Usually the Hokie Celebration is the biggest TechHoops.com event of the year. I call it “Sweeps Week” since it has meant so much to us. It was at the 22nd Hokie Celebration where I first arm curled a Virginia Tech basketball player. 16 Hokies later (including 9 on the current squad), we had a tradition. But with the water main break on Saturday thanks to a beer truck driver (yes, a beer truck driver caused the issue), the postgame event with the players was cancelled and thousands (well, maybe dozens) of our loyal readers will have to survive without arm curls this year. In a striking bit of arm curl irony, Greivis Vasquez, whom I arm curled back in 2007, scored 41 points in the game. Dagger.

Paul Debnam said a month ago I wasn’t going to arm curl him, and dang it if he wasn’t right despite my confidence. I wonder if he had something to do with that water main break? Hmm.

The highlight of the night ended up being me drinking a 12 oz bottle of salad dressing. Yep, I miss the arm curls, too. Check out the photos from the event and the game anyway… please!

FYI: here is a link to our arm curl page o’ fame: ARM CURLS AHOY!

Recap | Box Score

Highlights | Box Score

The Virginia Tech Hokies dropped their third straight game, 100-104 to maryland in double overtime. It was the highest scoring ACC game in more than seven years. With the loss, Tech’s hopes of an NCAA tournament bid fade little bit. Greivis Vasquez scored a career- and season-high 41 points (33 in the second half) to lead the terps, who improved to 11-3 in the ACC and 21-7 overall. maryland also locks up second place in the ACC. The Hokies fall to 8-6, 21-7.

The loss is the Hokies’ first at home this season. Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen both missed a pair of free throws late in double overtime that cost them the game. But the biggest surprise came in the final seconds of overtime and the Hokies trailing 100-102. Tech had a chance to tie the game and send it to a third overtime, but Delaney dished the ball to freshman Erick Green in the corner. Green missed the three-pointer and maryland got the rebound to secure the win.

Delaney led the Hokies with 27 points and was 8 of 10 from the free throw line, but his two misses came late in double overtime that would have tied the game at 97 with :39 to play. Instead, maryland took a three-point lead and the Hokies weren’t able to come back to tie it.

Jeff Allen played his best game in nearly two months, scoring 25 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. It was his first double-double since he dropped 14/10 in an 81-66 win over miami. But his missed free throws were killer.

Trailing 80-77 in the second half, the terps had the ball, but Terrell Bell intercepted the inbound pass and Tech called a timeout. JT Thompson, who was 1 of 4 from three-point range this season, hit the game-tying trey with 15.1 seconds left.

Eric Hayes answered with a long two-pointer from the left wing with 5.2 seconds left. Delaney took the inbound pass and drove the length of the court for a layup to tie the game at 82 with .9 seconds left. The terps missed a hail Mary at the buzzer and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, the Hokies committed two early turnovers and the terps took an 84-82 lead. The Hokies answered to tie the game at 84, but Vasquez buried a three to take an 87-84 lead. Thompson hit a pair of free throws to pull Tech within one and Terrell Bell nailed a triple to put Tech on top 89-87. maryland’s Eric Hayes answered with a pair of free throws to tie the game and send it to double overtime.

Five Hokies scored in double figures: Delaney – 27, Allen – 25, Hudson – 21, Thompson – 15, and Bell – 10. Thompson and Bell added nine rebounds each as Tech won the rebounding battle 52-43. It was the first time four Hokies scored 20 or more points in a game since the Delaney, Allen, Thompson and A.D. Vassallo did it in a 116-108 double overtime win over Duquesne in last year’s NIT tournament.

Note: The game was originally schedule for a 4 p.m. tip-off, but was delayed until 7 p.m. due to three water main breaks near the Cassell Coliseum. There were no functioning bathrooms in the Cassell, so fans were permitted to use the facilities at Dietrick and the new basketball practice facility.

THE SETUP:

It’s a White Out, people!  And for once I’m not talking about the snow.  All Hokie fans are encouraged to wear white on Saturday as the Hokies play host to the second place maryland terrapins at Cassell Coliseum.  Tech has lost consecutive games for the first time all season but have to have confidence playing at home where they are 14-0 on the season.  They have started 15-0 at home just once before, with that coming back in 1982-83.

The Hokies need this game.  They don’t desperately need it, they just need it.  Two more wins in the final three regular season games and VT is in the NCAA Tournament, and likely secure Tech a First Round bye in the ACC Tournament.  A win over maryland would look great on Tech’s resume (as would a win at georgia tech).  And with Senior Night looming next Wednesday against last place nc state, a win would all but assure VT of getting those 10 ACC wins.

THE OPPONENT:

ACC Super Punk Greasy Face-quez (a.k.a. Greivis Vasquez) leads a veteran terp team into the Cassell (yes, that’s him getting arm-curled by yours truly).  The terps biggest weakness is their lack of bigs in the low post, so they are a good matchup for the Hokies who also are thin inside.  The terps start three guards and play Landon Milbourne at the 4-spot.  Much like when Tech used to play Deron Washington at the power forward spot, Milbourne is undersized at 6’7″ and just 205 pounds.  But like Deron, he is very athletic (not Deron-athletic but still very good) and uses his hops to grab rebounds and block shots.

maryland’s only true big man that starts is a freshman, 6’10″ and 260 pound Jordan Williams.  Despite his youth, he has been the real key to the terrapins.  Had he not been ACC ready and played well this year, who knows where maryland would be because they simply don’t have any other real quality post players.  Williams is averaging 9 ppg, but more importantly, 8 rebounds.  Dino Gregory is a decent shot-blocker off the bench, but has very limited offensive abilities and isn’t a great rebounder.

While this team doesn’t have many quality big’uns, they do have good size all around.  They only play one guy that is under 6’4″.  That is 6’2″ reserve Adrian Bowie.  Luckily VT has big guards, too, so the terps can’t just shoot over Tech.

The strength of this terrapin team though is their backcourt.  I’d rank their perimeter players as the second best unit in the ACC behind duke, even ahead of Virginia Tech’s.

The leader of this unit is mercurial senior Vasquez who recently passed the 2,000 point mark for his career.  Vasquez was picked as an ACC Preseason First Teamer (and would make my all-ugly team).  He is second in the ACC in scoring at 18.7 ppg, #1 in assists at 6.4 per game, seventh in 3s made, and 10th in steals.  Pretty amazing for a guy that was getting booed at home midway through last season and insulted his own fans, saying fans at schools like “duke, unc, and Virginia Tech” didn’t do things like that.  Well, he’ll get to see those fans up-close and personal on Saturday.

Vasquez has a hair-trigger and still has not found a shot he didn’t like.  He hits 38% of his threes and can get his shot off extremely quickly.  If you go out on him tight, Greivis can beat you off the dribble and has a great mid-range shot, can hit runners, can finish layups, or is a great passer and can dish to the athletic Milbourne or the bruising Williams.  Or he can kick it out for a three to…

At shooting guard the twerps feature another senior, Woodbridge, VA’s Eric Hayes.  Hayes, like Vasquez, has been a four year contributor so this isn’t his first rodeo.  They know how to play and how to play together.  Hayes is a three-point specialist and when he drives he is usually looking to dish.  More than half his made field goals are threes and he doesn’t get to the line much.  But Hayes is deadly on threes, hitting 46% of them (#1 in the league).  He had been in a minor slump but has hit 6 of 9 from deep in the last two games, but both of those were at home.  Eric is just 6 of 21 (29%) from behind the arc in ACC road games, so let’s hope he doesn’t find the Cassell shooting backgrounds to his liking.

The final starter is 6’4″ Sean Mosley.  Mosley is the terps best defender at guard.  Hayes is weak defensively and Vasquez is a gambler.  Mosley isn’t the scorer the other two are but he erupted for 20 against clemson on Wednesday, by far his highest output in ACC play.  Mosley doesn’t shoot many threes but does hit 43% of them (just 12 makes).  He gets to the line more than Hayes since he is a slasher.  Mosley also has 53 offensive rebounds on the season, a great number for a guard.  Considering VT’s troubles with rebounding lately, this could be a key.

maryland has a very deep bench, one of the deepest in the ACC.  Since they aren’t big, they find ways to rattle you.  They play a full court press a lot.  Not to aggressively trap like clemson does, but more to make you rush and take bad shots, they turn that into offense on their end.  Because they press, they use their stable of bodies.  The terps have nine guys that average 10 minutes or more per game.  That allows them to press and still keep guys fresh.  Vasquez is the only terp that averages more than 30 minutes per game and he’s at just 33.  In contrast, Delaney and Hudson average over 36 minutes.

The terps also have a lot of offensive weapons.  They lead the ACC in Scoring Offense in ACC games at 76.2 ppg, 3 points ahead of duke.  They are still fifth in Scoring Defense at 68.2 ppg.  They are #1 in FG% Offense and Defense in conference games.  That’s how they are 10-3, with that combination.  They can also kill you from distance – hitting 43% of their ACC three-pointers.  Next closest is georgia tech at 38%.  maryland has four players averaging in double digits (Vasquez, Milbourne, Hayes, and Mosley) and Williams averages 9 ppg.  They don’t get a ton of points off their bench, just around 15 per game, but those are talented.  Cliff Tucker hit the three at the buzzer that beat georgia tech last weekend.

I also mentioned they are veterans.  They start three seniors (Milbourne, Hayes, and Vasquez) and have three juniors that supply a lot off their bench.  So they won’t be rattled by much of anything.  They’ll be ready to play and know what they are doing.  duke and maryland are two of the most experienced ACC teams, and by no surprise, they sit #1 and 2 in the conference.

SIX PACK OF KEYS TO WINNING:

• Make Vasquez One-Dimensional: maryland is at their best when Greivis is getting everyone else involved by either feeding them easy buckets on the break, or breaking down teams and dishing to open teammates near the hoop.  Greivis averages over 7 assists per game in their 20 wins, but under 5 in their 7 losses.  The only two times he’s been held under 5 assists in an ACC game were both in losing efforts.
• Get a Dang Rebound! Over Tech’s last six games they have grabbed just 57% of their opponents’ misses.  That would rank dead last in all of the 347 Division I NCAA teams if that was Tech’s average for the whole season.  Tech has fallen from #1 in the ACC in Defensive Rebounding Percentage to ninth over these six games.  Part of the problem is Jeff Allen’s drop in production.  He averages just 5.2 rebounds per ACC game, only tied for second on the team with JT Thompson and behind Terrell Bell.
• Save Jeff: I mentioned in my notes the other day that in Tech’s last four games, Allen hadn’t made it more than 8 minutes and 4 seconds into the game before committing his second foul.  As a result, he’s had a lot of pine time waiting for the second half.  Earlier in the year Greenberg had Jeff coming off the bench to protect him early.  At a minimum, Jeff should go out when he get his first foul.  And he needs to be smarter, knowing he has a target on his back with officials.  While refs won’t give Malcolm the foul calls on offense they used to, they sure as heck will ring up Jeff for illegal screens or reaching calls.  Be aggressive, since he’s steals lead to VT fast breaks, but pick and choose your spots to be aggressive.  And don’t give up fouls 60 feet from the hoop.
• The Subs: The Hokies will have to get some production from their bench.  Since maryland will press, the Hokies will get tired and need to dip into their subs.  maryland is a great three-point shooting team and if you are tired, you tend to not fight through screens as hard or get up the court as quickly.  Next thing you know they are raining down threes on you.  Tech will need to sub in fresh bodies and those guys must give maximum effort on defense to avoid letting maryland have the open looks duke and bc had the last two games.
• The Snub: Malcolm Delaney has a chip on his shoulder because his home state terrapins didn’t aggressively recruit him.  I have a feeling he loves sticking it to the terps.  While his shot has been inaccurate lately, I’d look for big things from him Saturday.  The key is he has to start hitting his mid-range shots.  He cannot seem to hit open 15-footers, or runners in the lane of late.  I wonder if his ankle injury is bothering him on shots, much like he said it has affected his lift on his three-point shots.  But all that needs to get blocked out Saturday and Malcolm needs to play like an All-ACC player.
• Tempo: Tech can’t get sucked into maryland’s up-tempo style too much.  VT will tire out.  But the dilemma is the Hokies struggle to score in the half court.  The Hokies must balance when they push, and when they control things and not let maryland just get out and run all night.  And the Hokies must hit their open jumpers, something they could not do at bc and also struggled with at duke.  Shooting at home helps due to familiarity, and let’s hope VT can knock down some early threes and JT can hit his 15-18 footers.
• Bonus Shot: Believe in the Magic!  The undefeated 7-0 maroon dress jeans will be in the building on Saturday!

STARTERS:

STATS:

Box Score

The maryland terrapins jumped on the Hokies early and never looked back in an 83-73 home win over Virginia Tech. Only two Hokies scored in double figures; A.D. Vassallo led the way with 20 points and Malcolm Delaney added 16. Jeff Allen was held under double digits for just the fifth game this season – he had 8 points.

Tech did get some solid play from its bench, led by junior forward Lewis Witcher who had 8 points. The bench as a whole gave the Hokies 25 points and 12 rebounds. J.T. Thompson and Terrell Bell each added 7 points.

The terps are normally a poor three-point shooting team, but this afternoon they caught fire in the first half shooting 50 percent (4/8). At one point early in the second half, they were 6/10 from behind the arc. Their hot shooting, combined with hitting 24/26 free throws (92 percent), didn’t really give the Hokies much of a shot, especially considering Tech looked flat and was an abysmal 13/21 at the free throw line (61 percent).

It was clear the Hokies lacked focus and intensity and during Seth Greenberg’s post game comments, the coach was openly disappointed and critical of his team’s poor preparation saying that “we reap what we sow” and added that the team had two bad practices leading up to the maryland game. Greenberg also said that the team needs better on-court leadership.

As has been the theme throughout the past couple of seasons, a role player for the opposing team came out looking like a first-team All ACC candidate. This time it was Landon Milbourne, who usually averages about 12 points a game. He had 14 in the first half alone and finished with 23.

The Hokies got it to within three in the second half, but every time they got close, they would either get called for a travel, a foul or maryland would hit a ridiculous shot to steal the momentum. This was a must-win for the terps and their embattled coach, Gary Williams, who has been on the hot-seat most of the season. It would appear that his job is safe … for at least another week.

As for the Hokies, they return home for a couple of days of practice before heading up to Charlottesville on Wednesday to take on the cavaliers – the second worst team in the ACC. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and as of right now, Wick, Niemo, BallaRob, Davey and Cope-acabana will all be in attendance at the game. We will be available for arm curls and autographs and will gladly accept free drinks.

THE SETUP

Spread: maryland by 4

Note: DC area Hokies — the game is on FOX.  Ignore your on-screen guides if they say something else, Fox5 is carrying the game.

Some games mean more than others.  To me, this game means as much as any.  Being a NOVA guy my whole life, I just plain hate maryland (posted two years ago), especially the crab-dribblin’ terps.  I may hate uva, but at least they are Virginians.  Any time we get the chance to stick it to the “crab cakes and football” state, despite the fact maryland is about as big a football powerhouse as Rhode Island, I enjoy it. 

Niemo arm-curling Greivis Vasquez like a little baby (that badly needs some Proactive).  Note that maryland has not beaten VT since this happened in April of 2006.

This is a very big game for both teams.  With a loss, maryland is staring the NIT right in the face again and the rumblings about Gary Williams and “what have you done for me lately” will grow even louder.  The Hokies, meanwhile, have two road games this week before finishing the season with five games against teams currently ranked.  Plain and simple, Tech must win one of these next two road games to have a good shot of making the NCAA Tournament, considering their very difficult stretch to the finish line.  A ‘W’ on Saturday would put VT in great shape heading to hooville and the eight-losses-in-a-row wahoos.

Expect a fairly dead crowd on Saturday in the communist center in college park, because its Valentine’s Day, and because the terps are having a down season.  If VT can get off to a good start and build a lead, the crowd will turn on the home team.

THE SERIES

Half of Virginia Tech’s all-time wins against maryland have come since joining the ACC.  After starting 4-24 against the crab-dribblin’ terps, the Hokies have been on fire!  Add a 3-0 record in football against maryland since joining the ACC, and I think we all know who needs to fear whom.

The last three meetings between VT and the twerps have been defensive battles, with each team scoring in the 60s, and with VT wins in all three games by a total of just eight combined points.

• All-Time: 8-25
• At maryland: 3-15
• In the ACC: 4-2
• Streak: VT 3 in a row and 4 of 5
• Last Year’s Meetings: The Hokies swept both games in dramatic fashion by a total of five points.  The win at maryland really turned VT’s season around.  After starting 5-3 in ACC play, the Hokies had lost three in a row and were behind by double-digits early in this game.  But with a spirited second half, the resulting victory launched Tech on a four-game winning streak that almost got them into the NCAA Tournament.
• @md: VT 69, md 65  |  Game Film
• @VT: VT 67, md 66  |  Game Film

LINEUPS

Virginia Tech

maryland

Hayes, a three-year starter from Woodbridge, VA, had been benched recently in favor of Adrian Bowie.  But Hayes got the nod in maryland’s last game, a one-point win at georgia tech.

THE OPPONENT AND KEYS TO THE GAME

• ACC Tournament Titles: 3
• Last Title: 2004 (only school other than duke or unc to win the ACC since 1996)

maryland’s Strengths:

• We Can’t Shoot, But We Can Pass: (see below about their shooting)  The maryland guards do a good job of distributing the ball and finding open men.  They are second in the ACC in assists, despite being 10th in points per game.  You would expect that with a veteran backcourt — Hayes and Vasquez are junior three-year starters, and Bowie is a sophomore.
• Little Turnover in the Back Court Equals Fewer Turnovers:  Similar to the above point, the maryland guards do a good job of protecting the ball.  They average just 13 turnovers per game, and are third in the ACC in Turnover Margin.

maryland’s Weaknesses:

• Lack of Identity: The terps seem to play at the pace of their opponent.  Against unc and duke, they got into track meets and the results were not good.  maryland lost those two games by a combined 58 points, giving up 193 points total.  In other games, they get sucked into a half court game and struggle to find points. 
• Can We Move the 3-Point Line Back?: maryland is 11th in ACC games in Field Goal Percentage (40%) and last in 3-Point Percentage (27%).  Sharp shooters Eric Hayes and Greivis “Proactiv” Vasquez have lost their stroke, especially GV.  He’s made just 30% on threes this year, and has gotten into arguments with his own fans, at one point talking about how much better VT fans were in terms of supporting their team.  The terps have been held to 60 or fewer points five times this season.  maryland is 10th in the ACC play in scoring as a result, and that includes 91 points in a 108-91 loss at unc.
• Lack of Size: Last year the terps had Bambale Osby (similar body type to Jeff Allen but even more intense) and the long and athletic James Gist inside dominating the glass and blocking shots.  Both those guys are gone, and no one has come in to replace them.   Dave Neal looks like a beer league softball player inside, and he likes to play on the perimeter on offense.  Landon Milbourne is very talented, but lacks bulk.  He plays the four for maryland, but is very undersized there similar to when Deron Washington had to play the four for VT.  With this, maryland is dead last in ACC games in Rebounding Margin at -3.9.  In fact, Vasquez — a guard — is tied for the team lead in rebounds per game.
• Lack of Athletes: Milbourne is a solid athlete and is becoming a Gist-like player, though not as much of a shot blocking force on defense.  Bowie is a good defender, too.  But Vasquez, Hayes, and Neal are average athletes at best.  That exposes a lot of weaknesses on the defensive end.  As a result, maryland allows ACC opponents to shoot 44% from the field (tied with VT for third worst in the ACC) and shoot 40% on threes, by far the worst in the ACC. 

#1 Key to the Game: Attack the maryland guards on offense.  As I mention just above this, Hayes and Vasquez are not good defenders.  Delaney can beat them off the dribble at will.  The terp guards will have to back off him, which will leave Malcolm or A.D. open for three-pointers, and maryland is the worst team in the ACC at defending the three.  The terps have to pack in the defense to help on the glass since they are thin inside.  If Delaney or Vassallo can hit some early threes, maryland will have to come out and defend them.  This will keep maryland from double-teaming Allen inside, and he should be able to beat Neal, or even the skinny Milbourne, inside.  Let’s just hope the threes are falling for Malcolm, who has been struggling from the floor over the last two games.

Expect Delaney to have a big game.  He’s from Baltimore and was not heavily recruited by the terps.  You know there is resentment there, and you know he will have lots of fans on hand.  I predict he will get out of his shooting slump and light it up.  Hopefully he will let the game come to him and not force things.  Since maryland is weak on defense, he needs to drive also, not just settle for the outside shot.

Jeff Allen should also have a big game.  None of the terp low post starters can defend him.  The Hokies need to get him the ball early.  If he gets doubled, the perimeter players need to slide to the open area and have Jeff kick it out for an open three.

On defense, Tech needs to get a hand in the face of Vasquez and Hayes.  Despite their struggles adjusting to the three-point line being a foot back, they can get hot.  If VT plays tight on Vasquez, he will start forcing bad shots.  Neal is a face-up player.  He likes to shoot threes, so the Hokie big-men must guard him on the perimeter, more so than inside.  Milbourne is maryland’s most versatile inside player, and Tech must keep him off the offensive glass.  He also has a good midrange game.

A concern for the Hokies could be the maryland pressure.  The terps like to use a full-court press.  It is similar to clemson’s, which VT shredded, but not as aggressive.  maryland is more worried about slowing you down and using clock to get you out of your offensive set.  Tech must not be content just making it over the timeline.  They have to attack the defense by throwing over the press like the Hokies did against clemson.  Against georgia tech’s press Wednesday, the Hokie guards were catching the ball with their backs to the front court, allowing the jackets to trap them, and they were picking up their dribble just over the timeline, allowing another trap to happen.  Tech needs to get the ball in quickly after made maryland buckets and get up court by pass or dribble.

2007 Capital Classic, originally uploaded by techsports.

At the 2007 Capital Classic