Clemson Basketball = Rosie O'Donnell

Let's be honest, that game against Clemson was ugly. It was like watching Rosie O'Donnell in high definition for 2 hours. VT only shot 15% from the field in the first half... their worst shooting half in history. If it weren't for Clemson being ridiculously over-aggresive and fouling everything in sight, the Hokies could have easily lost that game by 10 or 15 points. But then again, if Clemson hadn't been so in-your-face defensively, then it is highly possible that VT would have shot better from the field. But then, maybe Clemson's best player, Trevor Booker, wouldn't have sat on the bench for so much of the game in foul trouble. So as you can see, the what-if game is dizzying and stupid, so let's not play it. Instead let's focus on the most important thing here... Tech is 5-3 and has just completed the first half of ACC play.

8 more games remain... 4 at home and 4 away. This is where Virginia Tech will have a chance to prove that they belong in the NCAA tournament. With upcoming games against Duke, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Maryland, the Hokies will be looking to rack up a signature win that will punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament. A win against Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium would do wonders for us... it means we could probably go 2-6 the rest of the way and still make the NCAA tournament. I would rather not rely on that scenario though. The best thing for the Hokies to do would be to go at least 4-4 the rest of the way and secure a win against at least one of the teams mentioned before. The game I would target is Wake Forest because we play them at home and they have a good RPI value, sitting at #15 right now. Even if the second half of their ACC slate is less productive than the first half, I imagine they could still end up as a top 25 RPI team, and that's the qualification the selection committee really wants to see... a win against a top-25 team.

Aside from the games against Duke, Wake, GT, and Maryland, there is even more fun in the second half of this ACC schedule. We play NC State twice, who have historically OWNED (or PWN'D if you prefer) the Hokies since we have come into the ACC. This is highly disturbing, as the Wolfpack have been arguably the worst team in the ACC over that period of time. For whatever reason, they really understand how to play our style. Maybe it's Sidney Lowe and that wretched red jacket he wears. Maybe it was just that we struggle against long, athletic scorers like Courtney Fells, Gavin Grant, and Brandon Costner. Who knows. But I am sick of losing to them, and I'm sure our players feel the same at this point. The last intriguing thing is that we get to play our arch-rival, UVA, one more time. This time, it's going to be in Blacksburg. That last loss can't be sitting well with the Hoos, so I expect them to come into the Cassell with guns blazing.

I'd also like to take a little bit of time to gloat. I told you punks that UNC wouldn't be very good this year, but you just wouldn't listen to me. McDonald's All-Americans are nice, but unless they're NBA-ready talent (and I don't think anyone would EVER have accused John Henson, Dexter Strickland, or the Wear twins of being that good, even at the start of the season) then they're not going to be huge contributors as freshmen. UNC lost 4 players to the NBA. That's just too much to recover from. People recover from triple-bypass heart surgery easier than that. In 2 years, North Carolina will be back in a big way. The freshmen will have progressed. Will Graves and Ed Davis will be seniors, and they'll be among the best in the ACC (and probably the whole country). Until then, you can sleep all you want on the Tar Heels. Go ahead, grab a quick nap. They aren't going anywhere in the meantime.