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 Hokies
and Tigers Brewing a Classic Rivalry
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com, TSLMail #418, January 5, 2010 Virginia Tech and Clemson are no strangers to close games. All eight ACC meetings between the Hokies and Tigers have been decided by five points or less, and the road team has won five of the last six meetings. The two meetings last season were amongst the best ever played between VT and Clemson. The road team won on each occasion, and both games were memorable for Virginia Tech fans. Clemson won the first meeting 86-82 in Cassell Coliseum. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Hokies for a number of reasons. Tech entered the game with a 14-5 record and a 4-1 mark in ACC play. They were coming off back-to-back road wins against #1 Wake Forest and the Miami Hurricanes. It was a Blackout game in Cassell, and the fanbase was fired up to be facing the #12 Tigers. Tech jumped out to a huge lead behind Malcolm Delaney's 37 points. They led by as many as 20 points in the first half, and Delaney nailed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, giving his team the momentum heading into halftime. Tech led by as many as 15 points in the second half, and it was apparent that they were moving to 15-5 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, and possibly into the Top 25. However, it wasn't to be. Clemson went on a big 18-0 run and roared back to take the lead with 10:18 remaining in the game. Virginia Tech came back to take the lead in the final minutes, but only scored three points in the final three minutes of the game, and the Tigers went on to win 86-82. It was a very disappointing loss for the Hokies, and one they never recovered from. Including the Clemson loss, the Hokies went 3-8 in their final 11 regular season games, and dreams of the NCAA tournament went down the drain. The Hokies did manage to get some revenge on Clemson later in the season. The Tigers were still ranked #12 in the country and were playing for NCAA tournament seeding when Tech went to Littlejohn Coliseum on February 25. The Hokies had lost three games in a row to Maryland, Virginia and Florida State, and their chances of picking up a road win at the #12 team in the country seemed slim. However, they were able to gut out the win behind 26 points from Malcolm Delaney and 21 points from A.D. Vassallo. Tech's two stars combined to go 8-of-16 from three-point range as the Hokies pulled off the road upset. Hank Thorns was instrumental in the victory. For the second straight game against Clemson, he helped break Oliver Purnell's vaunted fullcourt press with ease. In this game at Clemson he finished with 10 points, four assists and three steals. Like most games in the Tech-Clemson series, this one came down to the last shot. However, Terrell Bell shut down Demontez Stitt, whose three-pointer did not even draw iron. The Hokies got themselves back in the NCAA tournament picture with the win, but went on to lose their final three regular season games. If last year's games are any indication, expect a great game in Cassell Coliseum tomorrow. The game is open to all students regardless of whether they have a ticket, so the atmosphere should be tremendous. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Virginia
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Tech's
game with UNC ended last night around 11pm. The players probably got
to sleep around 1am. Now Clemson comes to town with their difficult
fullcourt press, and the Hokies have just one day of
preparation/rest between that game and the UNC game. Meanwhile,
Clemson had the entire week off. They arrived in Blacksburg on
Thursday to beat the snow. They are resting up right now in their
hotel, as fresh as they can be, after a whole week of preparing for
the Hokies.
Blacksburg,
VA -- It was another close game for the Hokies, but they managed to
pull it out. Tech knocked off UNC 74-70 in a hard fought game in
Cassell Coliseum on Thursday night. As expected, turnovers were the
difference. The Hokies are now 17-4 overall, with a 4-3 record in
the ACC. UNC dropped to 13-9 and 2-5 in conference play.
Signing
Day has come and gone, and now it's time to dish out the grades.
Managing Editor Chris Coleman and Recruiting Analyst Chris Horne
grade Virginia Tech's class by position. Tech did well, securing 21
prospects in a class that is rock solid from top to bottom.
Virginia
Tech signed yet another good recruiting class yesterday. After a
sixth straight 10-win season, it's pretty safe to say that the Tech
coaches know exactly what they are doing when it comes to evaluating
and recruiting talent to Blacksburg.
With
January in the rear view mirror, eight ACC teams have a conference
record of .500 or better, and all are still in the running for the
NCAA tournament. The other four teams are a longshot at this point,
but they proved over the last week that they are still very capable
of competing with the rest of the conference.
The
Washington Redskins have announced that the Virginia Tech-Boise
State game originally scheduled for October 2 has been moved to
Monday, September 6. The Hokies and Broncos will meet on Labor Day,
with ESPN televising the game. The kickoff time will be announced at
a later date.
Midlothian
(VA) offensive lineman Matt Arkema worked out last night,
lifting weights with friend and future Virginia Cavalier Conner
Davis. Lifting is something you can often find the 6-3 1/2,
290-pound senior doing. After all, it's mostly through hard work
that he earned a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech, the school he
is set to sign a letter of intent with tomorrow.
Coral
Gables, FL - Virginia Tech could not overcome a bad first half,
falling to Miami 82-75 in Coral Gables on Sunday afternoon. The loss
drops the Hokies to 16-4 overall, with a 3-3 mark in ACC play. Miami
is 16-5 overall and 2-5 in conference games.