OK, that stunk.  You know what, though?  We were due for that one.  That was our wake at nc state.  Every team in the ACC has one this year.  That’s the first time all season we haven’t even been competitive in an ACC game… other than maybe the miami game (at least we made a run in that game).

• 11:56 – that is the latest Jeff Allen has made it in the first half before picking up his second foul in the last four games.  Without him on the floor this is a different team.
• Bad Loss – this is the first team VT has lost to all season with a RPI over 100 (they were 105).
• As much crap as we gave Hudson earlier in the season, we now have to start giving Delaney – he is 74/205 in ACC games (36%).  On threes he is 19/80 (24%).  That’s not cutting it.
• The Hokies still took terrible shots in transition tonight.  I’m sorry, but if you have a 3-on-2, PASS THE BALL.  An 18-foot pull up jumper is not a good shot.
• Tech couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat tonight.  You have those games.  Problem is bc shot 51%.  They shot over 50% in both games against VT, which is amazing because Tech had held 4 of the last 5 opponents under 33%!
• Trapani killed the Hokies.  He had 6 points total in the first meeting and had 14 tonight before the second media timeout.
• The Hokies lost every 50/50 ball tonight.  And I mean every.
• VT was just 2/ 15 on threes including 0/6 in the first half.
• The VT full court press really rattled the eagles but again, they could only use it after timeouts or made free throws due to how much the Hokie starters play.
• Tech was awful on the defensive glass again tonight.  bc got 13 of their 30 misses tonight (43%).  nc state grabbed just under 50%, duke grabbed exactly 50%, and bc was right there, too (43%).  Tech’s defensive rebounding has fallen off the map.  This is a real concern.  If you can’t secure misses, you can’t secure stops.  bc won in 2nd chance points 16-6.  By contrast, VT got just 23% of their misses (and they had a lot more misses).
• Rakim Sanders, who had 17 offensive rebounds all season coming into tonight, had 4 tonight.
• VT won the turnover battle 18-10 but it doesn’t matter when they shoot 51% AND get most of the offensive rebounds.
• bc had 19 assists to just 5 for VT.  That speaks to how bad VT is at sharing the ball, especially on the break.  Again, pull-up jumpers are not a good shot.

I didn’t mean to be overly negative but there is honestly nothing positive you could say about tonight.  Tech laid an egg.  But a win Saturday erases all of this.  Point is, 10-6 gets VT in the tournament, especially considering that would mean a win over maryland or georgia tech.  So let’s take a deep breath and get ready for the terps.

Box Score

The Virginia Tech Hokies dropped their second straight game, 60-80, on the road to a bad boston college team. Tech played flat and looked defeated from the opening tip. They were never in the game as the eagles bolted out to a quick 7-0 lead and never trailed, leading by double-digits for much of the game.

Jeff Allen was once again in foul trouble, picking up his second less than seven minutes into the game and fouled out with about seven minutes to go in the game. Bottom line, the Hokies couldn’t hit a shot and bc couldn’t miss, especially early on.

Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson provided virtually all of the scoring with Delaney getting 21 and Hudson adding 14. Ten of Delaney’s 21 were free throws, where he was a perfect 10-10. Allen was the only other Hokie in double-digit scoring with 10 points.

Tech shot just 31 percent from the field and a paltry 13 percent (2/15) from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the iggles shot better than 50 percent from the field and 44 percent (7/16) from three. Joe Trapani lead bc with 17 points, virtually all of which came in the first half.

This loss is a bad one. In fact, it’s easily their worst loss of the season. And you have to wonder if Sunday’s loss to duke stuck with the team. bc was 4-8 in ACC play and a very weak 13-13 overall.

Now the Hokies have to return home to face a good and dangerous maryland team that could easily hand Tech a third straight loss. With the loss to bc, the Hokie need to win two of their last three games to be in a comfortable position for an NCAA bid.

THE SETUP:

This game worries me… a lot.  Many Hokie fans I’ve spoken with just assume Tech is going to beat bc and nc state, then hope we win one of the games against maryland and georgia tech.  But that logic is flawed for a couple of reasons:

• It is very tough to win on the road in the ACC, with the home teams taking about 70% of the games.
• The eagles had VT beat in the meeting in Blacksburg, back when VT was just 1-1 in conference.  The Hokies were the beneficiaries of a very controversial jump-ball call with 21 seconds to go (Jeff Allen was touching the basketball and clearly standing out of bounds and the bc player was clearly trying to call a timeout even before that).

So don’t just chalk this one up as a ‘W’ and start preparing for the trash that is maryland.  This game is a ’50/50′ game as one of the Hard Times patrons put it the other night.

That said, if the Hokies can build off that hunger of losing to duke and play with passion and intensity like they have since the game in miami, you have to like the Hokies’ chances.  Actually, I’d like to see VT come out and just shave the eagles bald, just like they did at nc state two weeks ago (not sure what that meant but it sounded good).

And there are some good omens going into the game Wednesday:

• VT is 8-1 in ACC games not on Sunday and 5-0 on weekdays.  Their only ‘weekday’ loss all season was the game against temple, which was after Friday happy hours had started so I’d call that a weekend game.
• Tech has won 5 of the last 6 against the eagles.
• The Hokies are the better team (thanks, Captain Obvious).

THE FIRST MEETING – VT 63, bc 62

Recap | Game Film | Photo Gallery | Boxscore | The Opposing View

(I rewatched the game) The game in Blacksburg back in mid-January was a classic 2009-10 Hokie slugfest – low scoring and at times, low excitement.  Tech jumped out to a 14-point lead largely due to its ability to create live ball turnovers into fast break points.  By my count, VT had 10 fast break points out of their first 21 points and three of them were on breakaway dunks.  This allowed Tech to build up a 38-24 lead thanks to a 15-3 run late in the first half.  Then Delaney picked up his second foul and had to sit the remaining 3 minutes.  bc shaved the lead down to 9 at the half.

The second half wasn’t any better offensively once Delaney was back in.  The Hokies scored just 4 points between the 3:30 mark of the first half and the 10:30 mark of the second half.  Just 4 points in 13 minutes of play!  By then the lead was gone and it was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way.  Neither team led by more than 4 in the final 10 minutes.  Tech, down 3 with 30 seconds to go, got 2 free throws from Delaney and then the questionable jump-ball call on the baseline.  After draining clock, Victor Davila fumbled the ball away inside (stop me if you’ve seen that before) but Zo Hudson was right there on the right side of the basket to grab the ball and lay it in.

The clock showed 9.2 seconds after the Hudson make but the refs determined the clock had stopped during the possession.  bc was given 5 seconds to try and win the game.  Reggie Jackson dribbled up the court but ran into his own man and Delaney and the ball rolled away to Jeff Allen as the clock ran out.

The game was also very physical with 40 fouls called, 24 on bc.  Coach Greenberg called them the most physical team in the league, which I find hard to believe after the VT/clemson game.

Offense:

VT really had no offense except for fast break points.  Like I said above, half their points early on were off bc turnovers leading to easy buckets.  At the half, bc had over 10 turnovers to just 3 for VT.  The Hokies were not knocking down open looks.  They shot just 39% for the game (32% in the second half).  Davila and Allen missed a couple of really easy shots near the rim (actually, the whole team did).  Tech had way too many misses close in, and were just 2/14 on three-pointers after Delaney hit his first 2 from deep.

In this game Tech needs to be aggressive again and get out in transition.  That is when this offense is at its best.  Hopefully Allen and Davila will do a better job finishing near the rim (if Allen can stay on the floor).  VT didn’t do a great job getting to the line in the last meeting so really attacking the tin will be key (JT Thompson, Hudson, and Delaney).

In the second half VT started taking bad shots and turning the ball over.  All in all, they had a 4 minute scoring drought in the second half, and 13 minutes with just 4 points in the second.  Not good.

When Tech gets out in transition, they MUST take better shots.  All season they have settled for jumpshots on the break when they have numbers.  It almost never goes in.  And when they do drive and dish, they often pass too late where it is an achievement just to get to pull the ball back out.  The Hokies have 1) go at the goal on the run, and 2) either pass it about 10-12 feet from the hoop (not 5 or less), or go up strong and draw a foul.

Defense:

bc shot 53% in the first half yet trailed by 9.  The reason was all those turnovers the Hokies were forcing.  bc was actually getting a lot of good looks from 15-18 feet.  The eagles run a flex offense with 3 or 4 men on the baseline and the Hokies were getting lost in all the screening and movement and not flashing out to pick up open eagles as they went out to the perimeter.  Tech must do a better job of either getting through screens or helping out if you see your man is stuck down in the quagmire on the baseline.  bc was getting nothing in the paint.

The second half wasn’t any better as the eagles shot 57% then.  For the game they hit 55% of their shots.  But they ended up with 20 turnovers and that is what ultimately did them in.  Plus, they grabbed just 4 offensive rebounds as Tech did a great job on the glass when they missed.

The scary thing is they shot 55% and Joe Trapani, their best shooter, was just 2/5 from the field (his lowest number of shot attempts all season).  He only had 6 points for the game.  Tech did a great job not giving him good looks.

The Hokies used a tiny bit of zone in the first meeting and I think that could work since bc is not a good three-point shooting team.  They are 10th in the league in 3-point FG% and 9th in makes.

Starters:

• F – Joe Trapani – Their best pure shooter and scorer.  Despite being 6’8″, he is not very good with his back to the basket.  Good perimeter shooter (32% on threes) and this year has done a good job of pump faking and then driving.  Likes to face up, not play with his back to the basket.
• PG – Reggie Jackson – He’s the only guy that can break you down with his handle for the eagles.  He is a good finisher around the hoop, very athletic.  He is second on the team in scoring and assists, and is third in rebounds despite being a point guard.  Not a good 3-point shooter but shoots about 3.5 per game (30% makes).  Used to come off the bench but now starts again and plays 30 minutes.
• F – Corey Raji – Another guy that does his damage closer in.  Hasn’t made a three all year.  Is just 6’6″ but can get offensive rebounds.  Guard him from 15-feet in and get a body on him on shots.
• G/F – Rakim Sanders – Despite his size (6’5″ and 230) at the 2-guard spot, he isn’t a good rebounder.  Another average 3-point shooter (30%).  Decent mid-range shooter and he is decent off the drive, just not as good as Jackson as his ballhandling isn’t that great.  Shoots under 40% from the floor and will take bad shots.
• C – Josh Southern – Just a goon to eat up space inside, not a scorer.  Hasn’t reached 20 minutes in any of the last 8 games.

Bench – Tyler Roche is the X-factor in this game.  He scores just over 7 ppg but has surpassed 30 twice this year, including 31 against wake.  He loves to shoot from the outside.  I said they stink at 3s, and other than him, they do.  He hits 44% of his 70 threes, but even that breaks down to just 1.3 makes per game.  But if he’s hot, look out.  Hope he misses his first shot or two, then he may just disappear (Tyler had just 1 shot and 0 points the game after he went for 31 against wake).

Biko Paris, who was starting at the point, will spell Jackson and other at guard.  He is a very good assist man.  Expect him to dish if he gets into the paint on the drive.

Dallas Elmore had a decent game off the bench in the first meeting but doesn’t play a lot normally – most of his time was due to others’ foul troubles.

Check out the Opposing View article with Brian from BC Interruption (linked above) for more on bc.  That was from before the first meeting.

STARTERS:

bc STATS:

VT STATS:

BORING FACTS ABOUT boston college:

• Established in 1863
• Type: Private – Jesuit
• Undergrad: 9k
• Postgrad: 4.5k
• Location: Chestnut Hill (just west of downtown Boston)
• Mascot: Baldwin the eagle (get it?  Bald eagle… win games… Baldwin)
• bc participates in the Beanpot Tournament – a hocket tourney of bc, bu, northeastern, and harvard at the Boston Bruins (and Celtics) arena.
• Their football stadium seats just 44.5k (and they still don’t sell it out for big games and basketball arena seats 8.6k

Famous Alums:

• Ed McMahon (Yes!)
• Chris O’Donnell
• Leonard Nimoy (no relation)
• Amy Poehler
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck
• Tip O’Neill
• John Kerry
• Mike Lupica
• John McLaughlin
• Bob Ryan
• Lesley Visser
• Jared Dudley
• Bruce Pearl
• and of course, Doug Flutie - Flutie Hail Mary against miami