Virginia Tech has announced that unused student section seats will be made available to students on a first-come, first-served basis for the next three Virginia Tech men’s basketball home games, hosting virginia, richmond, and the newly minted giant killers from boston college (I’m still celebrating that fantastic upset in Chapel Hill).

In a related move, a program to enable electronic transfers by public season ticket holders for all games throughout the season has been announced. “Hokie Share” will reportedly allow ticket holders to transfer tickets to the recipient of their choosing. This sounds like a brilliant, much-needed solution to the empty seats often seen in out-of-conference games in Cassell — but there’s a tragic catch: each ticket transfer will incur a $4 fee.

So if you want to give a couple tickets to the Boy’s and Girl’s Club you’ll just have to dig out your tickets, log in, figure out how to use Hokie Share, and then pony up $8 to give away your tickets. I looked at it for a few minutes, in two different browsers, and I can’t figure out how it works. So, hooray for ticket transfers, and boo for the fee and the confusing website.

Here’s a link to the full article on HokieSports.com: click here

Boxscore

Note: The 44 points for the Hokies is their lowest output ever under Seth Greenberg.  The last time VT was held to a point total this low was January 29th, 2000 when umass beat VT 49-41 during the ricky stokes era.

The last time the Hokies visited Cameron Indoor, they were partying on the court after an overtime win.  Today, they couldn’t get the bus started soon enough, as the blue devils ran Tech out of Durham.  After VT closed the game to 39-35 early in the second half, coach k called a timeout, and duke responed by outscoring the Hokies 30-9 the rest of the way.  The Hokies managed just 13 points for the second half and just nine in the final 17:32.  Tech did not score in the final 5:41 of the game as duke grabbed one offensive rebound after another.

Tech really dug themselves a hole in the first four minutes of the first half, something VT often did last year (not a good sign for this season).  duke jumped out to an 11-0 lead as Tech started 0/9 from the field.  The Hokies were unable to get closer than six the rest of the first half and trailed by eight at the half, 39-31.  Tech would never get closer than four the rest of the game.  The Hokies need to figure out a way to jump start things.  As this game showed, you can lose a game by the first media timeout.

The Big 3 were the JV 3 tonight as they were not ready for primetime, at least not in the second half.  At the break Delaney had 10, Allen 8, and Vassallo 7.  They finished with 12 for Delaney, 9 for Allen, and 7 for Vassallo.  For you non-math majors, that’s just three second half points for the “Big 3″.   Vassallo seemed invisible in the second half.

The guys seemed to forget what was working in the first half - catch the ball on the perimeter, penetrate the key and pull up from 8-16 feet.  In the second half the Hokies couldn’t figure out a thing on offense.  Tech started the game just 1/12 from the field and finished the game shooting just 37%.  Tech hit just one three-pointer, going 1/9.  Tech just could not find easy buckets, and when they had them, they often missed them.  The Hokies had just 7 assists on 18 made shots and Delaney did not collect an assist.

For duke, Kyle Singler led the four devils in double figures with 19 points.  However, Tech actually did a great job on defense for the most part.  duke, who came in averaging 84 ppg, were held 15 below that.  duke came in shooting 49% from the field but hit just 40%.  But duke killed VT from the foul line, hitting 19/20 free throws.  The Hokies hit just 7/12.

Another problem was the offensive glass.  When a team misses 32 shots, you have to get the rebounds.  Tech didn’t.  The blue devils collected 14 offensive rebounds, meaning they grabbed 42% of their misses.

Around the midpoint of the second half, Tech’s effort went way downhill, which was disappointing.  I realize the Hokies weren’t going to win, but you would have still liked to see the guys putting everything on the line.  Instead, they were lazy going after loose balls and the devils were grabbing up everything.  I won’t say the guys quit, I don’t think they did, but they certainly weren’t hustling either.

Cheick Diakite, who had been in Greenberg’s doghouse, had a great second half.  He had 8 points, 5 rebounds (including 4 offensive), and 3 blocks for the game.  He also said, “POW!  Right in the kisser!” to Kyle Singler when the duke star drove the lane and tried to dunk on him.  Cheick rejected it with extreme prejudice.

Tech gets almost a week off to go back to the drawing board.  This is a VERY good duke team that spanked the Hokies, but you really would have hoped to see more from Tech in this one.  No more excuses — Thompson is back, Thorns looked healthy tonight, and no one was in serious foul trouble.  It is time for this team to start showing something.  Another opportunity at a quality win slipped away.  Next up on Saturday is uva at the Cassell.  uva was picked 12th in the preseason poll.  This is a must win if the Hokies want to keep any serious dreams of a trip to the Big Dance alive.

Score Summary by Media Timeout

First Half

• Under 16:00 Timeout: duke 11, VT 2 (N. Smith playing; duke opened with a 11-0 run)
• Under 12:00: duke 16, VT 4 (Thorns is playing… VT started 0/9 on FGs)
• Under 8:00: duke 26, VT 17 (Offense looking better but can’t get stops on D)
• Under 4:00: duke 34, VT 23 (Zoubek and Thomas have 3 fouls… VT’s zone getting worked)
• Halftime: duke 39, VT 31 (VT has had chances to make it closer but hasn’t converted)

Second Half

• Under 16:00 Timeout: duke 45, VT 37 (Hokies missed two 3’s down 6)
• Under 12:00: duke 53, VT 39 (Wheels coming off… duke 14-4 run since VT cut it to 4)
• Under 8:00: duke 64, VT 42 (Wheels have fallen off and I smell smoke)
• Under 4:00: duke 69, VT 44

Update: According to Hokiesports.com, Victor Davila is listed as a starter and Hank Thorns is a game time decision for duke.  Thorns has missed the last three games, forcing Delaney to play all 120 minutes of action.  Davila hurt his ankle in VT’s last game.

According to the Roanoke Times, Nolan Smith is expected to play for duke despite suffering a knee injury on Wednesday.

Spread: duke by 15 1/2

THE SETUP

Alright, ladies, the preseason… done!  Football season… done! (welcome back to those of you that can’t handle two sports at once.)  Neidermeyer… dead!  Its time for ACC basketball!  And for the fifth time in five seasons in the ACC, the Hokies open conference play against a North Carolina school: #6 unc in 2004 (51-85), @ #1 duke in 2005 (75-77; the infamous half court shot at the buzzer game), wake in 2006 (63-60), and @ wake in 2007 (75-77).  In this tilt, Tech has to travel to the World’s Largest Nerd Convention, otherwise known as Cameron Indoor Stadium*.

The Hokies, who have yet to get a marque win this season, have a big opportunity on Sunday night on national television.  Lack of quality wins kept Tech out of the Big Dance last season, so at some point VT has to make the most of an opportunity.  It won’t be easy in this one, though, as the blue devils have looked very strong so far this season.  The Hokies must find a way to slow down the explosive duke offense that can attack from multiple angles.  The blue devils have six players averaging 7.5 ppg or more, and that doesn’t include senior point guard Greg Paulus.

The blue devils have played just three games since December 6th, and just one game since December 20th.  In case you are hoping duke is rusty in this game, you can probably forget it.  In those three games, all the devils have done is woodsheded unc-asheville by 43, #7 xavier by 18 (and it wasn’t that close - duke led by 31 at the half), and loyola (md) by 41 on New Year’s Eve.  duke also beat #10 purdue by 16 in the ACC/(dominates the) Big(11)Ten Challenge.  The Hokies are going to have to step up their play and earn it in this one.

THE DATA

• The Series: duke 33-7
• Since VT joined the ACC: 2-4
• VT at duke: 1-15 (the lone win was in Tech’s last trip to duke, a 69-67 win in OT in 2007)

STARTING LINEUPS

Virginia Tech

1. #23 Malcolm Delaney - 6′3″
2. #5 Dorenzo Hudson - 6′5″
3. #40 A.D. Vassallo - 6′6″
4. #0 Jeff Allen - 6′7″
5. #14 Victor Davila - 6′8″ (depends on the severity of his ankle injury… otherwise expect Cheick Diakite to start to match up with Brian Zoubek)

duke

1. #2 Nolan Smith - 6′2″ (injured his left knee on Wednesday) or #3 Greg Paulus - 6′1″
2. #30 Jon “Crazyface” Scheyer - 6′5″
3. #15 Gerald Henderson - 6′4″
4. #12 Kyle Singler - 6′8″
5. #55 Brian Zoubek - 7′1″

BREAKING DOWN THE OPPONENT

duke is deep.  No shocker there.  When basically every player you have is a McDonald’s All-American, you are the filet mignon of college basketball (not a crappy Filet-O-Fish).  But this year duke is seriously deep.  They may play as many as 12 guys in this game and have 11 players averaging 7.7 mpg or more. 

The blue devils are balanced, too.  They average a whopping 84 ppg and give up just 61.5 ppg.  As I mentioned above, six players score 7.5 ppg or more and four guys average 11.5 ppg or more.  They are led by reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, Kyle Singler.  He leads duke in ppg (16.3), rpg (7.8), and apg (3.5).  He leads all those categories by a long shot… for the #5 team in the country.  In other words, he’s pretty good.  Kyle is a sure-fire All-ACC First Teamer this year.  And despite being 6′8″, he is a very good ballhandler.  If he was a Hokie, he’d have Tech’s second best handle (not counting Thorns since he is injured). 

One area of concern for duke has to be the status of sophomore Nolan Smith.  Smith unseated senior Greg Paulus as the starting point guard this season and had been tied as their third leading scorer.  But he injured his left knee against loyola on Wednesday, and after a lengthy time down on the court, limped to the locker room and did not return.  If he’s out, duke will be in a similar situation as VT has been with Thorns hurt, down to one true point guard - Paulus.  Paulus has been a starter for three years, so that isn’t much of a drop-off, but Smith is a much better scorer and better in transition.  Paulus is a better passer, though he is prone to make dumb mistakes.

KEYS TO THE GAME

• Keep Delaney on the Floor: With Hank Thorns questionable, Malcolm Delaney is Tech’s only quality ballhandler.  You can bet the farm coach k will tell his guys to go at Delaney and try to draw fouls on him.  The 1-3-1 zone VT has played lately will help protect Malcolm, but he still picked up four fouls in the Hokies’ last game.  The good news is Nolan Smith is duke’s best penetrator at guard, and he may be slowed by a knee injury suffered earlier in the week. 
• Slow the devils: duke plays a very uptempo offense that can tire opponents.  Since VT is fairly deep, that isn’t as big a factor except for at the point.  Delaney must play all 40 minutes in this game if Thorns cannot go for Virginia Tech to have a chance, so the Hokies must slow the duke transition game.  That means not turning the ball over and getting back on defense.  Again, as mentioned above, Smith possibly being out, or gimpy, would help.  He is duke’s ferrari, while Paulus is more of a Nissan.
• Rotate: duke may be the best team in the country at penetrating and kicking the ball out for open threes.  If Tech gets beaten off the dribble, and they have been quite often this season, others will have to help to stop the driver (often another player guarding a perimeter player).  That means the other remaining players have to identify the open perimeter players and rotate out to get a hand in their face.  The down side of this is often you lose who you were supposed to check on the defensive glass…
• Party of Five on the Glass: All five players on the floor for the Hokies must help on the defensive glass.  duke spreads you out and likes to shoot from deep.  That means long rebounds and often switching defenders.  The Hokies must do a good job of finding someone to block out on shots and limiting the blue devils to one attempt.  That’s the only way Tech can keep this game in the 70s or lower, where the score must be for VT to have a chance to win.
• Swallow the Whistles: Virginia Tech was called for 33 fouls in the 2005 game at duke.  I haven’t seen so many whistles since the caddies hit the pool in Caddyshack.  Greenberg eventually got tossed and I nearly put a shoe through my TV.  coach whiner, I mean k, always seems to get the calls at home.  And when you have 12 bodies to play, compared to 8-9 for VT, foul trouble is a much bigger factor to the Hokies.  Hopefully this game won’t be called tight… I doubt it.  Jeff Allen and Delaney really need to play smart on the defensive end and hope they don’t get called for any cheap offensive fouls.
• Pump and Go: duke’s trademark is a very aggressive half court defense.  They run at you very hard, sometimes out of control.  Tech’s perimeter players, if they use a pump fake, can get duke players coming out them to fly by and then penetrate the lane.  The Hokies can then hit pull up jumpers, pass to a sliding perimeter player on the opposite wing for a three, or go at the hoop and hopefully draw a foul.  Scheyer is duke’s weakest defender.  If Jon and A.D. are matched up, expect big numbers for both, though I expect Gerald Henderson, duke’s best athlete, will match up with Vassallo.
• Nerds!: duke is on winter break, so Tech might get a break in that the crowd may be less irritating than is typical.  Maybe.

*Cameron Indoor Stadium actually holds fewer people than Cassell Coliseum (9314 compared to 9847)

As the sun sets on 2008, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights of the year:

THE GAMES

• Wins: 22, Losses: 13
• ACC Wins (including the ACC Tourney): 10, Losses: 7
• The year started… with a loss at richmond, 52-49 (ugh)
• The year ended… with a win at charleston southern, 75-66
• Greatest Win: VT lacked any monumental wins this year (the highest ranked team in the RPI the Hokies beat in 2008 was miami, who finished the season at #33).  With that, this was a fairly easy choice - the 70-69 overtime win at uva on Deron Washington’s buzzer-beating shot (yes, Virginia Tech actually got one of their own) on January 16th.  The win at maryland was also big on February 20th because it turned the season around, but this uva game really got things rolling.  Tech was 1-1 in conference at the time.  The win was the Hokies’ first win at uva since the President Lyndon Johnson era in 1968.  [Note: if my gf is reading this, no I was NOT alive back then!]  Here’s a link to our page that has the highlights, just the winning shot, and the recap: VT 70, uva 69 Highlights/Recap
• Toughest Loss: Had to be the 68-66 loss to unc in the ACC Semi-Finals which pretty much knocked VT out of the NCAA Tournament.  Tech led most of the game, after having lost by 39 at unc a month earlier.  This would have easily been the Hokies’ biggest win of the year if they had pulled it out.

THE PLAYERS

• Leading Scorer: A.D. Vassallo - 632 points or 18.1 ppg
• MVP (Or should I say Co-MVPs): Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney - This was tough and hence why I took the easy way out by picking two.  I eliminated Deron since he isn’t around this season.  I’ll get to A.D. in a minute… I see Jeff Allen as Virginia Tech’s best player.  He can do it all - score, rebound, block, steal.  But to me, Delaney is the key to the team.  He’s the one guy VT could not do without, especially as we’ve seen with Hank Thorns injured.  Malcolm is the unquestioned leader of the team.  He was the driving force behind Tech’s great play at the end of last season.  In VT’s 22 wins in 2008, he averaged 13.7 points, while dropping to 11.3 in Tech’s 13 losses.  You can credit that to the fact he’s VT’s best foul shooter and has the ball at the end in wins, but the fact he can hit clutch foul shots adds to his importance.  Delaney has been Tech’s most consistent player this season and is the only guy to score double-digits in every game.  Allen averaged 12.6 ppg in the 21 wins he was a part of while scoring 11.4 in the 12 losses.  Remember, he missed the loss to duke and the win at bc.  Now, why didn’t I pick A.D., Tech’s leading scorer for 2008?  His defense is well behind Allen and Delaney (Allen is the better defender of those two).  And some of A.D.’s biggest games have come in losses - like the 30 against wisconsin, 23 against uga, and 22 against seton hall.  So there you have it, I’m calling it a tie.
• Sad Goodbye: Deron Washington - the four year starter ran out of eligibility, but not before finishing his VT career 10th all time in steals, 6th in blocks, and #1 in flops and nasty, highlight dunks.  Deron was selected in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft by Detroit but is playing abroad.  Washington was the first Hokie picked since Eddie Lucas was drafted in the 2nd round in 1999.  Marcus Travis also graduated from VT.
• Highlight of the Year: It was Deron’s shot at uva (see above) but here’s a sweet dunk of his from the game at georgia tech just to give you something else to watch: Deron Being Deron
• Recruits: Virginia Tech was well represented in the Virginia AA State Playoffs in 2008.  2009 signees, Erick Green and Ben Boggs, each won regional titles.  Green’s Millbrook team won the state AA title.  He is now at a private school, Paul VI, while Boggs is out for the season with an injury.

THE COACH

• Seth Greenberg picked up his 300th win as a head coach in Virginia Tech’s 94-62 win over morgan state in the first round of the NIT in March.  He currently has 310.
• Seth finishes 2008 with 97 wins at Tech.

Read more »

THE SETUP

The Hokies head to South Cack-a-lacka for their final game of 2008 and final non-conference road game of the season on Monday, December 29th.  Tech will take on the charleston southern buccaneers at the North Charleston Coliseum (I’m guessing this is on the opposite site of town from the csu campus).

The Hokies will use this game as a tune-up before they begin ACC play next Sunday on natioinal TV at duke.  VT should have no trouble beating the bucs, but putting weaker teams away has been a problem most of the season.  Tech seems to be finding their groove, having scored 79 or more points in three of their last five games, and having won by double-digits in each of the last three games.  The Hokies were held to 65 or fewer points in three of their first four games, but have scored 72 or more in six of the last eight.

All Time Series: VT 3-0 (VT blew out csu 79-49 last year at the Cassell)

Projected Starters:

Virginia Tech

1. #23 Malcolm Delaney - 6′3″
2. #5 Dorenzo Hudson - 6′5″
3. #40 A.D. Vassallo - 6′6″
4. #0 Jeff Allen - 6′7″
5. #14 Victor Davila - 6′8″

csu

1. #23 Tovi Bailey - 6′1″
2. #5 Jamarco Warren - 5′11″
3. #1 Kelvin Martin - 6′5″
4. #34 Omar Carter - 6′5″
5. #33 Billy Blackmon - 6′10″

Apparently Cheick Diakite remains in Seth’s doghouse since Davila is listed as the projected starter.  Cheick did not play at all against st. john’s in VT’s last game and was benched for most of the longwood game.  A.D. Vassallo sat for the first seven minutes of the columbia game and there were reports of him being arrested and charged with shoplifting, but nothing has come of it yet.

Hank Thorns is expected to be out a couple of weeks with a knee injury and will not play in this game.  With Thorns out, Malcolm Delaney is Tech’s lone quality ballhandler (and he’s really a two-guard by nature).  Delaney played all 80 minutes of action in New York and was the MVP of the Holiday Festival, scoring 47 points combined but also committing eight turnovers.  That won’t cut it against duke so he will need to protect the ball better in this game.

Early in the year, Malcolm seemed hesitant to drive to the hoop.  All his points were coming off three pointers or foul shots late in games when VT led.  In the Holiday Festival, Delaney was more aggressive in going to the hoop.  He was scoring with ease on easy layups.  Perhaps he’s realizing how much of a threat he can be driving while teams double A.D. or refuse to leave Jeff Allen.

In the st. john’s game, Virginia Tech ran a 1-3-1 half court trap the entire game.  This may have been due to Tech’s lack of depth at guard.  Zones allow you to avoid having to run through screens and therefore not have to work as hard.  Also, since Delaney is at the bottom of the zone (see below), he’s less likely to get into foul trouble guarding players up top.  Or this may have been just because the team was tired in general and was only playing eight guys.  We’ll see if the Hokies continue to use this defense a lot or if it was just for the st. john’s game based on circumstances.  Since this is the last game before duke, I expect we’ll see a preview of the defenses VT will run against the blue devils.

Here’s how the zone looked:

          (Hudson or Bell)

Vassallo - Davila - Allen

               Delaney

                [hoop]

You may wonder why you have a guard as the deepest player but that is because he often has to run the most, flashing out on the wings as the ball is swung to either corner.  The opposite wing on the zone then has to drop down low to pick up low post players.  Offensive rebounds can be a concern if your guard is stuck trying to check a bigger low post player so the middle three guys must all collapse into the paint.

Since Tech has historically run man-to-man, I’m guessing the zone was just a temporary thing due to st. john’s lack of three point shooters and because the Hokies were playing on back-to-back days.  It also helped protect Delaney from drawing fouls.

THE OPPONENT

Offensive Player to Watch: Jamarco Warren - 21.5 ppg - The 5′11″ sophomore is a long range bomber.  He has hit three or more three pointers in every game but one and has nailed six three pointers three different times this year.  Against toccoa falls (no idea who the heck that is) he hit all six threes he attempted.  Jamarco has had as many as 29 points in a game.  VT must guard him from anywhere inside half court.  If Tech goes zone, he could be very dangerous if he finds open spots.  If the Hokies play man, the guy on him (likely Bell or Hudson) must fight over screens instead of going under them and potentially giving him room to pull the trigger.

Defensive Player to Watch: Billy Blackmon - 1.1 bpg - The 6′10″ junior transfer will be the tallest player on the court. However, Billy is just an average shot blocker.  Despite being shorter, Jeff Allen and Cheick Diakite average more blocks per game.  Billy is just tall and that’s it.  The Hokies can out-quick him and go around him.  They just can’t pull up right in front of him where he can use his tall stature.

Boring Facts about csu:

• Conference: Big South (vmi, liberty, gardner-webb, radford, etc)
• Founded in 1964 as baptist college
• Enrollment: ~3000
• Type: Private
• One of their logos has the same stupid crossed swords as uva
• They play FCS (I-AA) football
• csu lost by 23 to fsu, the only other ACC team they play

Folks - sorry I’m so late to chime in.  Happy belated Championship to VT.  And an early Merry Christmas to all!  I got stuck in New York on Sunday and didn’t make it to my final destination until 11 PM Monday night.  But enough about Tallahassee Part II…

The Hokies now have won four championships in Madison Square Garden:

• 1973 NIT (won all four games in MSG by a combined five points)
• 1995 NIT (won final by one point in OT just like 1973)
• 2007 Holiday Festival
• 2008 Holiday Festival

Other Notes:

• Malcolm Delaney played all 80 minutes in the tournament.  This demonstrates how thin the Hokies are in terms of ballhandling.  They have Delaney and Hank Thorns (who is injured).  That’s it.  Not only are shooting guards Terrell Bell and Dorenzo Hudson averaging less than four points per game and shooting under 31% from the field (and a combined 20% - 8/40 - on threes), they also have weak handles.  Erick Green, Lamont Jones, and Ben Boggs come on down!
• The Hokies had a solid 35-26 advantage on the offensive glass for the tournament, including 20-14 against st. john’s (though they had more opportunities on the offensive glass in the second game).  Three Hokies (Thompson, Allen, and Vassallo) had four offensive rebounds or more in the title game and Vassallo had eight for the tournament.
• The 20 offensive rebounds against st. john’s was a season high, beating the 16 against elon.
• Delaney’s nine rebounds against columbia and five steals against st. john’s were career highs.  His 25 points in the columbia game and eight assists versus st. john’s tied career highs.
• At least turnovers are on the decline - since a season high 23 giveaways against longwood, they had 19 against columbia (still too many) and 15 against st. john’s (about the limit of what you can accept).  Delaney had an eye-popping seven turnovers against columbia, though since he had to play all 40 minutes at point you can sort of understand it (sort of), and Vassallo had six.
• Vassallo isn’t the only one accused of stealing (sorry, I couldn’t resist… too soon?) - the Hokies had 10 steals against columbia and 12 against st. john’s.  They now have had 10+ steals in three of their last four games.  That is the only times all season they have had 10+ steals.
• Victor Davila’s 24 minutes in the title game in place of Cheick Diakite was just one minute short of his season high 25 minutes against wisconsin.

According to HamptonRoads.com (or PilotOnline.com … make up your mind, people) senior forward and Tech’s leading scorer A.D. Vassallo was arrested and charged with shoplifting in Christiansburg last Thursday by Virginia State Police. This could be why he missed the first seven minutes of the columbia game. Jim Weaver, Tech’s athletics director, said that Vassallo hasn’t been suspended because 1) he (Weaver) hasn’t seen the police report yet and 2) he doesn’t believe the Vassallo did anything wrong. For the program’s sake, let’s hope not. With all that has happened to this team so far this season, it’s a miracle we’re 8-4.

On a lighter note, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Oh yeah, here’s the link to the article: click here.

THE TEAMS

• columbia (3-5)
• marist (3-6)
• st. john’s (8-1)
• Virginia Tech (6-4)

THE SCHEDULE

• Game 1: Saturday, 2 PM - columbia vs Virginia Tech
• Game 2: Saturday, ~4:30 PM - marist vs st. john’s
• Consolation Game: Sunday, Noon - Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser
• Championship Game: Sunday, ~2:30 PM - Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner

All games are being televised by MSG.  For Comcast customers in the DC area the games are on Channel 262 (part of the sports package).

THE SETUP

The Hokies look to defend their Holiday Festival championship in the Big Apple this weekend.  Tech continued their mastery at the self-proclaimed most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, beating hofstra 84-59 in the first round and st. johns 54-48 in the title game in one of the ugliest games ever played.  Watching that championship game was like getting a root canal and a swift kick to the biscuits at the same time. 

The Holiday Festival title last year was Virginia Tech’s third tournament championship won in Madison Square Garden.  VT also won the 1973 and 1995 National Invitational Tournaments in MSG.  Tech is 3-0 in Aeropostale play.  The Hokies beat seton hall in the first game of the Aeropostale Classic in MSG in 2006.  That game was similar to the BB&T Classic in that is what not a tournament, just a four-team, two-game showcase.

For the Hokies, the rest of their season starts now.  That sounds pretty obvious and not the type of thing you come here to read, but what I mean is starting this weekend, Tech will have their full roster.  J.T. Thompson should be fully recovered from his hernia surgery and sprained foot injuries.  The Hokies have really missed his defensive and rebounding intensity.  J.T. should also provide another offensive option, something Tech has desperately needed beyond the Big 3 of Allen, Delaney, and Vassallo.  Now we should be able to really judge the Hokies and their prospects for the rest of the season once Thompson gets into the flow of things and we see how he fits in.

Expect Thompson to play a wing spot, instead of in the low post where he mostly played last year.  At least that’s where he was working out in the practices I saw this Fall.  If he is in at the same time as Vassallo, I would expect he’d guard the other team’s shooting guard since he is quicker than A.D.  Vassallo will likely match up with an opponent’s small forward or ’slower’ wing player.

With the news that Hank Thorns likely won’t play this weekend (see the note above), that leaves Tech with just one quality ballhandler: Malcolm Delaney.  Dorenzo Hudson and Terrell Bell will likely lose playing time with Thompson back, which has already started to happen with both.  They did not do much with their opportunity while Thompson was on the shelf.  Hudson is averaging just 3.3 ppg on 28% shooting and Bell is scoring 2.9 ppg on 27% shooting, 2/15 on threes (you should have seen his stats before his 12 point effort against longwood… actually, no you don’t).

If you are a Hokie fan, and chances are strong you are if you are reading this, you hope st. john’s wins Saturday along with the Hokies.  Both teams should have little trouble.  Both the red storm and Hokies are playing small schools that are struggling on the hardwood this year. 

If Tech faces st. john’s in the finals, it would give VT another chance at a win against a ‘name’ school.  Tech is currently 0-3 against the BCS conferences and also lost to xavier, who made the Elite Eight last year and is currently ranked #7 in both polls.  And to think the Hokies would have that feather in their cap if it wasn’t for a desperation half court shot by a guy 0 for 8 up to that point.

BREAKING DOWN THE OTHER TEAMS

columbia (3-5)

Player to Watch: #5 Patrick Foley - Junior Guard (6′2″) - 13.4 ppg and 3.1 apg (both lead the team by a wide margin).  Note: Foley missed the lions’ last game with an injury and his status is uncertain for this game.

In the first round the Hokies take on the columbia lions and their Ivy covered rears.  columbia, the clemson of the Ivy League.

Tech has one common opponent with the lions: seton hall.  columbia lost to the pirates 71-50, a significantly larger margin than what the hall beat VT by.  columbia has only beaten fordham, (kobe) bryant university, and wagner, while losing to seton hall, umbc, albany, stony brook, and st. francis (NY).  Not exactly murderer’s row.

Outside of Foley, columbia is very “balanced” on offense.  By that, I mean they don’t have anyone else.  After Foley’s 13.4 ppg, they have no one else averaging even 8.0 ppg.  Last year they also only had one player scoring more that 8 ppg, and that guy is gone.  They do have five players averaged 7.[something] ppg.

Both Foley and fellow starter Asenso Ampim (7.4 ppg) missed columbia’s last contest on December 9th with injuries.  Their status is uncertain for the Virginia Tech contest, though they will have had 11 days to heal.  Without Foley, this game could be ugly in a good way for the Hokies.

Foley does most of his damage going to the hoop.  He is just a 17% shooter from behind the arc (sounds like Tech’s shooting guards) and doesn’t attempt many.  Foley doesn’t get to the line all that much, either.

K.J. Matsui is the lions’ best threat from behind the arc, hitting two three-pointers per game and shooting 34%.  As a team, columbia does not shoot the three well, hitting just 27% of their shots.  They shoot under 40% from the field as a whole.  But undersized teams tend to shoot more threes when they face a bigger team, such as Tech in this case.  So the lions may chuck more threes in this game to avoid getting their shots blocked inside.

columbia will have the “home town” advantage in this game, being from New York City.  That should help get them 100 fans instead of 50.

Summary: The lions average just 60.9 ppg, despite their weak schedule.  Expect them to slow the pace and turn this into a half court game.  While Tech has tried to run more of late, the Hokies are certainly comfortable playing a half court contest.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tech use their full court trap in this game more to force the pace since the lions are unlikely to punish the Hokies off the press.  Also, with Thompson likely back in the lineup, that gives the Hokies 9 quality players (if Thorns is out) to split minutes between, reducing the risk of Tech being tuckered for their game on Sunday.  Expect the Hokies to roll in this one.

st. john’s (8-1)

Player to Watch: #1 D.J. Kennedy - Sophomore G/F (6′6″, 210 lbs.) - 14.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg (both lead the team).  Kennedy is a lanky wing player who can score inside or outside (37% on threes, though he doesn’t attempt that many).  Expect Thompson, Bell, and Hudson to draw the assigment of guarding him.

Many people consider the Big East Conference the top conference in the land this year.  Some ‘experts’ believe they may place nine or ten teams in the Big Dance.  st. john’s was not picked to be one of those teams.  The red storm were picked to finish 14th out of the 16 teams in the league (unless they’ve added another school since I started writing this article which is quite possible). 

One advantage st. john’s has in this tournament is MSG is their home away from home.  But all that meant last year was about 3000 lethargic fans.  Home court advantage was not a factor against the Hokies last year, and likely won’t be again this year.  But the red storm are playing better than VT coming into this tournament.  They just haven’t been tested yet, and the Hokies should be a good challenge for st. john’s.

The Bad News: The poor preseason prediction for st. john’s doesn’t necessarily mean good news for the Hokies.  For example, seton hall was picked 13th and they handed Tech their second loss of the season in the 3rd place game in Puerto Rico last month.  Also, the red storm (dare I make a menstruation joke here???… nah, too easy) have won six in a row coming into the tournament.

The Good News: Don’t let the 8-1 record fool you.  st. john’s has gotten their eight wins by beating the little-sister-of-the-poors and east-popcorn-states of the college basketball world.  Their only loss of the season was to boston college by 12, and bc was picked to finish 11th in the ACC, ahead of just lowly uva.  st. john’s most impressive win (and it is a stretch to say that) might be their 19-point win over loyola (IL).  loyola beat georgia by 21 (uh oh, maybe this is actually bad news).  Of course VT hasn’t beaten anyone of note either.

The red storm placed no one on the preseason All Big East teams (13 players were on that list… I guess when you have 16 teams five isn’t enough).  To make matters worse, st. john’s lost their leading scorer from last season, Anthony Mason Jr. (yes, he’s the son of the former NY Knick goon by the same name).  Mason suffered a torn tendon in his foot against bc and will miss the rest of the season.

marist (3-6)

Player to Watch: #44 Ryan Schneider - Senior Forward (6′7″, 200 lbs) - 13.0 ppg and 8.6 rpg (both lead the team)

You may be wondering, “How bad is marist?”  Well, to put it in perspective, they are in the MAAC.  This is the same conference fairfield is in, who VT beat by 17 in puerto rico.  And fairfield, so far this season, has been the best team in the MAAC.  marist isn’t anywhere near as good as fairfield.  That should sum up marist’s chances of beating st. john’s.  Since I expect the Hokies to easily beat columbia, and therefore play st. john’s in the final, I’m going to quit wasting both our times right now and stop this summary of the red foxes (seriously, that’s their nickname!).