That’s the quick and dirty version. Niemo may or may not chime in, but really, what more do you need to know? The Hokies played an absolutely terrible team tonight and they won as they should have. And, we’re going to Madison Square Garden, allegedly the world’s most famous arena, though we’ve yet to confirm.

Tech will play a real team on Wednesday, Nov. 23, when they take on No. 5 syracuse, which trashed albany in another second-round game tonight. We’ll get a good idea of how good VT’s young team is in about a week. The tip-off time hasn’t been set yet.

PS – Seth Greenberg > Isaiah Thomas

Popularity: 19% [?]

The season is over. The college careers of two of the most talented players ever to suit up for Virginia Tech have come to a close. The No. 1 seeded Hokies fell to the No. 4 seed, wichita state, 79-76 in overtime. As has been the case for so many games, when Delaney has a big game, Tech seems to lose. The senior from Baltimore, Md., had a game-high 30 points. Sophomore Erick Green had 17 points.

Another sophomore, Manny Atkins, hit a big three pointer in the final minute of regulation to give the Hokies a 69-66 lead, but the shockers tied the game to send it to overtime. With state leading 76-74 and with the possession, Green stole the ball and fed a streaking Terrell Bell for a layup to tie the game at 76. But state inbounded the ball and went the length of the court for an uncontested layup to retake the lead, 78-76, with 2.2 seconds left in the game.

The Hokies inbounded the ball and Delaney appeared to be fouled, but the ref swallowed his whistle and instead called Delaney for stepping out of bounds. The Hokies fouled, sent state to the line, and that was the game.

Jeff Allen reverted to his old ways by fouling out with 6:12 left in the game with the Hokies trailing by two. That sealed Tech’s fate as they had no size and no inside presence to either score or defend in the paint. Allen finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. The call was more than questionable as the shockers player took a dook-like flop to help sell it.

Delaney, a first-team All-ACC selection, shot lights out in the first half, hitting 6/9 from the field and 3/5 from behind the arc. Victor Davila, who had been battling an injured shoulder, started and played respectably, though you could tell the shoulder was bothering him, particularly when he air-balled a free throw in the first half. He’s bad from the charity stripe, but he at least hits rim when he misses.

The shockers opened the second half with an 11-3 run to take a 41-35 lead. After a steal and fast-break layup at the other end for wichita state, Joe Ragland was called for a technical foul, for something he must have said to Delaney after scoring the bucket. Delaney hit both free throws to cut the lead to 41-39, but then followed it up by committing his third personal foul with 16 minutes to play in the game.

Delaney stayed in the game, despite the three personals, with 21 of the Hokies’ 39 points at that point. After falling behind by six, 41-35, the Hokies used a slow, but steady 13-7 run to tie the game at 48 on Terrell Bell’s first points of the game – a three from the left corner.

That’s it for now. Niemo will likely have a season-recap in the days ahead, but for now, this season is mercifully over. See you in eight months, Hokie fans.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Yes, the Hokies didn’t get in … again. But the tournament still goes on and brackets must be completed. Are you all in? If so, join the TechHoops.com Pick’em Group at Yahoo! Sports by clicking here.

We may or may not give out a prize, but we will definitely give a shout out to the winner! So, hoop heads, bring it on, man up and pick some upsets and let’s do this!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Well, folks, it’s not like you can say you are surprised. We have wins over duke (No. 1 seed), two wins over fsu (which made the tournament), and a win over penn state (which also in the big dance), and we got left out. We won 11 conference games in the ACC including regular season and the ACC tournament. The Hokies made it to the semifinals of the ACC tourney, beating the No. 3 seed, fsu. And yet, Seth Greenberg and his 21-11, 11-8, Hokies got the big old snub once again from the NCAA tournament selection committee.

What more can we say? The NIT selection show is at 9 p.m., tonight. We would assume the Hokies would be a No. 1 or 2 seed and will host 2-3 games, assuming they win. Excuse us if we’re not all giggly about those prospects.

Popularity: 76% [?]