Recap | #1 unc 68, #4 VT 66 | ACC Tournament Semis | Virginia Tech Basketball Go Hokies!

Recap | #1 unc 68, #4 VT 66 | ACC Tournament Semis

The Hokies played their hearts out but came up short as ACC POY Tyler Hansbrough hit a 12-foot baseline jumper with 0:00:8 left to break a tie and give unc the win. I honestly have never seen the Hokies fight harder in any game. I won’t say Tech played perfectly, but they did an amazing job and nearly avenged a 39-point loss exactly four weeks ago at unc.

Tech led almost the entire game, jumping out to eight point leads in the first and second halves. In fact, the heels’ biggest lead was three points at 5-2 early in the game. VT went up 59-52 with 6:18 to go on an incredible inbounds pass/alley-oop dunk by Deron Washington, but the Hokies struggled to score down the stretch. Deron fouled out with 1:29 to go.

Neither team shot very well, with both teams shooting 40%. Jeff Allen had 9 points and 11 rebounds but shot just 3/9 from the floor. Even A.D. Vassallo was 6/19 from the field, including 1/8 on threes. That’s one of the reasons I say Tech didn’t play a perfect game.

Hansbrough led unc with 26 points, but had just 10 in the second half. The Hokies did a much better job of frustrating him in the second stanza. Wayne Ellington also hurt the Hokies with 15 points, including three clutch three-pointers.

The Hokies, who were outrebounded by 30 in the first meeting, held their own in the first half, but got dominated on the glass in the second half. For the game, the heels outrebounded Tech 39-30. And had A.D. been able to grab Lawson’s miss with 3 seconds left, the game would have gone to overtime. Instead, the ball bounced right off Vassallo’s hands under the hoop to Hansbrough, who hit the 12-foot jumper over Hank Thorns.

Malcolm Delaney had another terrific game. After scoring 15 points on 4/5 three point shooting against miami yesterday, he had 15 again today on 2/3 long range shooting and 5/6 from the floor overall. He took great strides forward in this tournament. He could be the next Zabian Dowdell.

On defense, the Hokies got beat off the dribble too much. The heels were able to take it at the hoop way too much, and got most of their points this way.

This is a devastating loss for the Hokies, but may have been enough to propel them into the NCAA Tournament. They finished in the Top Four in the ACC regular season and in the ACC Tournament. They also proved they can play the #1 team in the country all the way to the buzzer. Now, we just have to sit back and wait for a day and see if the NCAA Tournament Committee agrees. Either way, the Hokies made us all proud today, showcasing how resilient this team is and what they are capable of.

Posted by:

Niemo
March 15th, 2008
2007-08 Season, ACC Tournament, Game Recaps, Home

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3 Responses to “Recap | #1 unc 68, #4 VT 66 | ACC Tournament Semis”

Comment #1292 | March 15th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
daveywoods Says:

Great recap. Helluva game. I got lots more little projects done around the house, pacing around like a crazy person… Great freakin game.
Comment #1293 | March 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
vatechhokies50 Says:

We have a bright future… when Deron Washington fouled out, we saw what our team could look like next year when we had Vasallo and four freshmen on the floor… it will be a senior and four sophomores next year…

I agree that we might have done enought to get into the NCAA tournament… but we have to hope for a few things… I think we get in before Illinois State because Illinois State lost to Drake three times this year… I think Ohio State is now out, too… we can’t have Minnesota win the Big 10 Tournament… that is a no-no… it is really cool that we are talking about higher playoff possibilities… I thought we’d get to the NIT, but I never thought we’d have a chance for the big dance. What a season!!
Comment #1295 | March 15th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
vatechhokies50 Says:

Actually, to be honest, Niemo, I think at this point in his career, my opinion is that Delaney will be a better shooter than Dowdell… he just looks like he has better form and mechanics than Dowdell did… does that make sense?