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Virginia Tech’s first year-and-a-half in the ACC has produced many magical and dramatic moments on the basketball court. The Hokies have had their fair share of close wins and close losses in that span. Last year’s team was known for their ability to pull out wins in the closing seconds of games, while this year’s team has lost a number of contests in the final seconds, until Tuesday night’s game against Georgia Tech. Through 24 regular season ACC games, Virginia Tech has a record of 10-14. The Hokies finished 8-8 last season, started a disappointing 0-6 this year, and have since rallied for two consecutive victories. That 10-14 start is better than the vast majority of fans and analysts would have predicted for a team that had struggled for so many years in the Big East. While it appears that the Hokies have regressed this season, let’s take a deeper look at the statistics to see if this is the case. First of all, everyone knows the off-the-court issues that the team is going through right now, so there is no sense in spending much time discussing them. We’ll just say that the Hokies are short-handed and have no size on the inside, thanks to the injury to Robert Krabbendam and Coleman Collins’ family situation. Tech is 2-6 in the league this year, much worse than their 5-3 mark after eight games last season. But if you dig a little deeper, it looks like the Hokies have closed the gap a bit on the rest of the ACC. During their inaugural season in the ACC, Virginia Tech lost ACC games by 34, 20, 35, 15 and 20 points. In five of their eight conference losses, the Hokies were blown out and never stood a chance. This year, things have been much different. They have only two wins on the season, but they have been beaten by double figures just once, the 13 point loss to Duke. Tech has been in every other game they’ve played. In scoring margin, the Hokies were -5.8125 per ACC game last season, and this year they have improved that statistic to -3.875.
Virginia Tech has also improved its performance in road games this season. Last year Tech played poorly on many occasions on the road, either getting off to terrible starts that they could never overcome, or playing poor defense for the entire game and getting blown out. This year there have been fewer of those types of performances. Last season Virginia Tech dropped six ACC road games by an average of 14 points per game. Their three road conference losses this season have come by an average of just 5.66 points. The Hokies have dropped road games to Duke, Florida State and Maryland, but had a chance to win each game. Duke beat the Hokies on a half court shot with 1.6 seconds remaining, while the Florida State and Maryland games were decided on free throws down the stretch. In their first season in the ACC, the Hokies lost by 35 at Duke and 15 at Maryland, so they have made some progress in keeping their composure on the road. In the short time Virginia Tech has been in the ACC, Cassell Coliseum has become known as a very difficult place to play. But despite that reputation, Virginia Tech is just 7-5 in Blacksburg against ACC teams, and their seven wins have come by an average of just five points. In Tech’s five losses at home, they have lost by an average of 15 points. They were blown out last season at home by 34 (UNC) and 20 (Wake Forest), lost this season by three to UNC and five to Virginia, and then fell by 13 to Duke. Meanwhile the Hokies have lost nine ACC road games by an average of 11.22 points per game. That’s not a great stat, and it has certainly been helped by Tech’s last four ACC road games, none of which they lost by more than nine points. But it is interesting that the Hokies generally lose by more at home than they do on the road. It’s also interesting that in road victories the Hokies are beating their opponents by an average of 5.66 points per game. In home wins, Virginia Tech is winning by five points per game, a little less than their margin of victory in road wins. That’s not to say that the Hokies are a better team on the road. They obviously are not, especially when you compare their overall record at home and on the road. The Hokies are finished with the first half of this season's ACC schedule, and the second will not be as brutal as the first. Here is a look at the first half of Tech’s ACC schedule:
The Hokies defeated the two weakest teams they played in their first eight ACC games. They also dropped very winnable games at home to North Carolina and Virginia. Here is how the second half of the season looks:
The overall record isn’t much different and the conference mark is still solid, but the Hokies matchup better against many teams in their final eight games. Clemson is a poor shooting team that the Hokies are capable of sweeping, and Virginia Tech is a better team than they showed against Virginia earlier in the season. Tech will also get Florida State in Cassell Coliseum and stands a very good chance of winning that game. Virginia Tech will have a tough road trip to Miami, but the Hokies swept the Hurricanes last season and there is no reason to believe they can’t defeat them again this year. NC State is a very good team, but the Hokies defeated them in Cassell Coliseum last January. There is not a single game the Hokies can’t win from here on out. There is
also not a single game they can’t lose. It should be a fun finish.
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Virginia
Tech finished with a very good 2006 recruiting class, highlighted by the
talent accumulated on the defensive side of the ball. Heading into this
class, the most pressing needs were offensive line and linebacker – Tech
certainly landed some quality players at those positions, although adding
one more at each would have solidified this class and probably vaulted
Tech into a top 25 class in the country. Tech’s class, rated #31
nationally by Scout.com and #32 overall by Rivals.com, was a good one. It
certainly could have been better considering Tech was in good shape with a
lot of 4 and 5-star prospects, but it was still a very good class
nevertheless.
With
Signing Day closed out, Chris and Mike discuss the Hokie haul of recruits,
plus they talk about Tech's in-state rival, Virginia, and how the Hoos
did. (WMA format, compatible with Windows Media Player and MP3 players,
3.7 MB, 24:08)
The
2006 football recruiting ride was a wild one. When it became apparent
early on that the top-rated players in the state of Virginia were casting
their eyes beyond the borders of the Commonwealth, Virginia Tech's
recruiting took a more out-of-state focus than usual. The Hokies continued
their efforts to build inroads in the mid-Atlantic states that they now
consider their recruiting grounds, but they also relearned the lesson that
once you get outside of Virginia, the going gets rough for Virginia Tech.
With
so many close losses on the season, the Virginia Tech Hokies finally had
one go their way in the closing seconds. With the game tied at 62, Georgia
Tech’s D’Andre Bell missed the game winning shot, but Jeremis Smith
grabbed the offensive rebound and scored, apparently winning the game for
the Yellow Jackets. But the whistle blew and Smith was called for going
over the back of Deron Washington with 0.5 seconds left in the game.
Washington went to the free throw line, hit the first free throw, and
missed the second on purpose to prevent a long inbounds pass. Georgia Tech
was unable to get off a final shot, and the Hokies held on for a 63-62
victory.
According
to the Sanford Herald, 6-3, 240-pound tight end/defensive line prospect
Dennis Godfrey will announce his decision tomorrow at 1:30 at his high
school.
Monday
night's show featured Tech head basketball coach Seth Greenberg, who
talked about how great it felt to get a win on Saturday over Wake Forest.
He also discussed the performances of A.D. Vassallo and Jamon Gordon, and
also gave an update on Coleman Collins and his father.
In
what is a change of plans, 5-star running back LeSean McCoy will announce
his commitment on Signing Day. Previously, he was thinking about holding
off on any kind of commitment or announcement but has changed his mind
according to Milford Academy (New Berlin, N.Y.) head coach Bill Chaplick.
Virginia
Tech recorded their first ACC victory of the season on Saturday when they
downed Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, and they have a great chance to get
another when Georgia Tech visits Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday night. The
Hokies will not have Coleman Collins, who is in Georgia visiting his
ailing father, but they will have the services of Deron Washington.
Washington was suspended for the Wake Forest game but will make his return
against the Yellow Jackets.
This
is why they play the games. Down to six scholarship players, missing their
top two inside players, with their on-court leader suffering from a gimpy
ankle, the sad-sack Hokies trudged down the highway to Winston-Salem …
and came away with an improbable win. How Virginia Tech beat Wake Forest
is a story of matchups, scoring that came from an unanticipated source,
leadership from a player with the heart of a lion, and simple
perseverance.
The
Virginia Tech men’s basketball team has had a lot to overcome this
season and has fallen just short in many close games. They had a little
more to overcome on Saturday afternoon, playing without both starting post
players, Coleman Collins and Deron Washington. Despite this setback, and
with no one giving them much of a chance, they went into Lawrence Joel
Coliseum and defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 76-70 on Saturday
afternoon.
Virginia
Tech looks to rebound from their loss to #2 Duke on Saturday afternoon
when they take on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. It will be a battle for
last place in the ACC between two teams who finished near the top of the
conference standings a year ago. Virginia Tech has slipped to 0-6 in ACC
play, and the Demon Deacons are off to a surprising 1-5 start, with their
only victory coming over Georgia Tech.