WEAR GREEN ON SATURDAY!

Update: clemson lost to unc by a 68-59 margin on Thursday night. Booker had 25 points and 11 boards. The tigers were down 14 at home but battled back to make it respectable. clemson has now lost 6 of 7 and have to play the Hokies less than 48 hours after the loss to the heels.

Spread: miami by 17.

Forget miami for now, Saturday is SENIOR NIGHT at the Cassell! This means it will be the final home game for the nation’s leading scorer, Erick Green, and walk-on Joey Racer. PLEASE – LET’S PACK THE CASSELL! And we are encouraging all fans to wear GREEN. That’s no disrespect to Joey, or the rest of the Hokies, but think it is a fitting tribute to one of the all time greatest in the history of Virginia Tech hoops, who is having one of the five best seasons in school history (more on him later this week). So get out that Kermit the frog outfit or that St. Pat’s shirt and be green for a night!

Ok, back to the games. The Hokies will have an opportunity at revenge against two of the top defense in the nation (miami is 7th in the land out of 347 teams and clemson is also top 50 in defensive efficiency).

Just like last week against duke, miami is coming off a loss – their first in ACC play at wake this past Saturday, so they should be focused and not overlooking the last place Hokies. wake dominated the canes at home, jumping out to a 19-point first half lead and winning by 15 in Winston-Salem. However, they are still #2 in the RPI (behind duke).

clemson will be playing their short turnaround game against the Hokies Saturday. They play the tar holes at home Thursday night, then have to travel to Blacksburg to play the Hokies less than 48 hours later. The tigers have lost 6 of 7 heading into the VT game. Obviously this is a great opportunity for the Hokies to jump on the tigers, who should be tired and more focused on their contest with unc.

Here are all the goodies from the first meetings with each team:

miami 73, @Hokies 64 (January 30th):

• RECAP
• HIGHLIGHTS
• PLUS MINUS STATS
• GAME BREAKDOWN
• OPPONENT HALL OF FAME
• The Hokies stunned the 6-0 (in the ACC) canes by jumping to a 28-16 lead with less than 6 minutes left in the first half, but a 7-0 run to close the half by miami closed the gap to 3, 32-29 (Marshall Wood missed 3 FTs and a dunk and Green missed a layup). miami continued their run in the 2nd half, starting it with a 9-2 run to go up by 4. They took the lead for good with 11:14 to go as a 10-0 run in the middle of the 2nd half put them up 9. The Hokies were down 4 with 2 minutes left but could get no closer. Shane Larkin, who is Green’s stiffest competition for ACC POTY (and Barry Larkin’s son), paced the u with 25 points and Kenny Kadji added 18 (VT has no one that can guard the 6’11″ inside-outside threat). Erick Green had 30 (11/20 shooting and 5/8 on 3s) to lead VT. Eddie had 14 (4/5 FGs, 3/3 on 3s) and Raines 10.

@clemson 77, Hokies 70 (January 27th):

• RECAP
• PLUS MINUS STATS
• GAME BREAKDOWN
• OPPONENT HALL OF FAME
• ROBERT BROWN DUNK VS clemson
• Unlike the miami game, Tech fell behind big early in this game. clemson was up 12-0 before the Hokies scored with over 6 minutes and 30 seconds gone. Tech battled back to tie the game at the half (33-all). The second half was back and forth but after VT took a 1-point lead with 4 minutes left, clemson took the lead for good with 3:20 to go. Milton Jenning led all scorers with 28 points (20 in the 2nd half including 16/18 from the line). Erick Green had 25 for Tech. clemson, the 2nd worst 3-point % shooting team in the ACC, hit 10/21 from deep including 5/7 by K.J. McDaniels (just a 32% shooter). Note he had 5 dunks at VT last year, he’s a freak athlete.

Commentary is back and better than ever!!! BRRRRAHHHH!  Here are the moving pictures from the Hokies victory over the seminoles…

Box Score

UPDATED Feb. 25, 2013, 8:22 a.m. to correct Rankin’s playing time. He played the first 2 minutes and 48 seconds of the second half and then left the game. Earlier, we incorrectly reported that he missed the entire second half. We blame it on Leonard Hamilton’s hack-a-Barksdale strategy that made the second half go on FOREVER.

The nine-game losing streak is over. Virginia Tech, which hadn’t won a game in more than a month, frustrated florida state all day and got balanced scoring and deadly accurate free throw shooting down the stretch to beat the noles 80-70.

The victory prevented the Hokies’ first 10-game losing streak since the 2001-02 season.

Erick Green, the Winchester Rifleman, scored a game-high 26 points on 8/17 shooting and a perfect 9/9 from the free throw line. Ever more impressive, Green finally got some help Sunday evening. For the second straight contest, sophomore C.J. Barksdale scored a career-high 17 points and made 9/11 free throws – eight in the final 2:37. In addition to Barksdale’s big night, the Hokies got 25 points from the bench.

Robert Brown played arguably his best game since he scored 18 points in a 95-79 win over Iowa back on Dec. 7, 2012. Brown was 6/8 from the field and 5/5 from the FT line in that game. Sunday night, he was 4/8 from the field, 1/3 from three-point range, and 2/2 from the charity stripe.

Marquis Rankin played out-of-his-mind defense on Michael Snaer in the first half. Snaer, as you probably recall, killed the Hokies last season with a buzzer beater to win the game. Rankin, who has 8 points in the first half, got sick during halftime, and only played the first 2:48 of the second half. After that, he did not return.

Trailing 6-3 in the opening minutes of the first half, the Hokies reeled off a 6-0 run to take a 9-6 lead. The noles responded with an 8-0 run of their own. Tech was not to be denied, though. Brown scored six straight points for the Hokies to keep the home team within striking distance.

With the score 21-19 in fsu’s favor, the noles’ head coach Leonard Hamilton started screaming at the officials and kept on screaming. He was finally T’ed up and darn near got thrown out of the game. That sent Tech’s Erick Green to the free throw line for a pair of uncontested shots that tied the game at 21.

Green went on to score VT’s last seven points (and 9 of its last 11) in the first half to give the Hokies a slim 28-26 half-time lead.

The second half was all Hokies for the most part, despite not having Rankin and his lockdown defense on Snear. Tech opened the second half with a 14-3 run and while the noles closed the gap a few times, the Hokies weren’t to be denied their first win in more than a month.

Green scored 15 of his 26 points down the stretch to secure the victory, but this was the first total team win in a long time for first-year head coach James Johnson. Though Green played a game-high 38 minutes, he wasn’t the only threat the noles had to worry about tonight. Barksdale played very well, especially crashing the boards and going after loose balls.

Rankin, as we mentioned, was incredible on defense. Walk-on Christian Beyer even got in on the action with a pretty reverse layup (that didn’t get blocked) that gave the Hokies a 23-21 lead. And Will Johnston (aka Willy-J), another walk-on making his third career start, had a career-high three steals.

This was a must-win game. This team, and in particular, this coach, did not need the dubious distinction of being the first Virginia Tech squad in 11 years to lose 10 straight games.

Earlier in the day, on the same court, the Virginia Tech women defeated the 19th-ranked fsu women’s team, 71-52. When the men followed with their win over the noles, it marked the first time since March 6, 2004, that both the Virginia Tech men’s and women’s basketball teams beat the same opponent on the same day.

Virginia Tech basketball loses their 9th in a row, falling by 32 at home to #6 duke. This was VT’s worst ACC home loss since their inaugural ACC home game on 12/19/2004, a 34-point loss to unc. The Hokies are now in danger of just their second losing home record in the 51-year history of the Cassell (VT started 7-0 at home but are 8-7 now with two games to go).

The nation’s leading scorer, Erick Green, led the Hokies with 22.

Box Score

The Hokies dropped their ninth straight game Thursday night before a national TV audience, losing to sixth-ranked duke, 88-56, at home. So much for #BEATDUKE. The 32-point loss is VT’s worst ACC loss this season. Their worst loss was a 36-point defeat (88-55) at the hands of colorado state.

Erick Green just about got his, as we figured he would, scoring 22 points (3.3 points below his average) to maintain his status as the nation’s leading scorer with 25.1 ppg — creighton’s Craig McDermott is second in the nation with 22.9 ppg.

Green did get some help tonight, but as usual, it was not enough. C.J. Barksdale scored a career-high 14 points and added 8 rebounds. Cadarian Raines also reached double-digits with 10 points.

The Hokies jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and then it all went downhill. Actually, that’s putting it nicely. The fit hit the shan. The flood gates opened. The four horsemen road into the Cassell. And death followed. Well, not exactly death, but really embarrassing loss.

The dookies reeled off 11 unanswered points including three 3-pointers from Seth Curry. Not surprisingly, duke shot lights out from everywhere on the court. In the first half, duke hit 8 of 9 three-pointers, all 10 free throw attempts, and 60 percent from the field. Curry had 19 at the half. Green had 13.

Once the blue devils went on their 11-0 run, this game was never close. Ever. And here’s why: duke made 12 of 17 three-pointers – that’s 70 percent. SEVENTY PERCENT. The Hokies, on the other hand, made just 1 of 16 three attempts for a mind-numbing 6 percent. Green hit a three in the second half to avoid the shutout.

The Hokies didn’t really have a shot in this game. They played nc state tough, so duke knew not to take them lightly. Plus, the dookies lost to maryland and Coach K was non too happy, so duke came to Blacksburg to lay the lumber to the DFL team in the league. And that’s exactly what they did.

Seth Curry, the son of Virginia Tech legend Dell Curry, torched the Hokies for 22 points, scoring 19 of those in the first half. Of course, duke didn’t need him in the second half; the game was already over.

At this point in the season, I think it’s safe to say that every team we play doesn’t just happen to have a hot shooting night against us. There’s something wrong with the way we defend — some would argue that we don’t defend at all and they’d be right in many respects — but Coach James Johnson needs to do something. Anything. You can’t let a team hit 70 percent of threes (12 of 17!!) on your home court.

Spread: fsu by 1.

Update: florida state lost by 18 at nc state on Tuesday while the Hokies will look to snap their 9-game losing streak (all ACC games) on Sunday.

Spread: duke by 13.

The Hokies should be well rested for their two home games this week, having played just once in nine days. Obviously the Hokies have a tough road to hoe on Thursday night, though, taking on the duke blue devils. duke is currently #1 in the RPI and are #6 in the polls since their loss at maryland on Saturday (so you know Coach K will have them focused on this game). But duke is, in my opinion, not the first or second most talented team in the nation by a long stretch. They aren’t the most talented duke team of recent years, either. And this game is in the Cassell, where Tech took down the dukies in 2005 and again in 2011. duke will be without Ryan Kelly, a good inside-out threat. So it is possible (and Curry has struggled in the home where his dad’s jersey hangs).

The Hokies can beat florida state. No, I’m not guaranteeing a victory, but this is the worst fsu team in about five years. They are tall, as always, with three 7-footers on their roster, but they are SOFT. I said it — pillow soft. They are last in the ACC in rebounding margin at -7.5. So their bigs are not a force. But if the game is close at the end, look out for Michael Snaer. He’s hit 5 game-winning shots in the final 5 seconds, including 3 at the buzzer, in the last 13 months. And we all remember the 3 he hit last year in Tallahassee that sunk the Hokies (VT still has never won there).

VT has to travel to duke in a few weeks but this will be the only regular season meeting between VT and fsu.

Hopefully Thursday will be a great atmosphere instead of the typical 6,000 fans of late, and Sunday will probably have plenty of good seats available, but I’m predicting (not guaranteeing) a VicTory.

The Hokies drop an absolute heartbreaker to the nc state wolfpack 90-86 in overtime in a snowy Raleigh, NC.  Every Tech player gave every ounce of sweat they had, including a miracle missed free throw conversion with 5 seconds left to send the game to overtime (or you could say a brilliantly drawn up play by Coach Johnson).  But in the end, the Hokies couldn’t overcome the wolfpack and the officials:

• Tech was called for 28 fouls, nc state just 12
• state shot 43 free throws, VT just 7 (all by Erick Green)

I was really proud of Tech and the effort they gave on the road, and you have to feel for the guys, losing for the 8th straight time in a game they could have won against a NCAA Tournament-bound club.

Despite playing it’s best game, perhaps of the season, the Hokies dropped their eighth straight game Saturday afternoon, losing 90-86 in overtime to heavily favored nc state on the road.

Senior guard Erick Green scored a game-high 29 points. In his previous four games vs. the wolfpack, Green had just 27 points combined.

Virginia Tech held a 60-53 lead in the second half, but nc state went on a 14-0 run to take a 67-60 lead. The Hokies, however, did not quit. Trailing by three with :08 left, the pack fouled Green as he crossed mid-court with about :05 left. Green made the first and intentionally missed the second. Eddie grabbed the rebound and put it back up and in to tie the game at 78.

nc state’s Lorenzo Brown missed a desperation half-court shot and the game went to overtime. The Hokies led a couple of times in the extra period, but committed two critical turnovers that eventually cost them the game.

While the loss will sting, there is finally a few bright spots! Freshman Marshall Wood had his coming out part by scoring a career-high 14 points and pulling down a career-high 16 rebounds. And junior Jarell Eddie, who has hasn’t started the last two games, came of the bench to score 17 points.

Notes:
The Hokies’ 36 points in the first half were the most since VT scored 37 points against Maryland on Jan. 7. Tech trailed 37-53 at the half of that game.

Virginia Tech attempted a season-high 80 shots. EIGHTY! Their previous high was 68 attempts. Tech made 35 of those 80 shots for a 44 percent average.

The Hokies hit 11 of 23 free throws 48 percent from the behind the arc, well above their season average. The 11 made threes were the most since VT hit 14 vs. unc-greensboro.

Here’s a stat that’ll make you pull your hair out. The wolfpack attempted 43 free throws. The Hokies attempted seven. Yep. nc state attempted six times more FTs then VT.

Spread: nc state by 15.

If you asked most people who the biggest disappointment in the ACC is to date, they would tell you nc state. That’s because while Tech was picked to finish in the lower third of the league anyway, nc state was picked to win the ACC, C.J. Leslie was tabbed to be the ACC Player of the Year, and Rodney Purvis was slated to be the Freshman of the Year, a clean sweep in the preseason. They feature three 5-star and three 4-star recruits on their roster, half from the Sidney Lowe days and half under second year coach Mark Gottfried.

Yet, if it wasn’t for a Scott Wood 3-pointer with 1 second left at clemson last Sunday, the wolfpack would have a losing record in the ACC. As it is, they are just 6-5 and 5th place in the league. They got trounced by 20 points by oklahoma state earlier in the year and have lost to maryland, wake, uva, miami, and duke in ACC action.

Despite all this, the wolfpack are poised to go to the NCAA Tournament for the 2nd year in a row after never making it under Lowe. They are ranked 17th in the RPI, thanks in large part to the nation’s 8th toughest schedule. They’ve played 4 top 25 RPI teams (1-3), 3 more 26-50 (2-1), and 5 more in the top 100 (3-2).

At least Tech would have to worry about being outnumbered on Saturday. The wolfpack basically only go two deep on their bench. Vandenberg plays a minute or two here and there, but I’m not counting him. nc state lost three straight while stud point guard Lorenzo Brown was out, but he’s back now (played 32 minutes in the win over clemson) and should start Saturday. He is a devastating slasher.

C.J. Leslie has played well, but he will likely not be the ACC POTY. He’s averaging 15.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and gets to the line a ton (6.5 attempts per game), but I wouldn’t even call him their MVP.

Richard Howell has improved night and day, and if you played fantasy sports, he would be a #1 seed in the ACC. Howell is in the top two on his team in points, rebounds, blocks, assists (as a big man), and steals. He leads the ACC in rebounding. Howell’s ppg have improved by about 2.5 ppg each year since his freshman year, and he now looks like a NBA player.

Don’t forget about Scott Wood. The beanpole is still around, and dropping 43% of his 3s (63 makes). And he’s automatic at the line, hitting over 90% but he doesn’t get there much since he’s soft.

Purvis, the preseason pick as FOTY, has been decent, but hasn’t lived up to the 5-star hype. T.J. Warren, another 5-star freshman, has played better (averaging 11.4 ppg to Purvis’s 9.3). Purvis is a better than 40% 3-point shooter, though.

Stat to Watch: nc state is #2 in the ACC hitting 41.2% of their 3s in league action. But they are 11th in the league with 5.1 makes per game (behind VT’s 5.4). Given nc state’s size advantage at almost every position, the Hokies have no prayer of winning if nc state is hot from deep. Given that 10 of VT’s 11 ACC opponents have shot a higher 3-point % than normal and made more than normal, that’s not a good thing. Tech must hope nc state missed from the outside, VT can hit some (like the 2 3-pointers they got from Marshall Wood against uva), and do a good job on the defensive glass (they held uva to just 6 offensive rebounds). Both teams have a similar turnover margin, but if the Hokies can cause misses, get the rebounds, and force turnovers, who knows.

Tech has won two straight at nc state. Since joining the league, this series has been a series of runs. VT won the first meeting, nc state the next 6 (we were the only team Lowe could beat), and then VT 4 in a row until state throttled Tech in the regular season finale last year at the Cassell. In that 70-58 win, Wood had 19, Leslie 18, and Brown 10. Raines had 15 and EG 12 for the Hokies.

Erick Green is having a phenomenal senior season, but where does he rank all-time?

The 2012-13 college basketball season hasn’t been kind to Virginia Tech fans. It began last winter when Jim Weaver, the Hokies’ athletics director, gave then-coach Seth Greenberg a vote of confidence and then pulled the rug out from under him a few weeks later.

One player transferred (Dorian Finney-Smith), and Montrezl Harrell, a highly-touted incoming freshman, asked to be released. That left Tech with just eight scholarship players coming into this season.

Most fans, however, believed that the Hokies could have a respectable season so long as they stayed healthy. And with the exception of freshman Marshall Wood missing seven games, Tech has, for the most part, avoided the injury bug that had plagued them over the last few seasons. Unfortunately, staying healthy hasn’t been enough. This team just can’t seem to get it together.

After starting the season a surprising 7-0, the team is just 4-13 since, including a current seven-game losing streak. One player was benched for an entire game for lack of effort during practice; another missed almost an entire half after an on-court temper tantrum that nearly injured his teammate; and that same player, who has been playing poorly, was replaced in the starting lineup by a walk-on. Yeah, it’s been that bad.

Enter the Winchester Rifleman, Erick Green

The only bright spot for Hokie hoops fans this season is senior guard Erick Green, who is still the nation’s leading scorer. With hopes of a winning season and post-season appearance all but gone, Virginia Tech fans have thrown their support behind the senior guard from Winchester, who is having one of the best seasons by a Hokie in recent memory.

Of VT’s 24 games this season, Green has led the team in scoring 23 times. He averages 25.2 points per game, tops in the country and seven points better than the ACC’s second-leading scorer, Mason Plumlee of duke, who averages 18.2 ppg.

If Green continues on his current scoring pace, he will become the first Hokie to average more than 25 ppg since Bimbo Coles did so during the 1989-90 season. Coles averaged 25.3 ppg that year, a tenth of a point ahead of where Green stands now.

And unless Green just completely falls off the map (he could go scoreless for the rest of the season and still be above 18 ppg), he’ll end the season as just the third tech player to average better than 20 ppg in the last 23 years. Bryant Matthews averaged 22.1 ppg during the 2003-04 season and Malcolm Delaney averaged 20.2 ppg during the 2009-10 season.

What’s even more incredible is the percentage of points Green scores for his team. Take a look below and you’ll see the leading scorer for each ACC team, their total points (through Feb. 12), and their team’s total points, followed by the percentage. The teams appear in order of the current ACC standings:

Green is the ACC’s leading scorer by nearly 200 points. He scores more than 35 percent (35.5 to be precise) of his team’s points; 10 percent more than the next highest percentage in the league – uva’s Joe Harris, who contributes 25 percent. That stat speaks volumes about the lack of support from Green’s teammates.

Now, one could argue that Green scores more points because he shoots the ball more. That’s a valid argument, on the surface. Take a look at the shooting percentages for each team’s leader in attempted shots.

*Seth Curry is the only player in the league to lead his team in shot attempts, but not in points.

But if you dig a little deeper than just the season stats, you’ll find that Green attempts, and scores on, a higher percentage of shots only when the rest of the team is struggling, which has been for a couple of months now.

In the Hokies’ first seven games, all wins, the team shot 48 percent from the field. In the last seven losses, that number is down to just 37 percent.

During the seven-game winning streak to start the season, Green attempted just 23 percent of the team’s field goals (95/404):

FGA in first seven wins
VT – EG
58 – 11 (19%)
57 – 15 (26%)
68 – 13 (19%)
53 – 15 (28%)
52 – 16 (30%)
61 – 15 (24%)
55 – 10 (18%)

During the team’s current seven-game losing streak, the percentage of shots by Green has increased to 34 percent (136/397):

FGA in last seven losses
VT – EG
43 – 18 (42%)
60 – 17 (28%)
53 – 20 (38%)
62 – 21 (34%)
65 – 23 (35%)
62 – 20 (32%)
52 – 17 (32%)

What about made field goals? Well, we’re glad you asked. During the first seven wins, Green made 25 percent of tech’s field goals (49/195). During the last seven consecutive losses, Green has made more than 40 percent of the team’s field goals.

Green’s not a ball hog by any stretch of the imagination. This kid WANTS to get his teammates involved, but they’re just not hitting shots. The team attempted 404 shots in their first seven wins and 397 in their last seven losses, so they’re still not afraid to shoot, but Green’s the only one hitting anything on a consistent basis. And he’s doing it while being double-teamed.

Say what you want about opposing teams giving Green space and letting him have his points, but from what I’ve been seeing, they’re not doing that at all. They’re guarding him using every combination they can think of and he’s still getting his shots off and keeping his team in the games.

What does it all mean, Basil?

If you are on Twitter and follow tech hoops, you’ve probably seen the comments arguing that Green deserves to have his jersey retired and his banner hung from the rafters of the Cassell.

Look, Green is having a heck of a senior season, especially under the circumstances, but before we start making room next to Ace Custis in the rafters, let’s take a step back and see where Green ranks among some of the greatest of all time at VT.

Green’s career isn’t done yet, so we have to do some predicting (not Niemo, he sucks at making predictions). The Hokies have seven regular season games left and at least one (and probably only one) ACC tournament game. So let’s assume Green has eight games left in his career. If he continues on his current statistical pace, here’s where he’ll likely finish in the record books:

Points Scored in a Season:
1. Erick Green (2012-13) – 810
2. Bimbo Coles (1989-90) – 785
3. Dell Curry (1985-86) – 722
4. Bimbo Coles (1988-89) – 717
5. Bimbo Coles (1987-88) – 702

Points Scored in a Career:
1. Bimbo Coles, 2,484
2. Dell Curry, 2,389
3. Malcolm Delaney, 2,255
4. Dale Solomon, 2,136
5. Perry Young, 1,899
6. A.D. Vassallo, 1,822
7. Allan Bristow, 1,804
8. Zabian Dowdell, 1,785
9. Bob Ayersman, 1,782
10. Erick Green, 1,750

Scoring Average in a Season:
1. Bimbo Coles (1988-89) – 26.6
2. Boby Ayersman (1958-58) – 26.5
3. Bimbo Coles (1989-90) – 25.3
4. Erick Green (2012-13) – 25.2

Free Throws Made in a Season:
1. Malcolm Delaney (2009-10) – 230
2. Malcolm Delaney (2008-09) – 225
3. Erick Green (2012-13) – 218

Free Throws Made in a Career:
8. Erick Green (2009-13) – 418

Free Throw Percentage in a Career:
T8. Erick Green (2009-13) .800

Assists in a Career:
8. Erick Green (2009-13) – 333

As great a season as Green is having, I’m not sure anyone can make a compelling case that he should have his jersey retired and a banner with his likeness hanging from the rafters with Ace Custis, Bimbo Coles, Dell Curry and Allan Bristow.

While Niemo is under a gag order not to make any predictions, naturally I wanted his thoughts on Green’s legacy at Tech.

As of today, I wouldn’t have Erick in my VT Top 10 and therefore wouldn’t retire his jersey. While he is having one of the five greatest seasons in Tech history, I don’t think his body of work is top 10-esque just yet. He may reach the top 10 in scoring and definitely will reach it in assists, but there are a lot of guys ahead of him that were very productive for four years, not just two and a half.

While I’m with Niemo on this, I played devil’s advocate and suggested that Green’s extraordinary senior season is made even more impressive given the fact that he’s doing more with less. Niemo countered:

Also, I don’t like the argument of “he’s doing more with less.” I actually think that lessens his scoring in my eyes. The numbers guys like Zabian [Dowdell], Malcolm [Delaney], and Dell [Curry] put up with a better supporting cast impress me more. If Erick could score 25 per game on a team that won and had other guys that could score consistently, I’d be more impressed. Still, his 50 percent shooting percentage this year is remarkable for a guard, and by the end of the season my opinion may very well change, but I would not have him in my top 10 and would not retire his jersey at this point.

The TechHoops staff have spoken. We love Erick Green and have enjoyed watching him play the last four years. He has done everything he’s been asked to do and has represented the team and the university with honor.

We’re not taking anything away from Green, but when you think about some of the great players that have come before him that have had more productive careers and DON’T have their jerseys retired, I think even the Winchester Rifleman would agree that while he’s had a fabulous career, he’s not in same category as those four legends.

Well, that was about what we expected. One of those days turned into one of those weeks that has turned into one of those seasons. And one of those seasons continued Tuesday with another one of those nights.

The surging cavaliers walloped the hapless Hokies 73-55 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, handing tech its seventh straight loss.

Erick Green scored just one point in the first half, but scored 21 points of Tech’s 32 points in the second. Green’s 22 points led the team, but he was just 4/17 from the field. No other Hokie scored in double figures.

Meanwhile, Joe Harris scored a career-high 26 points tonight to lead the cavs. The 18-point margin of victory is the biggest in favor of the hoos in the series since 1991 when the Hokies lost to No. 18 ranked virginia, 86-61, in Richmond.

Statistically, this game was a virtual dead heat, save for one very important category: field goal percentage. The hoos shot 46 percent to just 34 percent for Virginia Tech. Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds, both teams attempted about the same amount of shots (VT – 52, uva – 50), and about the same number of free throw attempts (VT – 19, uva – 23). The only real difference is that uva made more shots.

virginia shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range, hitting 9 of 19 shots. Sound familiar? The Hokies jacked up 25 threes, but made only eight. They also hit just 18 of 52 shots. uva hit 22 of 50.

Make no mistake, this wasn’t an off-night for the Hokies and they didn’t get jobbed by the refs. They got beat by a better team. uva’s defense is really good and they smothered the Hokies all night. The cavs held Green to just one point in the first half.

The win was the 14th straight for the wahoos at home.

Also, there will be no game lights. Not that you’d watch them. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a post-game interview with a Mr. Wild Turkey.

Spread: uva by 14 (ouch).

Sure the Hokies have lost six straight ACC games for the first time ever, but let’s not give up on Tuesday night just yet.  It is a rivalry game so you can throw out the records!  Or as they say south of the border, expulsar a los tocadiscos!  After not winning in ch’ville between 1968 and 2008 (although the two teams didn’t play on campus for 24 of those years… thank you, uva), a streak of nine straight losses, Tech has won 3 of 5 in wahoo land since, including a 47-45 victory there last year.  Let’s just hope Erick Green is fully recovered from the bout with dehydration he suffered on Saturday, though I am sure his minutes will be down since this is Tech’s third game in six days (Green leads the ACC averaging 38.2 minutes per conference game, two minutes more than #2).

This is the second meeting of the season between these two rivals, and it is very much a ‘then and now’ situation.

• Then: VT and uva were both 2-2 in league play, with the Hokes on a 2-game win streak
• Now: VT has lost 6 straight and are tied for last in the ACC with bc while uva won 5 of 6 and are alone in 3rd place in the ACC

In this case, stats don’t lie.  If you look at the numbers below, it is pretty easy to see why uva is 3rd in the ACC and VT is last.  While uva is 10th in the ACC in PPG, that is because of their molasses-like pace.  They are 340th in the nation out of 347 teams in terms of tempo.  But they are very efficient as an offense — they are #2 in the ACC in FG%, #1 in 3-Point% and #5 in terms of offensive efficiency.  They also are #2 in turnover margin at +2.5 per game.  Tech, meanwhile, is 11th in the ACC in FG% and 3-Point% and 10th in Turnover Margin at -1.4.

Defense is another matter — uva is #11 in the nation in defensive efficiency (3rd in the ACC – miami and georgia tech are in the top 10) and #1 in PPG allowed.  Tech is last in the ACC in PPG allowed and 232nd nationally in defensive efficiency.  Numbers like that all add up to 2-8 versus 7-3.

Here are all the articles from the first meeting.  uva won that behind a career high 18 points from freshman twig Evan Nolte, including 5/9 from behind the arc.  This game included a 24-2 run by uva which included 6/7 on 3-pointers from the hoos (it was raining 3s and curse words as I watched) and 5 VT turnovers.  That run turned a 17-10 Hokie lead with 9:30 to go in the first half into a 34-19 deficit with 2 minutes left in the first half and was pretty much all she wrote — Tech trailed by double digits the final 19:12 of the game.  Erick Green had a career high 35 points for Tech (of their 58 points) and 9 rebounds.

• RECAP
• HIGHLIGHTS
• PLUS MINUS
• WILD TURKEY BREAKDOWN
• OPPONENT HALL OF FAME – Evan Nolte

The hokies lose their 6th straight ACC game, their longest streak ever since joining the league.  They also lost to a Georgia Tech team that had lost 11 straight ACC road games and 24 of 26 ACC games away from home, and were 0-7 all time in Blacksburg.  To make matters worse, Erick Green had to be helped off the floor after suffering from exhaustion at the end of the game.

Box Score

Georgia Tech, Boston College, and virginia tech entered the weekend tied for DFL in the ACC standings. With the Yellow Jackets and hokies squaring off in Blacksburg, something had to give. And it was the hokies.

virginia tech dropped its sixth straight game Saturday afternoon, 64-54, to the Yellow Jackets, who picked up their first-ever win at Cassell Coliseum (1-7). Erick Green scored his usual 28 points, but didn’t get much help. Walk-on Will Johnston was the team’s second leading scorer for most of the game with six points on a pair of three-pointers. Robert Brown and Cadarian Raines scored a few late buckets when the game was already over.

Green had 28 points while the other four starters (Brown 10, Raines 6, Barksdale 1, Eddie 0) combined for a mind-numbing 17 points. Maybe it was the 38-hour turnaround between games. Maybe it was the flu that’s been going around. Maybe it’s that this team just isn’t good this year. Whatever it is, this is about as bad season we’ve seen since the ricky program bomb stokes era.

At least vt has Green, who has now scored at least 20 points in 21 of 23 games this season. The Winchester Rifleman has also led the hokies in scoring in 22 of the team’s 23 games this season. The only game in which he didn’t lead vt in points was against UNC Greensboro – Jarell Eddie had 26 to Green’s 24.

The hokies scored the first point of Saturday’s game; a free throw by C.J. Barksdale (his only point of the game). It was vt’s only lead of the game. Georgia Tech went on an 11-0 run and dominated the hokies the entire first half — leading by 22 at one point — and holding the hokies to a season-low 18 first-half points. vt’s previous half-time low was 22 against, wait for it… Georgia Tech. However, vt ended up winning that game in overtime, so it wasn’t unreasonable to think vt could come back.

Or, maybe it was. As we’ve seen the last four games, came us short, but didn’t quit. The hokies cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead down to 11 midway through the second half, 48-37, but vt couldn’t get any closer, at least when it mattered. The hokies did manage to cut the lead to 60-52, but with only :31 seconds left and Green on the bench, the game was already over.

You know the saying, “leaving it all on the floor”? That’s exactly was Green did in this game. In the final seconds, he had to come off the court with a cramp in his calf. He was completely gassed and looked ill. He sat on the bench with his eyes closed and his head resting on teammate Marshall Wood’s shoulder. When the final horn sounded, his teammates had to carry him off the court with team medical staff in tow.

Eddie struggled again in this game and his frustration caught up with him early in the second half when he slammed a water bottle to the court, causing the bottle to explode and spray water and ice all over the floor. Brown slipped and fell in the mess. James Johnson sat Eddie for the rest of game where the junior sulked.

After starting the season 7-0, the hokies are 4-12 since.

Make it four straight moral victories for the Hokies and five straight losses.

Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Tech played the visiting maryland terrapins tough, but couldn’t pull it out in the final minutes (sound familiar) and lost 60-55, giving the terps their first ACC road win of the season.

This was a game of streaks. The Hokies fell behind early and trailed by 11 points, before storming back to take a 27-24 half-time lead courtesy of a 17-3 run to end the half.

The terps came out of the break on fire and jumped out to a 9-0 run to take a six-point lead. The Hokies kept it close thanks to Erick “It ain’t easy being” Green and his game-high 29 points.

For the third straight game, Cadarian Raines scored in double-figures, scoring 14 points tonight and played maryland’s Alex Len pretty tough. Do the math (challenging after a few Wild Turkeys) and Green and Raines combined for 43 of VT’s 55 points. Even more math reveals that the rest of the team combined for 12 points.

Jake Layman, who torched the Hokies in College Park earlier this season, earning him a spot in the TechHoops.com Opponent Hall of Fame, led the terps in the game, but with a mere 14 points.

This was an ugly game to watch. The Hokies were 2-of-18 from three-point range (11 percent). The terps were 10-of-23 from the free throw line. VT did manage to keep the turnovers in check, only giving it up seven times.

Though it was painful to watch for the most part, the game did have some exciting moments, including some BRRAAAAAHHHHH dunks by Raines.

As for the Opponent Hall of Fame, I’m not sure we have any worthy nominees. Tech’s defense

Spread: maryland by 4.5 (seems low but Vegas usually knows what they are doing).

The Hokies have a tight slate this week, with two games just 38 hours apart on Thursday and Saturday (both are at the Cassell).  Let’s skip Thursday’s contest for now, because I’m GUARANTEEING A HOKIE VICTORY on Saturday against ‘Groupon’ Udofia and the georgia tech yellow jackets!  How can I do that with a VT team that is 2-6 in the ACC this year and 6-20 in their last 26 ACC regular season games?  Easy…

• VT is 7-0 all time against georgia tech in the Cassell, including 5-0 in ACC play
• The Hokies are 8-1 in ACC short-turnaround games (games played less than 48 hours after VT’s last ACC game), including this buzzer beater over gt last year – DORENZO HUDSON BEATS THE buzzER
• The lesser tech is 8-52 in their last 60 ACC road games.  Paul Hewitt was 7-41, and since winning his first ACC road game at gt, Brian Gregory is now 1-11 away from the ATL.
• gt is coming off a devastating loss at home as un-bee-lievably they let Michael “Walk-Off” Snaer hit his 5th game winning shot (one thing he could do… is finger roll) in 13 months to sting the jackets 56-54.
• So, there you have it, I am guaranteeing a Tech victory (just kidding)… a VIRGINIA TECH victory on Saturday*

*Offer not valid in the continental USA and cash value of guarantee is $0.00000001

As for Thursday, well, we shall see.  One thing that always impressed me about Coach Greenberg was his teams got better between Game 1 and Game 2 against an opponent.  For example, VT lost by 35 at duke in 2005, but beat the devils later that year.  In 2008, the Hokies lost by 39 at unc but lost by just 2 on a late Hansbrough putback in the ACC Tourney.  Last year, VT lost by 15 at home to duke, then took them to OT later in the season at Cameron Indoor.  On Thursday we will find out if Coach Johnson can also rally the troops and be more competitive against a team that pasted them by 23 points at maryland just a month ago.  I think we will play them tougher and keep the margin in single digits, but I do expect 7’1″ Alex Len to be too much for the Hokies.

maryland:

• Then: @md 94, VT 71 – RECAP - OPP HALL OF FAME – LAYMAN - PLUS MINUS - maryland led 34-31 with 6 minutes to go in the first half, but a 15-2 run helped the terps go into the break up 53-37 behind 18 first half points from Jake Layman (he hit 4 three-pointers).  Green had 28 for VT, including 10/11 FTs.  Brown had 11 but on 4/15 shooting and JvZ tied his career high with 10.  C.J. Barksdale did not play (coach’s decision).
• Since: After exploding for 53 first half points against Tech and 94 for the game, the terps scored just 92 combined first half points in their next 4 games (23 per) including just 14 points at miami.  And they were held to 52 points or less in 3 of those 4 games (i.e. less in a full game 75% of the time then they had in one half against VT).  maryland had lost 5 of 7 before thumping wake forest 86-60 on Saturday to get to 4-5 in the ACC.
• The Match-Up: Tech gave up 4 offensive rebounds that resulted in 8 second chance points for maryland in the first 4 minutes, allowing maryland to go up by 9.   The terps would also hit 7 first half 3-pointers.  In this game, the Hokies must do a better job on the defensive glass (having C.J.B. will help) and defend the 3 better.  Given Tech’s improved defense of late (66.5 ppg given up in regulation in their last 6 games after giving up 91.3 in their previous 4) and 3-point defense (unc was just 21% on 5/24 three-pointers… albeit just one game) I expect a much closer game.  Tech must stop Len.
• Ho-Key: maryland is last in the ACC with a turnover margin of -6.4 (I should point out VT is next to last at -3.1).  If Tech can limit their turnovers as they did against clemson and create live ball turnovers that lead to transition buckets, the Hokies will have a fighting chance.
• Stat to Watch: maryland is 3-0 in ACC action when Layman, who had a still career high 20 against the Hokies, scores in double digits, but they are 1-5 when he doesn’t.

georgia tech:

• Then: VT 70, @gt 65 (OT) – RECAP - HIGHLIGHTS - PLUS MINUS - The Hokies trailed the entire second half but overcame an 11-point deficit with 14 minutes to go to tie the game with 24 seconds left.  In overtime, VT jumped out to a 7-point lead and then held off the jackets thanks to two baskets from Robert Brown and 4/4 from line in the final minute.  Erick Green had 28 points, 24 in the final 26 minutes of this 45 minute game.  Barksdale chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Brown had 10 although he was 0/9 from the field in regulation.
• Since: gt started 0-5 in ACC play but have since won 2 of 4 (both at home – 82-62 over wake and then shocking uva on Sunday 66-60, outscoring uva 18-3 in the final 8 minutes to come back from 9 down).  But the jackets just lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday night at home to florida state as Michael “Walk-Off” Snaer scored on a finger-roll as time expired to give fsu a 56-54 win.  It was Snaer’s 5th buzzer beater to win a game in the last 13 months (all ACC games).  fsu jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the game but gt battled back to take a 5-point 2nd half lead thanks to an 18-4 run before the noles battled back to win.
• The Match-Up: Virginia Tech has owned the jackets in football and basketball since joining the league.  While the jackets are an improved team this year, they still can’t win on the road, and until they do, I’m picking against them.  Robert Carter can be a force at times inside but then gt forgets about him for a while.  Plus, I don’t see gt making 8 three-pointers in this game – they are the worst shooting team in the ACC from the field and deep, and aren’t much better from the line.  VT has a pretty good offense, gt has a really good defense.  VT has a horrible defense, and gt has an atrocious offense.  Whichever teams’ weakness steps up should win, and I think it will be the Hokies and their improved defense.
• Stats to Watch: VT is 8-1 in ACC short-turnaround games, VT is 7-0 all time at home vs gt, and georgia tech has lost 11 straight ACC road games.

Note: Tech clinches a winning home record with just one more win in the Cassell this season.  Despite losing 4 of 5 at home, VT is 8-4 in the Cassell with 5 to play.  The Hokies have had just one home losing record in 51+ years in the Cassell.  That came in 2001 under ricky “program bomb” stokes, as Tech went 6-9 at home.