The Hokies lose their 4th straight at home for the first time in the Seth Greenberg era and fall to 1-6 in ACC play, falling 75-60 to duke.

Popularity: 4% [?]

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: 7% [?]

Spread: duke by 4.5 (seriously, Vegas seems to have a lofty opinion of us… yet we are 1-6 against the spread in 2012).

It’s two previews for the price of one!  Double your pleasure!  (“Normally you pay extra for that, Cotton.” – Dodgeball)  Since the Hokies play two full games in less than 48 hours, I figured kill two previews with one post.  Each year each ACC team plays a back-to-back in approximately 48 hours (the Short Turnaround Sequence, as I call it).  This year, the Hokies have to do it twice (again in mid-February).  Yep, our schedule keeps getting better and better (sarcasm).  At least both of these games are at home.  In fact, Saturdays game against clemson is Virginia Tech’s first weekend ACC home game.  That’s right, we didn’t get a weekend home game until February (see my note above about our schedule).

The Hokies have actually been dominant in the back end of their ACC Short Turnarounds.  While Tech is just 3-4 in the first game (3 of which have been against duke), VT is 6-1 in the second game of a Short Turnaround.  Keep in mind their opponent usually doesn’t have the same turnaround.  That tells you the Hokies have been able to quickly recover and focus on the back end.  I also think the short turnaround boosts your shooting — you tend to get into the flow of the game more quickly since you played so recently.

So what does this all mean?  I’m not predicting anything in the duke game, but I fully expect to see the Hokies beat clemson on Saturday and push their record to 7-1 in these ‘doubleheaders’, so to speak.  Oh, by the way, Hokie Guru has GUARANTEED A WIN OVER duke!  No, he hasn’t promised to wear pink uva stuff if we lose.   And no, he hasn’t gone crazy (at least any more so than usual — just messin’ with ya).

While I will not guarantee a win, this duke team is beatable… and yes, by the Hokies.  They are mostly roll players, not stars.  Granted, they are very good roll players, some of which are McDonald’s All-Americans, but they are simply not as talented as in past years.  Yes, they are #5 in the country, but ohio state blew them out by 22 at osu, and temple won by 5 over the blue devils at temple.  duke struggled at clemson, although they did pull away at maryland late in the game last week.  Still, we all know the Hokies can take down a highly ranked duke team in the Cassell, we’ve done it twice:

• 2/26/11 – VT 64, #1 duke 60 – HIGHLIGHTS
• 2/17/05 – VT 67, #7 duke 65 (maybe my favorite win of all time after losing by 35 at duke a month earlier)

The question is, can the Hokies slow down the duke attack and keep pace with them on the scoreboard?  We shall see.  To beat a dead horse, the key is getting off to a decent start.  Since the Hokies will no doubt be juiced playing the #5 blue devils, we might see the level of energy we’d like to have seen all year, and that could help at the get-go.

clemson simply isn’t that good.  Yes, they are 3-3 and we are 1-5, but I’m telling you, they aren’t that good (yes, I realize neither are we… but we are at home and we are NOT falling to 1-7).  c-l-e-m-s-ohhhhh-n is just 11-9 on the season overall.  They also lost by 2 at bc, so they have the same black eye VT does.  They have lost 3 games to teams from south carolina — the gamecocks, of course, but also college of charleston and coastal carolina (the latter two were at home).  They also lost to utep and hawaii.  In the ACC, two of their wins are over wake and georgia tech, both at home against ACC bottom-feeders.  The one good win they have is a 20-point win over fsu in their ACC opener.  Yep, you read that right, they blew out fsu by 20.  And it wasn’t even that close — it was 32-10 with 6 minutes to go in the first half… but that was apparently before the noles figured things out.

Update: I watched clemson lose to uva by 4 on Tuesday night, and I’ve seen them play several times this year now.  They just don’t impress me offensively.  They don’t have good jumpshooters other than Smith.  Young shoots for a decent percentage but he’s so short he has to be wide open.  The game itself was very similar to the VT @ uva game — clemson led by 4 at the half just like the Hokies, only scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half just like the Hokies, but couldn’t contain Mike Scott or Joe Harris like VT did.  The tigers battled back but still lost.  But they can pressure the ball out by half court and that could give the Hokies fits (especially Rankin).  clemson gets 3 days of rest before  facing VT.

Did you know… VT was favored on Saturday at maryland?  In fact, Tech has been favored in every game but the unc and uva games this year.

THE SERIES:

vs duke -

• All Time: duke 37-8
• At VT: duke 8-6
• In ACC Play: duke 8-3
• At VT in ACC Play: duke 3-2
• Last Year: VT won at VT, duke won in the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals

vs c-l-e-m-s-ohhh-n -

• All Time: VT 12-11
• At VT: VT 7-5
• In ACC Play: clemson 6-4
• At VT in ACC Play: clemson 3-2
• VT’s first ACC win game on 1/15/05 against clemson at the Cassell (59-57)
• Last Year: clemson won 69-60 at clemson in the ACC regular season finale, locking up the #4 seed for clemson and dropping VT to the #6 seed.

STARTERS:

*6’9″ Milton Jennings had started up until the uva game Tuesday.  He has been suspended for academic reasons and is doubtful for Saturday.  He was averaging 8.9 ppg and was good in transition, though he’s a lousy shot like most of the tigers.

My quick breakdown of the teams:

duke:

• Rivers is no Irving.  The son of Doc is a good slasher and a solid 3-point shooter (38%), but he can’t pick you apart like Irving could and isn’t as good of a passer.  He averages more turnovers than assists.  He’s averaged less than 8 ppg in 3 ACC road games.
• Kelly isn’t as soft as in past years.  Still, he’s a 6’11″ guy that can burn you from the outside.  But he’s getting to the line a lot more this year than in past years.  He can kill you with the shot-fake, and drive to the hoop.  And he is a solid rebounder on the offensive end, using his height (and ACC officials have NOT been calling over the back this year).
• Mason Plumlee is a beast inside.  But he is AWFUL from the foul line.  He makes Shaq look like Reggie Miller.  He went 2/11 from the line in one game, and 2/10 in another.  He hits 62% from the field and 48% from the line… so foul him (“Thumb a Plum”???)
• Curry likely wants to avenge the goose egg he posted in Blacksburg last year with his father, VT legend Dell Curry watching.  He did have 10 against the Hokies in the ACC Tourney, but can he step up in the arena where his dad’s jersey hangs?
• Dawkins is a lot like Moseley was for maryland.
• Bench: Miles Plumlee, Thornton, Cook, and Hairston provide minutes off the bench, but none of them are spectacular.  Thornton is good defensively and can drill 3-pointers when open, Miles is soft, Cook is learning how to play in the ACC, and Hairston just provides depth inside.

clemson:

• Milton Jennings, the former 5-star recruit and current huge bust, has been suspended for academic reasons.  Don’t expect him to play Saturday.  He missed the uva game.
• Young is what you expect/want from a 5-9 guy – loves to bomb treys (36%, 45 makes) and can really drive and dish (he has an almost 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio… that’s awesome).
• Smith is a solid outside shooter who has really developed his mid-range game.
• Booker is no Booker… as in even though Devin’s improved over the years, he just even close to the talent Trevor (with the Wizards, I believe) is/was.
• Narcisse is JT Thompson without the talent.  High energy, and that’s it.
• Hall and Sapp are freshmen guards in the ACC, which means lots of mistakes and learning on the job.
• Yes, they do have a 7-footer like every other VT opponent (he’s actually 7’2″).  Catalin Baciu averages 4 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes… oh, and he isn’t much of a shot-blocker.
• clemson has a veteran lineup but they simply aren’t that talented.  They have the type of veterans where you hope your stud recruits take over for them… but the tigers don’t really have any big recruits in the last few classes.  Their only 4-star from the past 2 years is freshman Bernard Sullivan, who averages 1.3 ppg.  Jennings was a 5-star and Booker a 4-star, both of which appear to be a joke (especially with Jennings).  This is a team that way overachieved last year and is coming back to reality this year.

STATS:

Note: these stats are for ACC games ONLY.

The ACC quit showing a lot of the stats they used to show, so that’s why this is a bit leaner than in the past.  Not sure why they changed it mid-season.

MY THOUGHTS ON duke:

Take the biggest nerd from your school, then from 4,999 other schools, and you have duke.  I’m still waiting for Fox to produce a reality show where they take a florida state frat and move them to duke for a semester and let them run wild.  Those nerds wouldn’t leave their dorm rooms for three months.

MY THOUGHTS ON clemson:

They beat us in the ACC Championship Game in football back in December.  They beat us in our ACC regular season finale last basketball season, effectively driving a stake into our NCAA Tournament hearts.  I saw it is time to exact some revenge.  Who’s with me?!

Popularity: 11% [?]

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% [?]

The Hokies head to the Communist Center on Saturday to take on the maryland terrapins.  This marks the fourth straight weekend Tech has been on the road to open ACC play (total BS… that would never happen to unc or duke).  We’ll see if the Hokies can build off of their road win Sunday at uva and get the ball rolling as they close out the season with 11 straight ACC games.  And the Hokies are getting the terps at the right time — Wednesday night maryland lost to their big rival, duke (as if duke cares about them), while naming the court for former coach Gary Williams.  They had a packed house and shot their wad.  They will not have a packed house, or that level of energy, on Saturday after dropping their third straight game.

But there’s no reason to fear these turtles, their talent has dropped off quite a bit.  That said, the Hokies cannot take anyone for granted, and maryland has exceeded my expectations, largely due to new Head Coach Mark Turgeon.  Turgeon is really solid — he was 20+ games all four years he was at texas a&m before this, and won 20+ three of the final four years he was at wichita state before that.  He led the aggies to the NCAA Tournament all four years in College Station.

maryland is led by sophomore guard Terell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer at 20.9 ppg.  And there’s been no drop-off for him in ACC play, he’s averaging 20.4 ppg in their five ACC tilts.  Stoglin shredded the Tech defense in the meeting in Blacksburg last year, scoring 25 points on 7/12 FGs and 10/10 FTs.  He regularly blew by the Hokie defense who either had to grab and foul him, or let him go for layups.  Stoglin is more versatile this year, becoming a deadly 3-point shooter.  He’s shooting 40% from deep with 2.5 makes per game (2nd best in the ACC).

The terps recently added Alex Len, the 7’1″ Ukraine train.  He had to wait until the end of the semester to play but has averaged over 7 ppg since.  He missed the temple game and only played 12 minutes against duke on Wednesday, so we’ll see how hard and long he can go.  We all know how 7-footers give the Hokies fits, so this will be key.  Len is good in the post and has a solid midrange game.  He’ll drift out and shoot from midrange at times.  He’s hitting 62% of his FGs, so you know he’s got a nice stroke and has good post moves.

Other than that, the terps have no one else that concerns me.  Sean Mosley is a veteran who averages 10 ppg and 5 rpg, but doesn’t scare you.  He can be invisible for entire games.  He has improved his 3-point shooting and hits 42%, but doesn’t attempt a ton.

James Padgett would be a role player if they had more depth inside, but instead is forced to play a lot.  He averages 9 ppg and 6 rpg.

Pe’Shon Howard reminds me of a Terrell Bell — he’s out there for his defense.  But while Bell became a decent outside shooter, Howard hits just 24% from deep.

Nick Faust was their top recruit, but dude is struggling (I know we feel their pain).  He’s shooting just 32% from the field, 54% from the line, and 20% from behind the arc.

With all that, I’d say Turgeon has squeezed every drop from these guys to get to 12-7.  They are a middle of the pack ACC team at best, and Turgeon has them playing well.

For the Hokies, let’s hope Erick Green continues his dominance of the terps.  EG dropped 24 points on 12/16 shooting at maryland last year (he’s sort of from the area so no doubt gets hyped with the extra family and friends).  That helped EG snag ACC Player of the Week.  Green followed that act with 20 points in the game in Blacksburg.

Dorenzo Hudson has scored 42 points off the bench in three games, and he’ll need to give a similar spark Saturday.  It did not work well when Zo had to play the point Wednesday with Rankin out and Green in foul trouble, so let’s hope Marquis is back to spell Green at times and allow Hudson to work off the ball.

The big key is can Dorian Finney-Smith get going.  While he’s still working very hard, diving for loose balls as he did at the end of the uva game and getting steals as he did against byu, it seems like the other team has a power play when he’s on the offensive end.  Since the start of 2012, Doe Doe has made a field goal in just ONE game.  He was 4/9 against florida state, but 0/19 in the other 5 games.  He’s tallied just 11 points this calendar year.  The Hokies have to find a way to get him going.  The problem has been he hasn’t been able to get the offensive rebounds and put-backs he was getting earlier in the year against smaller post players, and he really only has one move to the basket… drive with his right hand straight at the baseline, get forced deep, and have to huck it to the left corner while falling out of bounds.  And his 3-point shot has disappeared.  We know he can do it, it is just about getting confidence.

Another key freshman, Robert Brown, is also hitting the wall it seems.  In 2012, he’s hit just 14/45 FGs (31%), 5/23 3s (22%), and most disappointing, he’s just 4/9 from the free throw line.

The great sign of late has been Jarell Eddie.  JE has 20 points and 24 rebounds in the last two games, including his first career double-double against byu (12/14).

HO-KEYS TO WINNING:

• Suck the air out: Like I said, Wednesday was an emotional game for maryland, this won’t be.  If the Hokies can get up early like they did last year, they’ll take the crowd out of it… I’ll believe it when I see it as Tech has really struggled in the first half in every game this year on offense except for the unc game.
• Stifle Stoglin: Stoglin is the only guy you really fear.  If Rankin is back, he can give you a few minutes on him.  But it is going to largely be up to Green, Brown, and Hudson to get out on him on the perimeter, and the other defenders to rotate and help.  He’s their scariest player so do what you can to limit him.
• Push it real good: maryland is not a good defensive team.  They can be beaten in transition and they get lost on picks.  If Tech actually runs some picks, they will have guys open on backdoors or pick and rolls.  But we’ll see if VT does this, or just passes around the perimeter.  The Hokies also need to drive at the tin early.  They get teams in foul trouble and get to the line when they are aggressive.  Don’t settle for 3s.

THE SERIES:

• All Time: maryland 27-10
• At maryland: md 16-4
• In ACC Play: VT 6-4
• At maryland in ACC Play: maryland 3-2

VT swept the twerps last year:

• 2.16.11 @ VT: VT 91, md 83 (Recap)  |  Highlights
• 1.21.11 @md: VT 74, md 57 (Recap)  |  Highlights

STARTERS:

*Alex Len will start if he’s healthy.  He missed the temple game and only played 12 minutes against duke while working back from an ankle injury.  Len would start over Pankey if that’s the case.

maryland, like VT, has a highly touted freshman who is struggling.  Nick Faust is averaging 7.2 ppg, but hitting just 32% of his FGs, 20% of his 3s, and 54% of his FTs.

STATS:

Note: these stats are for ACC games ONLY (5 for both teams).

What these stats tell me is maryland is awful at transition defense.  Teams shoot low 3-point % against them, but a very high percentage inside the arc.  That has to mean transition points, and poor post defense.  They also don’t have many steals which means they aren’t taking away what you want to do in the half court (not sure what that is for VT).

Neither team is very strong at rebounding, and if Len doesn’t play big minutes the terps don’t have a height advantage on VT.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The Hokies fall to 1-5 in 2012.  Here are your highlights from the loss Wednesday night at the Cassell (Tech’s 3rd straight loss at home)…

Popularity: 20% [?]

Boxscore

Wow, what a rollercoaster game that was. The Hokies started the game 0/16 from field, falling behind by 12 early, battled back to go up 6 in the 2nd half, fell behind by 4 with 20 seconds left, but still had an Erick Green shot at the end to tie the game (blocked) and a 3-pointer by Robert Brown to win it at the buzzer (off the mark). Virginia Tech falls to 1-5 in 2012, with four of those losses by 4 points or less, and in three of which Tech had a shot to tie or win in the final 10 seconds.

This marks Tech’s third straight loss at home, the first time that’s happened since 2008-09 when VT lost to fsu, duke, and unc in a row late in the season.

The story of the game was free throw shooting. In a tightly called game, which this was, you have to make your FTs. Tech was the better team coming in, and were at home, but byu just could not miss. They finished 21/24 (88%) from the line, while VT went 15/23 (65%). There’s your difference. Davies and Hartsock were a combined 18/20 from the line, and those are their bigs!

This game started out uglier than a Proactiv before video. I mentioned the Hokies started 0-16 from the field. byu wasn’t doing much better, starting 2/10. But as they got going the Hokies kept missing. Tech did not make their 1st field goal until the 10:20 mark of the 1st half. VT trailed 13-1 before that make.

Virginia Tech did improve after that, hitting 8/15 the rest of the half. Tech used a 9-0 to turn a 15-3 deficit into a manageable 15-12 margin with 6:40 left in the 1st half. VT fell back behind by 10 at 27-17 but back-to-back 3-pointers by Eddie and Hudson got the Hokies within 2. byu went into the half up 29-25.

The Hokies were already thin at guard with Marquis Rankin out with an illness. That further became an issue when Erick Green picked up his 3rd foul with 4:39 left in the half. Dorenzo was forced to play point and committed a couple of turnovers, leading to 9 first half giveaways for Tech. Green had 0 points at the half while Brandon Davies had 12 on 8/8 FTs for byu.

Tech exploded offensively in the second half, attacking the rim. They were in the double bonus by the halfway mark of the half. Tech shot 64% for the 2nd half and jumped to a 45-39 lead with Davies on the bench with 4 fouls for the cougars.

But Noah Hartsock, byu’s leading scorer, took over the game. He scored 16 2nd half points (22 overall to lead byu) and was just dominate in getting byu back in the game. The cougars went on an 11-0 run with Davies on the bench to turn that 45-39 deficit into a 50-45 lead.

The Hokies battled back to tie the game at 55 on a Zo jumper. The teams would trade baskets after that for a while. VT went ahead 59-57 with 4:20 to play on a Green layup, but byu seemed to control the game after that.

The shot of the game was a 3-pointer by Brock Zylstra with 26 seconds left to break a 66-66 tie. It was Brock’s only points of the game.

Hudson turned the ball over with 20 seconds left and Anson Winder put byu up 4 with 15 seconds to go. Green easily drove and scored with 11 seconds to go to make it 70-68 cougars. Tech forced a turnover on the inbounds (it actually went off VT but we were due a call). That gave the Hokies the ball out of bounds with 10 seconds to go. VT launched a pass into the backcourt that was nearly picked off. Green ran it up court, drove inside, had his layup blocked, gathered the loose ball, kicked it to Eddie in the corner, but he was off balance so he threw it to Robert Brown at the left wing. Brown had a good look, but he was fading away slightly and was out at NBA range. The shot clanked off the rim and Tech had another devastating defeat.

Hudson paced the Hokies again, with 14 points off the bench. Davila and Eddie each had 12, while Erick Green scored 11 extending his double-digit point streak to 21.

byu had 22 by Hartsock and 17 by Davies (their two main low post players). VT just could not handle their bigs inside. byu started 1/14 from behind the arc (just like uva), but unlike the hoos, they hit 4/9 down the stretch and that helped them win.

Tech, who had 10 offensive rebounds in the 1st half, had just 1 in the 2nd.

Not to pick on Dorian Finney-Smith, but Doe Doe put up another no no. The kid went 0/8 from the field tonight, including a missed dunk. Here are his numbers in 2012:

• wake – 0 (0/1)
• fsu – 9 (4/9)
• bc – 0 (0/4)
• unc – 2 (0/5)
• uva – 0 (0/1)
• byu – 0 (0/8)
• That’s 11 points in 6 games, going 4/28 from the field.

But hats off to Jarell Eddie – he grabbed a career high 14 rebounds to go with his 12 points, his first career double-double. He now has 20 points and 24 rebounds in the last two games.

Well, congrats to all you cougar fans out there. Have a victory Scotch on me… Well, go enjoy whatever it is you do.

Tech heads to maryland for their fourth straight ACC weekend road game (total BS!) on Saturday afternoon.

SCORES AT THE MEDIA TIMEOUTS:

1st Half:

• Under 16: byu 4-0
• U12: byu 11-1
• U8: byu 15-8
• U4: byu 23-15

HALF: byu 29-25

2nd half:

• U16: byu 34-33
• U12: VT 43-39
• U8: byu 50-47
• U4: Tied at 62

Popularity: 17% [?]

Spread: VT by 2.

The Hokies go on a cougar hunt Wednesday night in the Cassell, hoping to knock off the byu cougars in Tech’s final out of conference game of the regular season.  Tech is 11-3 away from the ACC, and had won six in a row to close out 2011.

byu is coming off a 32-5 season that saw them make the Sweet 16, losing to florida in overtime.  But All-American Jimmer Fredette, who was open from the time he walked in the arena, is gone, averaging 7.6 ppg for Sacramento in the NBA.  Their second leading scorer, Jackson Emery, is also gone.

This year 6’8″ senior Noah Hartsock has really stepped up his game, up from 8.5 ppg last year to 17.5 this year.  He’s shooting 58% from the field and can tear it up down low, or with a nice midrange shot.  Brandon Davies (their third leading scorer last year), Matt Carlino (their PG and leading assist man this year), and Charles Abouo all average between 11.5 and 14.1 ppg.  The final starter, wing Brock Zlystra, averages 9.0.  They score a lot and will push the ball, averaging 80 ppg.  But they don’t get much off their bench, especially with Stephen Rogers battling injuries.  They also shoot a lot of 3-pointers, averaging 7.4 makes per game.  They have eight players that average more than one 3-point attempt per game (VT has just five with more than nine attempts).  Let’s hope they come out uva-cold from deep.

byu, as always, has good size (see below for more on that).  The Hokies will have to battle on the boards.  Tech’s allowed 32 offensive rebounds in their last two games while grabbing just 15 themselves.  byu has not been a great offensive rebounding team this year, despite their size.  But they are in the top 10 in the nation at defensive rebounding, so the Hokies have their work cut out for them trying to get second chances.

Neither team has a big time win this season.  Both teams are 0-for against top 50 RPI teams* (VT is 0-5, byu is 0-3).  But both teams are undefeated against teams ranked 51-100.  (VT 3-0, byu 4-0).  Well, guess what – both teams are ranked between 51-100 (VT at 68, byu at 56).  So something has gotta give there.

*VT’s win over uva knocked the hoos out of the top 50 in the RPI.

SERIES: First ever meeting

STARTERS:

The cougars always have great size… think about it, who are they competing with?  For members of the LDS Church, the answer is no one.  So they get the best and biggest Mormon players in the land and world.

STATS:

BORING FACTS ABOUT brigham young:

Popularity: 15% [?]

Just like in football, the Hokies head up the road to uva and take down the cavaliers, winning 47-45 to pick up Tech’s first ACC win of the season and first win of 2012.  Here are the highlights with commentary from yours truly (minus the pink hat and homemade shirt)…

Popularity: 21% [?]

Highlights | Boxscore

The Hokies survived their all-too-common 2nd half slump and knocked off the #17 cavs by a soccer-like 47-45 margin in charlottesville, giving VT its first ACC win of the season and first win of 2012. Tech swept the hoos in ch’ville in the two major sports this year, and it marked the third time in five years VT has won at uva in hoops after a 40-year drought. Although at times I wasn’t sure the Hokies hoops team would score more points than the football team did two months ago.

Junior guard Erick Green led the Hokies with 15 points, 12 of which were in the 2nd half. Green played the final 5 minutes with 4 fouls. But Old Man River, Dorenzo Hudson, hit the shots of the game; first a hook with 1:11 to go to put Tech ahead 44-41, then after an Evans jumper to make it 44-43, Zo swished a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to put VT up 47-43 and all but salt the game away. Zo finished with 12, giving him 28 points in two games since he started coming off the bench.

uva would get the ball back with 0.7 seconds left down 2 at the far end of the court. But the wahoos full court pass deflected off Mike Scott’s hand and went out of bounds, ending any chance for the hoos.

Both teams struggled out of the gates on offense. The Hokies had just 10 points with 6:05 to go in the first half and 13 with less than 3 minutes to go. But Tech finally got going thanks to two 3-pointers in a row by Jarell Eddie. That helped propel the Hokies to a 23-19 halftime lead.

Tech would stretch their lead out to 32-25 with 15:20 to go and they had several chances to make it even more but saw the turnover bug start to bite. The Hokies would go more than 5 minutes without scoring and uva took advantage with an 8-0 run to take the lead 33-32 at the halfway point of the 2nd half. Tech would score just 5 points over the next 11 minutes (VT had 37 with less than 4 minutes to go), committing nine 2nd half turnovers.

Down the stretch the game went back and forth with several lead changes. It looked bleak for the good guys after Mike Scott rocked a one-handed dunk to put uva up 40-37 with 4:22 to go. At that point Tech had gone another 4+ minutes without scoring since leading 37-35 with 8:40 to go. The hoos, who play excellent defense, forced Tech to shoot a lot of fallaways and deep 3s.

Erick Green put the Hokies ahead to stay at 42-41 with just under two minutes left. That set the stage for Zo’s hook and game-clinching shot from the left corner. The 3-pointer swished through, sending the Hokie faithful and one idiot in a homemade uva shirt into a frenzy.

The Hokies managed just 4 offensive rebounds while uva snagged 13. This is becoming a concern for Tech who gave up 19 offensive rebounds to unc.

The story of the game was a contrast of 3-point shooting versus free throw shooting. If you know Hokie games (at least ones not involving unc), it is all about 3-point shooting. The Hokies shot a very respectable 5/13 from deep while the hoos hit a pathetic 1/14, including an 0-for the 2nd half. VT shot 45% from the field overall while the hoos finished under 33%.

So how did the wahoos make it close? Easy. Free throws. uva had 22 FT attempts to just 7 for the Hokies. In fact, at one point, the difference was 20-2. Tech had just 2 free throw attempts until 2:20 was left in the game. The hoos only made 14/22 though, as VT hit 4/7.

The Hokies did a fantastic job limited Mike Scott, uva’s star. He had 100 career points against VT coming in, but had just 2 points in the 2nd half and just 10 for the game. Scott, Joe Harris, and Jontel Evans all had 10 to lead the wahoos. Victor Davila deserves a lot of credit for Scott’s struggles, and Barksdale and Raines also did well.

uva played without their starting center, 7-foot Assane Sene, who was out with an ankle injury suffered in their previous game.

Jarell Eddie just missed a double-double. He had 8 points and 10 rebounds. Dorian Finney-Smith put up another goose egg. He’s now scored 2 points or less in 4 of 5 ACC games.

The Hokies return to the Cassell Wednesday to take on byu. The game is at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Spread: uva by 7.5

Who can play the role of spoiler this year? WE CAN! uva swept the Hokies last year, effectively knocking the Hokies out of the Big Dance. Well, revenge is a dish best served cold, and the forecast calls for pretty cold weather on Sunday. We are 0-4… boo who. Let’s kick their butts!

My how the tide has turned. Over the last four years, the Hokies have finished fourth or tied for fourth in three of those years. uva, meanwhile, has been in the bottom half of the league each of the last four seasons. But now Tech sits at 0-4, and the hoos are ranked and well on their way to a first round bye.

uva is led by Mike Scott. Yep, the same Mike Scott that has been around since the dawn of time…

• Mike Scott’s so old, he had a class with Thomas Jefferson
• Mike Scott’s so old, he babysat Doe Doe
• Mike Scott’s so old, his birth certificate is in Roman numerals
• Mike Scott’s so old, he can remember the last time uva made the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals (1995)
• Mike Scott’s so old, over 100 current, active NBA players are younger than him (that’s an actual fact)

All kidding aside, Mike Scott is probably the MVP of the ACC this year. He may not be the best player in the league, but he means the most to his team. He’s averaging 16.9 ppg and 8.9 rebounds per game, both top 5 in the ACC. Oh, and have I mentioned he owns the Hokies?

Mike Scott has 100 career points and 52 career rebounds against VT in 7 previous appearances. He’s scored at least 20 in the last 3 meetings and snagged over 30 total rebounds.

Is it all bad for the Hokies? Well, Assane Sene, uva’s 7-footer (yep, every team except for VT has a serviceable 7-footer) rolled his ankle at the end of the 1st half against georgia tech and, based on what I saw, won’t play Sunday (not confirmed).

If you are wondering about uva’s playing style, my buddy said it best… “You’ll want to walk down on the court, over to their bench, and punch Tony Bennett (their head coach) in the face.” And he went to wazzu, (aka: washington state), the last place he coached at.

If Bennett’s style was an animal, it would be a python. Like his dad, they love to milk the clock and keep everything in the half court. They won’t attack the offensive glass with more than a couple of guys, falling back and forcing you to beat their man defense in the half court. That said, Scott is so talented they’ll still get offensive rebounds. And uva is one of the top teams in the nation at Defensive Rebounding, while VT is the worst team in the ACC in that stat (largely thanks to unc’s 19 offensive rebounds in 36 opportunities Thursday).

They really only have 2 1/2 guys that scare you on offense, with everyone else focused on defense.

PG Jontel Evans can’t shoot, but runs the O and is great on D. Sene is their force inside with no post moves what-so-ever. Meanwhile, Scott is extremely talented, both with his back to the basket in the low post and he can go out and hit midrange jumpers. Joe Harris can shoot the lights out (as he did against Tech last year). He’s a tough match-up because of his height (6’6″). 50% of his shots are 3s, but he also shoots over 50% inside the arc. But you worry more about him on the perimeter. And Sammy Zeglinski is dangerous from 3-point range (he also won’t buy Callahan Auto Parts!).

FYI: Yes, I plan to man-up on my personal bet — I guaranteed a win against bc or I’d wear uva stuff to this game… stay tuned.

THE SERIES:

• All Time: uva 81-52
• At uva: uva 32-12 (but VT has won 2 of the last 4 after a 40 year drought)
• In ACC Play: uva 8-7
• At uva in ACC Play: uva 5-2

STARTERS:

*Sene rolled his ankle against ga tech and did not return. If he’s out, Akil Mitchell (6’8″, Sophomore, 3.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) will likely start.

uva does not have much depth due to transfers so this could be a big issue for them.

STATS:

Note: these stats are for ACC games ONLY (4 for VT, 3 for uva). uva’s defense is allowing the 2nd fewest points per game in the nation (not good news with our inept offense).

Popularity: 19% [?]

Here are the highlights from unc’s trip to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies on 1.19.12.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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: 16% [?]

Spread: unc by 6.5

The #8 by-golly unc tar heels stomp into Blacksburg Thursday night, angrier than an old man sending back soup at a deli after being trounced by 33 points at the hands of florida state on Saturday.  But you know what?  There should be some fire in the belly of the Hokies, too, who have now lost 3 games in a row to open the ACC slate.  The Hokies took down the tar holes just 9 weeks ago in Blackburg in football on a Thursday night, so why not make that a tradition?

Normally I focus a lot on the opponent in these previews, but this time I’m going to put the spotlight on us more than usual.  I mean, summarizing the heels is pretty easy:

• They probably have the 2nd most talent in the country behind syracuse.
• Harrison Barnes (SF) is the best player in the ACC and will be a top 5 pick in this NBA Draft.
• John “Beanpole” Henson (PF) leads the ACC in rebounding and blocks, is 7th in points, and is another projected Lottery Pick this year.
• Kendall Marshall (PG) leads the ACC in assists (by far — 3 more than #2), sits 2nd nationally in assists, and could be picked in the mid-teens in this NBA Draft.
• Tyler Zeller (C) is also projected as a First Round Draft Pick this year.  He sits at #4 in the league in rebounding, 8th in blocks, and 10th in blocks.
• They have two freshmen that were McDonald’s All-Americans (P.J. Hairston and James Michael McAdoo (VA)) coming off the bench.
• As I said, they are going to probably be very hostile and motivated after the whipping they took by the seminoles.  The best chance at beating the heels is when they are soft and unfocused… I don’t think that will be the case Thursday.

But like I said, enough about them.  Let’s look in the mirror a bit critically.

WHY WE ARE 0-3:

If you haven’t figured this out, I’m a stat guy.   Maybe some day I’ll become the Billy Beane of basketball and they’ll make a movie about me where Matthew McConaughey plays me (he wishes).  To me, the numbers tell it all.  Let’s look side-by-side at where VT ranked in comparison to the rest of the ACC at the end of the out of conference schedule (so through the 2nd okie state game), and where VT ranks against their ACC brethren in ACC games ONLY (so a small sample size, but you’ll see what I’m getting at).

STATS:

A few things stand out:

• The Bad:
• 3-Pt% Defense (-13%): We were #1 in the nation in 3-Point % Defense for most of December.  We are DEAD LAST in the ACC in this stat through 3 games.  What that starts to tell me is maybe it was our level of competition pre-ACC, and that we aren’t flashing out on shooters as well.
• FG% (-10%): Tech is DEAD LAST in FG%.  And keep in mind, while VT played an awesome fsu defense, wake and bc were near the bottom of the league heading into ACC play.  This stat scares me.  The lack of offense is, has been (for years), (and will be?) a concern.  But to fall that drastically?!
• Robert Brown may be hitting a wall (or is adjusting to the talent in the ACC).  He is just 4/14 from the field in ACC play, and started 1/7 from deep before hitting 2 late 3-pointers Saturday.
• Doe Doe also is really struggling.  He’s put up 2 goose eggs in 3 ACC games, and is just 6/25 with 17 total points in Tech’s last 5 games.
• 3-Pt Offense (-13% and -2.4 makes per game): Most of the ACC has seen their 3-point percentages drop, but Tech’s has been really bad.  They are hitting just 25% from deep, and with their stagnant offense and poor transition game, this has really exposed their offensive struggles.  Eddie is 6/14 on 3s in ACC play, but is just 4/15 from the field in the last 2 games.  The Hokies really needed him to step up Saturday, and he didn’t have a made FG until the final 10 seconds when he nailed 2 meaningless 3-pointers.
• PPG (-13.5): See above.
• The Good?
• FTs: Still #1 in the ACC!  This has been a real bright spot on O… when the Hokies are aggressive and attack the rim.
• TO Margin (+5.5 and #1 in the ACC!): Wow, imagine being the best in the league at getting more turnovers than your opponent and still going 0-3.  Wait, we are 0-3.  That shows how bad our offense has been — we are getting 5 more possessions per game than our opponents (and 2 really bad ones) and still cannot beat them.

STARTERS:

* We’ll see if Erick Green is able to return from his knee injury that cost him the bc game and play.  Otherwise, this could get real ugly.  But Erick has been practicing some this week and is expected to play.

^ This is not your typical unc team.  They really only go 3 deep on their bench.  Bullock and Hairston are 2 very tall guards that can also move to the ’3′.  McAdoo is really unc’s only backup post player that plays any significant minutes off the bench.  unc will go small at times and play 3 guards (though with their height it isn’t an issue), and a mix of Barnes, Henson, Zeller, and McAdoo at the post spots.

THE SERIES:

• All Time: unc 61-13
• At VT: unc 18-6
• In ACC Play: unc 8-3
• At VT in ACC Play: unc 3-2 (but VT has won 2 of the last 3!)
• Last Year: (1/13/11 at unc) unc 64, VT 61 – VT blows a 16-point 1st half lead

HO-KEYS TO WINNING (yeah, I said it, winning!):

• Street Fight: unc does not like physical games.  They are finesse at its best.  Tech must have a lotta bit of Jeff Allen in them Thursday.  Maybe save a ball and aim a bit high?  Maybe watch footage of Christian Laettner walking up court?  Nah, I can’t endorse dirty play.  But let’s make sure they have an imprint of all our tattoos on them by the end of the game.
• Pretend they are #1: Hey, unc could easily be #1 in the land.  And they may be by the end of the year.  Heck, they started #1.  The Hokies love that underdog role, especially against #1.  Well, being the favored team didn’t work (VT was favored in all 3 ACC losses).  So let’s see if Seth can once again tap into his inner-underdog and inspire the boys.
• Transition: The heels love to run and have a lot of great athletes that can finish on the break.  Tech must get back and force them to play in the half court.  Yes, they are really talented in the half court, too, but we’ll take our chances there.  unc isn’t a great, or even good, 3-point shooting team so if the Hokies can avoid giving up layups, it gives VT a chance.  Meanwhile, the Hokies must share the ball on the break and find some easy buckets.  The heels don’t enjoy having to work on defense, so they can be exploited.
• Get the Whistles: unc has a LOT of size.  Yep, and another 7-footer (seems like every team but VT has one).  We need this game called close, especially over-the-backs (like the ones the officials missed in the fsu game on Eddie).  Plus, this unc team doesn’t have much depth.  Strange to say VT can go as deep as the heels.  My fear is Tech won’t be aggressive, or when they are, the ball will get swatted away with no fouls.
• Monsters of the Glass: unc is #1 in the ACC at Offensive Rebounding %, collecting 40% of their misses.  The Hokies must block out and limit second chance opportunities… part of that will be getting the whistles.  Let’s hope Raines can stay out of foul trouble.
• Shoot for a Higher 3-Pt %!  Hey, 19 times in a row is more than a trend.  The team that shot for a higher 3-point percentage has won Tech’s last 19 ACC games.  The good news is, while VT is hitting just 25% from deep in ACC play, unc is dead last in the league at 20%.  Plus, with unc’s size, the Hokies need to stretch the unc D.
• Bonus: Support: This game may not be a sellout (wow).  But I still expect the Hokie fans there, which may only be 67% of the crowd there (at best), will be fired up.  And the students will be back.  Early support could help the Hokies, who have crapped the bed to start the previous 3 games.

BORING FACTS ABOUT unc:

• Founded in 1789
• Undergrads: 18k
• Postgrads: 8k
• Stayed open during the Civil War
• The Hokies own Franklin Street during football season!
• Mascot is a live ram named “Rameses”
• 37 NCAA Championships in six different team sports (20 are women’s soccer… yawn)
• 5 Men’s bball titles: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009
• 42 NCAA Tourney appearances
• 18 Final Fours
• 17 ACC Tournament titles
• unc has not won an ACC football title (or division, or even tied for a title) since 1980.  Neither NC public school has won a title or tied for one since then.  Tobacco Road may know basketball, but the supposed home of great BBQ sure stinks at pigskin

Famous students:

• Bball: Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Awtawn Jamison, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, James Worthy, Larry Brown, Tyler Hansbrough, Ronald Curry
• Other Sports: Lawrence Taylor (guessing he didn’t graduate), Dre Bly, Ronald Curry again (did you know he was the #1 football and bball recruit back in the late ’90s at Hampton HS?  Check out his stats/their margins of victory some time – insane), Moonlight Graham, Mia Hamm, Julius Peppers, Marion Jones, B.J. Surhoff
• Jim Halpert (character on the Office) supposedly went there – not the real one, the real person went to brown
• Others: John Edwards, James K. Polk (11th President of the USA), Stuart Scott, Chris Matthews, Andy Griffith, Lewis Black, and Thomas Wolfe

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Here are the -lights from today’s loss to boston college, dropping the Hokies to 1-10 all time at bc.

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Boxscore

Welcome to 2006, only this time we cannot blame a string of off-the-court tragedies.  The Hokies fell to 0-3 in ACC play with an absolutely horrendous loss to a boston college team that would be lucky to win half their games at the local Y.  The Hokies are now 1-10 at bc all time.  Yes, Tech didn’t have Erick Green, who was out with a LCL sprain, but that’s excuses.  And excuses are exactly what we’ve been listening to for 5 years now — “We got jobbed!”  ”They are certifiably insane!” “Clearly they have something against VT!”

The simple fact is the Hokies lost to an absolutely awful team that starts 5 freshmen and finished just 5-9 out of conference, losing to holy cross by 22, umass by 36, new mexico by 28, penn state by 8, bu by 14, harvard by 21, and 3-13 uri by 6.  I think it is time to admit VT is awful… wake forest lost by 36 today at home to nc state.

The Hokies started ice cold for the 3rd ACC game in a row, falling behind early.  Tech did take their first, First Half lead in 3 ACC games with 7:08 to play in the first half at 17-16.  But thanks to some real errors in judgment at the end of the half (not milking the clock for a last shot), the Hokies went into the break down 29-27, the 3rd straight game they’ve trailed at half.

Victor Davila paced the Hokies with 10 in the first half. Dorenzo Hudson added 9, so the seniors were in full force.  Raines added 5 and Barksdale had 2, meaning the Hokies had their 3 bigs score 17 of their 17 first half points.

boston college, meanwhile, shot 48% in the first half.  They killed the Hokies with dribble-drives and post feeds.

Tech led 25-20 late in the first half, but bc used a 15-4 run between the end of the half and early in the second half to take control of the game at 35-29.

The second half was even worse for the Hokies.  Tech made just 2 field goals in the first 13:30 of the 2nd half, 3 FGs in the first 17 minutes of the 2nd half, and then FINALLY made their first 3-pointer with 2:53 to go.  So yes, the stat is safe – 3-Point % has decided 19 straight ACC games.  Tech started 0/9 from deep and while bc hit 4/12 (which actually was well below their average of 7.5 makes per game).  The Hokies hit 4 3-pointers in the final 3 minutes but it didn’t matter, the damage was done.

The key was Virginia Tech’s lack of defense, allowing the eagles to easily drive and score around the basket.  Dennis Clifford, another 7-footer, worked the Hokies for 15 points (shocker), well above his average (shocker).  Matt Humphrey added 14 and Ryan Anderson scored 12.  bc shot 45% for the game and hit 19/28 FTs.

Tech was led by their two seniors, Davila with 14 (tying his ACC career high) and Hudson with 13, but they scored just 8 in the 2nd half.  And Hudson had SEVEN turnovers.

OVER-RATED!!! Dorian Finney-Smith put up another goose egg.  Brown had a whopping 1 point until he hit two late 3-pointers.  Jarell Eddie had 2 points until he hit two meaningless 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds.

Tech has now been held to less than 60 points in all 3 ACC games.  I’ll have more on this later, but I have to run right now and meet up with my buddy Jack (Daniels), Jim (Beam), and Wild (Turkey).

SCORES AT THE MEDIA TIMEOUTS:

First Half:

• U16: bc 7-5
• U12: bc 8-7
• U8: 15-14
• U4: VT 22-20!!!

HALF: bc 29-27

Second Half:

• U16: bc 35-31
• U12: bc 42-38
• U8: bc 50-42
• U4: bc 56-47

FINAL bc 61, 59

FYI: I promised in the Preview I’d wear uva gear at uva next Sunday if we lost this game… ugh.  I’ll be a man and do it, but I’m sick to my stomach.

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