Hoo Knew?

Was anyone else expecting Virginia Tech to roll over for UVA in last night's basketball game? I knew it would be a much harder game to win without Jeff Allen, but I never would have guessed that we would be down 19 points late in the second half to a team that has only won 2 other ACC games this season. The Hokies fell to the Hoos in Charlottesville last night 75-61, and I was there to watch them fall apart. First off, let me start by saying that the John Paul Jones arena was LOUD! I really did not expect that... I figured UVA fans were more inclined to golf clap rather than chant and make noise, but those fans were definitely into the game. Maybe VT/UVA is becoming a rivalry once again? I sure hope so. The UVA fans picked up where every other ACC fan base has left off, chanting "Dr. Pepper" every time Vassallo was at the free throw line*. As for the UVA players, they certainly outperformed the Tech players and they deserved that win. With our leading rebounder and third leading scorer sitting in street clothes on the bench, UVA just shot the ball better than VT hitting 44% of their shots from the field compared to 37% for the good guys. Another telling statistic was the Cavaliers' 3-point shooting, which was 39% compared to just 21% for the Hokies. UVA's stellar freshman, Sylven Landesberg, was all over the Hokies going for a rather easy 19 points and 9 rebounds (including 5 offensive rebounds).

Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson were bad last night. Very bad. 6-22 from the field bad. 1-10 from the 3-point line bad. 6 combined turnovers bad. What is worse is that they were missing wide open shots with no defenders anywhere near them. Hank Thorns was also bad, going 0-3 from the field. He continues to contribute absolutely nothing on offense and remarkably Seth Greenberg kept him in the game for 15 minutes last night when his minutes would have more effectively gone to Terrell Bell, who again played pretty well in his short stint on the floor (only 10 minutes). In fact, when Bell came in for Thorns in the second half is when Tech started to make a run at UVA. Victor Davila played surprisingly well in his 9 minutes on the floor. He didn't make either of his shots and probably should have passed out on both occasions since he was triple-teamed, but he showed a real willingness to fight for rebounds and his hands are just so much better than Cheick Diakite's. Cheick would be an awesome rebounder if he managed to pull down every ball that he was the first to touch, but he allows other players to tip and wrestle the ball away. Lewis Witcher was invisible when he was in the game and remains a total mystery to Tech fans. Against Maryland, he looked absolutely dominant at times, but against UVA I wouldn't even trust him to tie his own shoes. Who are you Lewis Witcher? You may want to seek help for your schizophrenia.

So once again, it is time to ask, "Where does this leave the Hokies?" We are 6-5 in the ACC with 5 games left in ACC play. We need to get to 9 wins to make sure that we get into the NCAA tournament. Going 3-2 over the next five games seems pretty reasonable considering we have 3 home games, but then you also have to consider who we play in those games... Florida State, UNC, and Duke. Did your heart just sink? Well it should have... all 3 of those teams are definites for the NCAA tournament. Florida State at home is certainly a winable game. I would even go so far as to say that VT could upset either Duke or UNC at home in the Cassell, but it would take a Christmas miracle to win all 3. Let me just go ahead and let you know that we probably won't be winning either away game (Clemson and FSU again at the end of the schedule). Tech has really regressed as a road team and has lost 3 straight on the road. But wait... we are talking about the Virginia Tech Hokies here, aren't we? Isn't this the team that loves to make a late push? Isn't this the team that never quits? I would certainly like to think so. There are still other ways to get into the NCAA tournament... if we were to win only 2 of the next 5, but then go on to win 2 ACC tournament games, that would put us right back on the bubble. Anything is possible and I am not yet willing to give up on our boys, even though that UVA loss was far from palatable. The team will really need their fans behind them as they return to the Cassell this Saturday to take on Florida State. Make some noise and keep hope alive!

*If you hadn't heard, Vassallo, along with team assistant Chris Tucker, got in trouble this year for stealing a case of Dr. Pepper from one of the food courts on campus. How dumb are our players?