Box Score

The Hokies’ ACC home opener against the maryland terrapins had a familiar feel to it: the Hokies jump out to an early lead with a suffocating defense, give the aforementioned lead away by going ice cold and committing bad turnovers, trail at the half before fighting their way back into the game late in the second half to make it interesting. Even when they were down by five with 1:32 to play, Tech didn’t fold under pressure. Instead, they turned up the heat on defense and pulled out an exciting conference win.

The keys to winning this game were keeping Jeff Allen out of foul trouble, playing lights out defense, and getting some quality play from the freshman guards … for a change. Check, check and check. Surprisingly, Hank Thorns played 29 minutes and scored 7 points, including a jumper that got the Hokies to within three, 63-66, with 1:32 left in the game. Malcolm Delaney also played 29 minutes, but he dialed up 13 points. His three pointer with :52 seconds left tied the game at 66-66. So, the guards combined for 20 points and were responsible for getting the Hokies back in the game late. (If Tech could get that kind of production every game, I like our chances of getting into the N.I.T.)

Allen was a beast in this game. His stats speak for themselves - 36 minutes, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. One board shy of his seventh double-double. His free throw with 12.4 seconds left was the game-winner. The best stat, though, was only three fouls. He was never in foul trouble - in fact, no Hokies had more than three fouls in the game.

The usual suspects, Deron Washington and A.D. Vassallo, combined for 22 points, but played relatively unassuming rolls. Delaney, Thorns and Allen were the catalysts in this game.

In Niemo’s preview, he noted that he wanted the crowd to “bring the noise” for the simple fact that Niemo hates maryland. Well, even though the Cassell had about 2,000 empty seats, the 7,000 fans that were there brought the noise and then some, especially at the end of the game. It was one of those games where you knew that somehow, some way, the fans had something to do with the 5-point rally in the last minute and a half and the stifling defense that shut the terps down in the final 1:46. The fans didn’t quit on the Hokies and the Hokies didn’t quit on the fans … cheesy, I know.

Even though this was probably a game the Hokies should have won, it is still a great confidence booster for a young team heading into the lion’s den that is the ACC regular season. Next up, the wahoos in hooville.

Looking at the stats, the Hokies played a pretty solid game. They out-rebounded the terps, shot better than 41 percent from three-point land and 71 percent from the line. The only real concern in my mind is the type of turnovers the Hokies committed. On at least three occasions, Tech players got lazy with their passes and telegraphed them leading to turnovers and points at the other end for the terps. I was also somewhat concerned with the lack of focus inside on defense that led to some very easy and uncontested dunks for the terps. However, I am confident that these are just freshmen mistakes that will be worked out with more practice and experience.

Quick note to all those fans who have tickets but decide not to show up … get off your butts and get to the games. Or, give your tickets to someone who will go. Why would you buy season tickets and not go to the games, especially the ACC games? It’s a complete farce. The athletic department should monitor which season ticket holders aren’t using their tickets and revoke them if the ticket holder isn’t going to a set number of games. Give them to people who care. Oh, and the official ticket broker for Virginia Tech … yeah, they are a joke.

Upon Further Review…

For those who were either in the stands or listening on the radio and did not have the benefit of the television replays, there were three questionable calls in this game that went against the Hokies. After reviewing the game film, only one of those calls was in fact a bad call.

The three calls were as follows:

1) There was an apparent over-and-back that wasn’t called against the terps:
Upon further review, the maryland player’s foot crossed the mid-court line, but not the ball, therefore he can bring his foot back over the line without it being “over-and-back.”
2) With about 7:19 left in the game, maryland appeared to be out of bounds with the ball but the refs let play continue:
Upon further review, this was the call the refs missed … twice. Replay confirms that not only was the maryland player’s foot hit out of bounds, his pass hit the line. Double d’oh!
3) In the final seconds, Thorns appeared to have the ball going out of bounds and called a timeout, but the officials awarded the ball to maryland:
Upon further review, Thorns never had possession of the ball and therefore could not call a timeout. The refs got this one right.

Take it away Niemo…

Niemo’s Notes:
1) I thought the crowd stunk for the first 32 minutes. The mediocre news is at least 7k+ showed for the game as opposed to the 3k we were getting for out of conference games. But this game might as well have been played in the library early on. Seriously, how can our fans make so much noise for football and so little for bball? It’s the same concept! Defense - noise.

I am proud of the # of students that made it back considering classes don’t start until Monday. But BOOOOO to the alumni. GET YOUR FANNIES IN THE SEATS! AND MAKE NOISE!
2) I have crafted a template for all remaining recaps:
The [insert name of home team] jumped out to a huge lead in the first eight minutes as the [insert road team] played like crap and looked asleep. Then, [insert road team] came back but came up short.
There… just saved us 14 recaps.
3) Allen is amazing. His array of post moves is remarkable. He had a spinning finger roll in the lane early that was just plain awesome. And later he shot a pull-up jumper. There’s nothing he can’t do. I think he uses stick’em on his hands.
4) Thorns stuck it to me. I thought md would have a power play with him on the court but he really asserted himself today. He scored on a 3 (though he missed 4 3’s), a runner, and a fallaway jumper. And on defense he battled. Hank came up with 3 big steals. Hudson was the odd man out tonight of the trio of Thorns, Delaney, and Hudson.
5) Still trying to figure out why Vinson got in the game in the first half. I guess Greenberg was sending a message to Witcher and Diakite. Not sure what that message was. Maybe see #6 below???
6) Cope mentioned Tech won the rebounding war. Well, the Hokies got dominated on the boards in the first half. It seemed every rebound went to the terps in the first stanza and that’s what got them back in the game after falling behind 15-5. In fact, md outrebounded VT 23-14 in the first half but the Hokies countered by dominating the glass in the 2nd half by a 26-14 margin. That’s a good sign for Wednesday considering uva is #1 in the ACC in rebounding margin. Tech must battle on the boards for 40 minutes.
7) Tech did not play well in this game. The fact they won really says something about a) the potential of this team; and b) how average this twerp team is. The Hokies still commit too many bad turnovers and have a lack of flow on offense (had opportunities for back-cuts at times and didn’t take them). But they found a way to win.
md used a full court press (trap) most of the game where they would force the Hokies to make one or two passes in the back court before they would drop back into a half court set. I think this is something Tech will, or should, see a lot (if I was another coach, I’d do it). With Tech’s lack of experience in the back court, I’d put all the pressure on them I could. The Hokies only made a few bad turnovers out of the press, but didn’t hurt it either by getting easy buckets, so it was a win for the terps.
VT countered with a bit of a full court trap in the 2nd half. The Hokies should do a lot more of this, in my opinion, to use their athleticism and depth. It is almost as if maryland doing it made Greenberg think, “Maybe that’s not a bad idea.”
9) The Hokies made yet another time management issue at the end of the game. VT could have held for the last shot, but got into their offense way too early and ended up giving Allen the ball with 15 seconds left. Luckily, he was fouled with 12.9 to go and hit a FT to give the Hokies the lead. But md ended up getting the last shot for the win. A team that manages the clock well doesn’t get into their offense until the clock is under 10, such that you either win or go to OT and the other team has no chance. The VT guards will learn this with time.
10) I said VT would have to stop Gist to win, since he has struggled in md’s 6 previous losses. Well, he scored their first five and finished with 16. It was vasquez, the guy I said would score regardless, that the Hokies really shut down, holding him to just 10 points and two made field goals. Oh well, my bad.

Summary: I call Tech’s first two games a wash - VT should have won the game at wake and choked, and md should have won this game today and coughed it up down the stretch. I guess we can call it even. Bring on the hoos for another whoopin’.

Around the World (Wide Web):

Hokies displaying quite a bit of grit | Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
Terrapins Fall By Slimmest of Margins | CSTV.com (AP)
Allen’s free throw lifts Hokies to narrow win over Terps | HokieSports.com
Rookies rally Va. Tech over Maryland | Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Hokies survive against Terps | Newport News Daily Press