Box Score

It was another close one in the ACC tonight as the Hokies pulled out a 76-71 win over the yellow jackets. Malcolm Delaney once again led the way with 23 points, followed by A.D. Vassallo with 18, Jeff Allen with 15, and Cheick Diakite with a season-high 10 points.

Not to fuel Niemo’s ego, but he was dead on with his preview. Once again, the Hokies struggled mightily defending the low post as the other tech’s big men Gani Lawal and Alade Aminu combined for 36 points, which included a handful of uncontested dunks. The Hokies did a little better in the second half defending the paint after switching to a 2-3 zone, but it was pretty tough to watch in the first half.

On the other hand, the Hokies did a great job in forcing the jackets into some bad mid-range and perimeter shots in the first half. The jackets shot just 39% from the field, and a big fat goose egg from three range (0/6) in the first half. Tech scored 76 points despite their third-worst shooting outing of the season, just 37% for the game.

The Hokies never trailed in this game, though the jackets did keep it close. Tech took an early 17-10 lead, but ga tech kept pace throughout the first half until the final three minutes. The Hokies were clinging to slim one-point lead, 30-29, after a monster dunk by ga tech’s Aminu. But following a timeout, the Hokies closed the first half with an 11-2 run, capped by a buzzer-beating layup by Delaney that sent the Hokie faithful into a frenzy. Tech led 41-31 at the half.

The second half saw the Hokies pull ahead by 13 points before they pulled their trademark second-half scoreless drought, allowing the jackets to close the game to just 3 points with a 10-0 run. Tech led 50-37 before going without a point for 4 minutes, 33 seconds.

Diakite broke the scoreless stretch with an emphatic dunk that sparked the Hokies to another run to push their lead back to a dozen. The jackets got within three twice in the final 1:30, but Tech managed to hold them off thanks to Delaney and Hank Thorns, who went 6/6 from the free throw line.

Things did get a little too interesting in the final minute of the game when the Hokies had a difficult time inbounding the ball. At one point, Tech had to call back-to-back timeouts, and on a third attempt to inbound, got called for a five second violation.

Next up for the Hokies is a road trip to College Park on Saturday, Feb. 14, to take on the maryland terrapins (15-8, 5-6). The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff and will be broadcast on Raycom Sports.

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Spread: VT by 8

Tangent: Completely unrelated to the georgia tech game, but awfully amusing… At the end of the uva @ fsu game on Tuesday night, once fsu had the game in control and had locked up uva’s eighth straight ACC loss, a fsu fan started chanting, “Hokie rejects” over and over again at the downtrodden hoos!  Hilarious!

THE SETUP

Note: If I say “Tech”, I mean Virginia Tech.  Duh!

In their previous game, the Hokies played the team they’ve had the least success against since joining the ACC — nc state.  In this contest, Tech takes on one of the teams they’ve had the most success against — georgia tech. 

The yellow jackets come into this game with the worst record in the ACC. But they really aren’t that bad.  Their lone win?  Against wake forest.  And of their eight ACC losses, six have been by seven points or less, and four have come by four points or less.  So they are competitive in games but just can’t finish the deal… except against wake.  Who does that remind you of?  Oh yeah, nc state, and we saw what happened Sunday.  Hopefully the Hokies won’t test their comeback skills again on Wednesday.

This game will be featured on the Country Club of networks — ESPNU!  Now carried in 14 households nationwide!  Over Christmas, I noticed ESPNU was carrying the MEAC women’s bowling tournament.  I’m not kidding, people!  I’d rather watch Wick shave his… well, you get the idea.  This season, VT won their only other “U” game, the victory at wake.

Niemo’s News & Notes 6-Pack:

• VT clinched a winning home record for the season with their win Sunday.  The Hokies stand at 8-2 in the Cassell this season with four home games to go.  Tech’s only losing season at home in the 48 years of the Cassell was in 2000-01 under ricky stokes.
• The Hokies are back to .500 all-time in ACC regular season games at 36-36.
• The orange and maroon are #1 in the ACC in FG % in ACC conference games at 46.1%.
• VT is undefeated against georgia tech in Blacksburg in four previous meetings.
• The Hokies are third in the ACC in scoring offense in conference play at 75.8 ppg (can you believe that?!  Technically, VT would slide to fifth if you took out overtime points… but still, pretty shocking.)
• VT’s first ever ACC road win came at georgia tech.

Bonus Six Pack Stat Pack (Let’s get drunk!):

• VT has three of the top 10 shooters, percentage-wise, in ACC conference games.  Allen is #7 at 49.5%, and Vassallo and Delaney are in ninth at 48.7%.  It is amazing that two guards are in the top ten, especially considering how many shots they have to take.
• Hank Thorns is #1 (BY FAR) in ACC play in terms of assist-to-turnover ratio.  His ratio is 8.7 assists for every turnover.  Next closest is Ty Lawson at 2.9 and no one else is over 2.0.
• A.D. Vassallo leads the ACC in minutes per game (all games) at 36.4 (Delaney is 2nd).
• Malcolm Delaney leads the league in minutes per game in ACC conference games (38.0 mpg).
• Jeff Allen is third in the conference in rebounds per game (all games) at 8.8.
• Delaney is fourth in the league in scoring in ACC games at 22.3.  Hansbrough is just fifth.  Tech has three of the top 11 scorers in ACC only games (Vassallo is ninth and Allen 11th).  Only one other team has more than one scorer in the Top 11 — unc with two.  gt has no one in the top 18.

THE SERIES

The Hokies have gone 4-2 against the ramblin’ wreck since joining the conference and are 4-1 in regular season action.  In fact, Virginia Tech is 7-1 all-time against the jackets in games played on VT’s or georgia tech’s home court, with the lone loss last year in Atlanta.  VT has never lost to gt in the Cassell.

• All-Time: VT 8-3
• At the Cassell: 3-0
• In the ACC: 4-2
• Last Year: The two teams split, each winning on their home floor.  The game in Atlanta included the infamous Jeff Allen bump of a referee.
• Last Meeting: VT 92, gt 84 (Recap)
• Of Note: georgia tech is the only ACC team Virginia Tech has a winning record against all time.

LINEUPS

Virginia Tech

georgia tech

If georgia tech goes big, they may start Aminu over Miller.  With VT’s trouble guarding low-post players this year and issues on the defensive glass, that may be an option.

Of late, georgia tech has really only been playing seven guys significantly.  Sheehan and Foreman will just get token minutes, with the other seven guys listed above playing 20+ minutes.

THE OPPONENT AND KEYS TO THE GAME

• ACC Tournament Titles: 3
• Last Title: 1993

gt’s Strengths:

• In conference games, gt is #1 in the ACC in FG % Defense.  That is due to their ability to block shots, namely Lawal and Aminu.  Delaney and Vassallo both have a deadly runner, which could neutralize this.  But Allen needs to go hard at the hoop and draw fouls, or use his up-and-under move along the baseline to protect his shot.
• The jackets are #2 in the ACC in Rebounding Margin in conference play.  Again, this is due to their bigs.  The Hokies have to improve their defensive rebounding.  In the nc state game, they were often too close to the hoop or did not check someone once a shot went up.  This must improve in this game.  Limit gt’s second chances and they are in trouble.

gt’s Weaknesses:

• georgia tech is dead last in ACC play in Scoring Offense.  Lawal is their best offensive threat, but their guards struggle to get him the ball.  This limits his effectiveness.  Both their point guards, Miller and Shumpert, are young and are very poor shooters.  They cannot take over a game and defenses can back off them on the perimeter.
• The jackets are dead last in turnover margin and assist-to-turnover margin in ACC play.  Their two point guards are turnover machines, averaging 7 TOPG.  By comparison, Delaney and Thorns average just 4 TOPG.  gt is going to give you extra possessions.  Generally, that’s a recipe for disaster against Virginia Tech.
• gt struggles to hit the three.  The jackets are shooting just under 30% on three’s on the season, though they have improved in conference play.  Lewis Clinch is their best shooter, but he’s hitting just 27% from deep after serving an academic suspension for the first semester.  And guard Mo Miller is hitting just 16% from deep.  Lance Storrs has been their best shooter this year, leading the team in 3-point percentage at 41%.  Also, the jacket big men will not wander out on the perimeter, unlike many of VT’s recent opponents.  Peacock is the only gt big man to hit a three, and he’s made just five.

#1 Key to the Game: Virginia Tech has to do a good job on the glass.  Lawal leads the ACC in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game.  He shoots for a very high percentage as a result.  If VT can limit gt’s second chances (and not let Lawal catch the ball near the hoop), the Hokies should win.

Looking back at the match-ups last season, 62 of georgia tech’s 81 points in their win in Atlanta are gone.  And 41 of their 84 points from their loss are gone.  But one thing has to concern the Hokies from the two match-ups last year: in each game, a guard or two killed the Hokies.  In the first match-up, it was Carrot Top look-alike Matt Causey burning the Hokies for 30.  In the second game, freshman Maurice Miller poured in a career-high 29.  Miller is back.  Last year, Tech really focused on the jacket big men, and got burned by the guards.

That said, VT’s biggest weakness this year has been low-post defense, and georgia tech has some talented bigs.  The Hokies will once again have to pack it in on defense and dare the jacket guards to beat them from deep.  As was pointed out above, georgia tech has not been much of a threat from behind the arc.

On defense, the jackets don’t create a lot of turnovers and always give up their share of easy buckets either due to their own turnovers that lead to break-outs, or because they are a tad lazy on defense.  If the Hokies penetrate, they either need to shoot a runner as I said earlier, or drive the lane.  The jacket bigs will bite looking for the block, allowing the penetrator to dish for an easy dunk.  Vassallo and Delaney should be able to get their shots off, the jackets are not particularly talented at guarding on the perimeter.

Hopefully the Hokies learned a lesson on Sunday.  They have to come out ready to play in this one.  Any team can beat VT on any night.  But the Hokies have a lot more to play for at this point, and need to compete like that.  We will see if they respond.  Jump on the jackets early, and they could lose their sting.

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