The Hokies capture their first Bear Fight of the season with a 70-49 win over mississippi valley state (thanks for your support, Jon King!).  Tech moves to 8-1 on the season with this win in the Las Vegas Classic opener, and here are the moving pictures to prove it…

Virginia Tech center Cadarian Raines elevates to block a shot by mvsu during the Hokies’ 70-49 win at the Cassell. Photo by Rachel Franks.

Here is the updated plus/minus numbers for the year, including for the last two games — the loss at wvu and the win over mvsu.

After the wvu game we put a lot of blame on the VT post players, but if you look at the data above, you can see it was Marquis Rankin that truly hurt the Hokies.  The -14 he posted makes it look like the mountaineers had a power play when he was in (he played 25 minutes).  7 of wvu’s 10 3-pointers came with Rankin in the game, and Rankin is supposed to be Tech’s best defensive guard.  To be blunt, Marquis has not taken a step forward in his sophomore season.  Is it because he missed time due to the two deaths in his family at the beginning of the season?  Is it because that is still weighing on his mind and he has a heavy heart like Coleman Collins did the season his dad passed away?  I’m not sure, I just hope it is nothing and Marquis gets it figured out.  He did look better on Monday with 10 points on 3/4 on FGs and 3/3 from the line, albeit against inferior competition.

The data also shows you how important Eddie is to this team.  With him playing just 20 minutes against wvu, the Hokies struggled with him out on the glass.  Eddie has proven to be one of Tech’s best rebounders, and when he went out there were issues.

In terms of positives, look at the numbers van Zegeren put up in the last two games!  He really seems to be blossoming, and even his butterfingery hands are improving.  Beyer also had a nice effort in some meaningful minutes Monday filling in for the foul prone Raines.

Updated: 12.11.2012 at 9 a.m.

Four words: Jon King BEAR FIGHT!!

The Hokies got of to a terribly slow and discombobulated start in a game they probably should have won by 30-40 points.

But, the Hokies pulled it out in the second half behind the senior leadership of Erick Green. Tech improved to 8-1 on the season with a 70-49 win over the winless devils.

Green led all scorers with 23 points, which gives him nine straight games this season with at least 20 points, tying Bimbo Coles’ record. Sophomore Marquis Rankin added a career-high 10 points.

The story of the first half was rebounding. VT was inexplicably out rebounded 24-17. Still, Tech led at the break, 30-24.

The second half was all Hokies as they led by double figures for most of the half. Walk-ons Christian Beyer, Marcus Patrick and Will Johnston got a ton of playing time.

It’s clear that Coach James Johnson is not afraid to sit his starters if they need a rest or aren’t playing well. And he demonstrated considerable confidence in his walk-ons; much moreso than his predecessor.

Beyer was actually effective on the boards, pulling down a career-high five rebounds and added a pair of free throws in the waning moments of the game.

Outside of the Winchester Rifleman, though, no one else is playing consistent basketball. Cadarian Raines once again found himself in foul trouble in the first half and ended up with more fouls (5) than points (0) or rebounds (4).

Raines’ troubles did have a plus side, though. It meant more time for Joey vanZegeren, who played pretty well and seems to be gaining confidence.

This wasn’t a solid outing for the Hokies on the whole, but they took care if business and won by 21 points. And the walkons got some playing time and didn’t hurt the team. JJ has confidence in those guys and getting them playing time in real games will help during practices.

Next up, a directional school from one of the former Confederate states.