Boxscore

Many things are known for being cold: Alaska, Greenland, Antarctica, MGD, women at fancy clubs.  But now there’s a new kind of cold that trumps them all: richmond basketball.  To say the spiders came out cold on this frigid Blacksburg winter eve is like saying Metallica is good — its quite the understatement.  The spiders started out 2 for 21 from the floor (9.5%).  They didn’t score for the first 5:44 of the game and did not hit a two-point field goal until less than six and a half minutes were left in the first half (they missed their first 11 two-point shots).  The Hokies used that opportunity to jump out to a 24-6 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 62-48 win that was no where near that close on the court.  richmond never led and never got within 12 points over the final 28 minutes of the game.

For the game, richmond shot just 31%.  That was the second lowest shooting percentage by an opponent on the season (longwood shot just 30%).  The spiders were a dreadful 3 for 22 on three-pointers for the game (13%), including just 1 for their last 15 long balls.  Tech wasn’t much better from behind the arc, hitting just 2 of 14 (14%).  In other words, it wasn’t pretty.

The Hokies were led by Jeff Allen’s 15th career double-double, and fifth of the season.  The Dunking Donut broke out of his 3/17 shooting slump over his last three games with an 11 point and 12 rebound performance.  He also had 2 blocks and 2 steals.  However, Jeff was outmuscled down low at times.  Perhaps the theory that he needs some of the weight he lost is correct.

Tech had their most balanced attack on the offensive end of the season, a great sign as VT heads into their final 14 ACC games of the regular season.  Ten Hokies scored on the night and no one had more than 12 points.  Malcolm Delaney had a game high 12 points and J.T. Thompson added 10 points and 8 rebounds.  A.D. Vassallo was held to just 6 points, although he only attempted 6 shots.

A great sign for VT was the play off the bench of guards Terrell Bell and Dorenzo Hudson.  The two combined for 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting, although 11 of those points came in the first half when the game was decided.  Those guys entered this game shooting 36% and 29% respectively.

At one point in the middle of the first half, all five guys on the floor for Virginia Tech were bench players — Bell, Hudson, Thorns, Diakite, and Witcher.  Perhaps Greenberg was giving them their chance to earn their playing time before the schedule goes all-ACC.

A huge key to the win was Tech’s domination of the glass.  The Hokies allowed just 3 offensive rebounds to richmond in the first half despite all the spider misses.  At the half, Tech had a 26-12 advantage on the glass and finished the game with a 41-24 margin and just 6 offensive rebounds for richmond.

richmond’s leading scorer, David Gonzalvez, was held to just 4 points over the first 38 minutes of the game on 2/11 shooting.  He added 5 points in garbage time to finish with 9, but that’s more than 7 points below his average.  Only one spider reached double digits, Kevin Anderson.  He scored 11, but that’s 4 below his average.  Jarhon Giddings, who attended Blacksburg High, was held scoreless despite averaging 9.6 ppg.

Both teams might as well have called it quits at the half.  Neither team showed much in the second half.  With Tech leading 41-21 at the break, both teams went cold.  With 7:45 left, the score was just 52-31 — in other words, only 21 points were scored in the first 12 minutes of the second stanza.  After that point neither team showed much. 

Tech is now done with their out of conference slate, finishing at 10-4 outside of the ACC.  That’s one game better than last season (thanks to flipping the result of the loss at richmond last year).  VT has won six of their last seven games, everything except that forgettable effort at duke. 

The Hokies return to action on Saturday at 4 PM against the bc eagles at the Cassell.  The game is on ESPNU, so about 14 of you can watch it at home.  The rest of you will be scrambling for sports bars to see it.

Scoring Summary by Media Timeout:

First Half:

• Under 16 Timeout: VT 7, ur 0
• Under 12: VT 13, ur 6
• Under 8: VT 18, ur 6
• Under 4 (occurred with less than a minute to go): VT 39, ur 19
• Halftime: VT 41, ur 21

Second Half:

• Under 16: VT 45, ur 21
• Under 12: VT 49, ur 31
• Under 8: VT 52, ur 31
• Under 4: VT 57, ur 39

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THE SETUP

Spread: VT by 8.5

Article about Jarhon Giddings‘, one of richmond’s big men who went to Blacksburg High for a stretch.

The Hokies conclude their non-conference schedule with a battle against an in-state foe, the richmond spiders.  Before you chalk up a ‘W’ for the Hokies, remember, the spiders beat Tech last season 52-49 in what could only be termed as an “Instant Crapper”.  Watching that game was like watching Roseanne Barr try to touch her toes for two hours while wearing a thong.  It wasn’t pretty.  And remember, nobody runs on richmond.

This game, believe it or not, is a big one for Tech’s NCAA Tournament hopes.  Lose, and the Hokies end their non-ACC season at 9-5.  Guess what their out of conference record was last season…  You got it yet?  Answer is 9-5.  With a win, the Hokies will hit the out of conference (OOC) finish line at 10-4.  Sure, they would lack a marquee OOC win this year, but they didn’t have one last season either.  Assuming Tech repeated their ACC record of 9-7 plus 1-1 in the ACC Tournament (and that’s an awfully big assumption), that puts the Hokies at 20-12.  You would have to be certifiably insane to not put an ACC team with 20 wins into the Big Dance, especially if some of those wins are over the wake’s, duke’s, unc’s, clemson’s, miami’s, or fsu’s of the world.  And Tech still has eight games left against those six teams.  That also means VT has a pretty tough road to hoe the rest of the way.

THE SERIES

• All Time: VT 68-39
• Recent Series: The teams have met the two previous seasons, splitting the action.  VT won at home 65-53 in 2007 and richmond won 52-49 last season.
• At the Cassell: VT 21-1 (loss was in 1991… believe it or not, ricky stokes wasn’t VT’s coach)
• Last Meeting: Dorenzo Hudson had 14 points off the bench to lead the Hokies.  Jeff Allen had 11 but battled foul trouble.  Vassallo and Delaney were held to a combined 12 points on 5/21 shooting (0/7 on threes).  The Hokies also were hurt by 23 turnovers.  It is hard to win when you shoot 39% and commit 23 turnovers, though the Hokies had their chances late.

LINEUPS

THE OPPONENT

How many spiders does it take to screw in a light bulb?  A: 3 — one to screw it in and two to make martinis to celebrate.  Let’s just say when richmond plays uva, the tailgating action will never be featured in a Miller High Life commercial. (“Ostrich?  That’s a bird, not a burger!”)

richmond enters this game coming off their biggest win of the season, a 60-48 woodshed beating at gwu in their A-10 opener.  And the game wasn’t that close — the spiders led by 20 at the half.  The spiders also played syracuse tough on the road and wake tough at home, losing in the Carrier Dome by just five, 76-71, and losing to  wake by only seven, 86-79.  They lost to odu, vcu, and vmi by a combined seven points.  In fact, only one of their losses was greater than the margin to wake, a 14-point loss to bradley.  So the spiders keep their games competitive.

The spiders’ offense likes to spread you out. They have several options to shoot from deep, or they can break a defense down and go at the rim.  They are led by their starting back court: junior shooting guard David Gonzalvez and sophomore point guard Kevin Anderson.  The two combine for 32 ppg. 

Anderson is a slasher.  He will shoot a few threes a game, but not for a high percentage.  The Hokies need to keep him from penetrating in the half court set or release early and get out on the break.  Anderson gets to the line a lot.

Gonzalvez is a pure shooter and can exploit a defense from behind the arc or with his mid-range game.  He does not drive aggressively though and rarely gets to the line.  Tech must cling tight to him on the outside.  Expect Bell, Thompson, or Hudson to mark him.  David led all scorers in the game last season with 17.

The spiders also have another deep threat in 6′10″ Justin Harper.  The big man averages over 10 ppg. Half his buckets come from behind the arc, shooting 45% from long range.  He is a face-up player — Tech doesn’t have to worry about him as much with his back to the basket.  But when he wanders out to the perimeter, it will force the Hokie big man guarding him to go out with him, leaving the lane vulnerable to Anderson’s penetrating abilities.  Harper hit two three-pointers in last year’s match-up with VT and has hit 7/13 threes in his last two games.  Justin is vulnerable to foul trouble.  The quicker Hokies need to take it at him and force richmond to bench the three-point threat.

Jarhon Giddings is richmond’s best banger in the low post.  The 6′9″ forward scores just under 10 ppg, most in the low post. 

Kevin Smith, the last starter, is not a great scorer (despite what I say below) but actually leads the team in assists despite playing a forward position.  He can really dish the rock, either to a cutting Anderson or out to one of their jump shooters.  Last year against the Hokies he did have 13 points, which is more than he’s had in any game this year.  Perhaps the Hokies took him too lightly in terms of his scoring ability.

richmond just has bodies on the bench, no one to really be concerned about.  Their starting guards will play almost the whole game.

BORING FACTS ABOUT richmond

• Enrollment: ~2700 undergrad (one of the smallest in D1)
• Type: Private and uppity
• Founded by Baptists in 1830
• Conference: A-10
• 33rd among national liberal arts colleges according to the US News and World Report
• Their FCS championship in December was their first ever team national title
• Famous alums: Bruce Hornsby (singer), Leland Martin (astronaut), Tim Hightower (RB for AZ Cardinals), Sean Casey (baseball)… in other words, not much.

richmond does not rebound very well on the defense end and they are not a physical team.  The Hokies can get second chance points if they hit the glass hard and can actually finish their opportunities (flush it!).  But a guard needs to make sure he gets back to slow down Anderson in transition.

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