It seems only fitting that in the midst of the strangest NCAA tournament to date that the Virginia Tech Hokies are the team looking from the outside in.  Tech, while undeserving of an oppertunity to play in the big dance, has to wonder how far they could have gone.  Tech, with FSU playing later, and Duke losing last night, has beaten at least a sweet 16 team twice, and a sweet 16 loser once.  They also took a round of 32 team to OT.  It seems appropriate that the Hokies gain this chance for motivation to play every game like they did against Duke.  The Hokies lost a 2nd round game to a solid, but not equal Wichita State team last week.  Malcolm Delaney made his last game count, and scored 31 points.  Jeff Allen fouled out with around 5 minutes left, and really did not have an offensive impact.  The big surprise was Paul Debnam, who playing in his last game grabbed multiple tough rebounds, ran a great offense, and played amazing defense.  It must really sting these Seniors though.  They were the perennial “snub” for 4 years, and played in more NIT games than I can count.  I think this season was a great one when it comes to Tech standards, and this Senior class tied the most by any, which goes back to the class of Bimbo Coles and Dell Curry.

I really have not much more to say, it was a lot of fun this year.  The Duke game, and Gameday will be a highlight of my life.  Any fan of college basketball can appreciate the love we have for our team.  Hate us or love us, I am not going to argue.  I am honored to have spent 4 years watching Tech and all they have done.  Its no UNC, Duke, or wait VCU, but we had fun and I am going to remember these days for the rest of my life.

To Coach Greenberg, and all the Hokies that have walked through the tunnel at Cassell…..Thank you

After a loss this afternoon to Duke in the ACC semi-finals, the Hokies are headed back to Blacksburg to await the selection committee’s decision.  The Hokies followed a win against Duke with 2 straight losses to BC and Clemson.  The losses pushed the potential #9 seeded Hokies back to the bubble and into the projected “last 4 in” category.  Tech looked impressive against Georgia Tech in the opening round of the ACC tournament, and followed that win with an emotional last second victory against #3 seed Florida State.  It seemed the long night, and intense game had an effect on the Hokies when playing Duke, and were unable to weather Dukes offensive rebounding and aggressive defense.  Duke seemed to have learned from its previous meeting with the Hokies, and found ways to break the zone, and out rebound Tech.  The Hokies also seemed to be exhausted from their late night game the previous day, and returning to their hotel at 1 a.m. to wake up for an 11 a.m. meeting certainly took its toll.  Tech was out played, and still hung in the game, but after time Duke pulled away, and Tech was eliminated from the tournament.  They now wait to see what lays in their path for the big tournament.  Virginia Tech has been a perennial bubble team, and was dubbed as “America’s Bubble Team” by Joe Lunardi.  It is safe to say that if Virginia Tech went undefeated, they still would be put on the bubble just to keep things consistent.  After the last three years of disappointing NIT tournaments, the Hokies are ready to enter the tourney.  Tech has far from its most impressive resume over the last 4 years, but it also has competed in a tight ACC, beaten FSU twice, OKSt, Penn State, and #1 Duke.  They also went to the semi-finals of the ACC tourney, and didn’t get embarrassed by Duke.

The only thing to do now is to wait and see what will happen.  Tech has been snubbed in years past, but from all accounts this year is the one that sees them through to the big dance.

When Gameday ended, the fans spilled out of Cassell and went back to sleep, got lunch, or headed downtown to pregame early.  I must say that the noon exit from Cassell gave me 9 hours to think about the main reason we all stayed up through the night and stood outside in the cold for ESPN’s College Gameday.  It was not to get on TV, to show off posters, or to see some famous college basketball personalities.  All of these things made what we were doing there more exciting, and provided further motivation, but for the thousands of fans that were freezing, tired, and anxious, College Gameday provided Virginia Tech with an opportunity to show the country that we are not a one sport school.  Hokies will cheer for almost anything wearing maroon and orange.  Football, basketball, baseball, curling…it doesn’t matter.  We are a proud group, and know when our teams need support.  ESPN recognized our support of Hokie Basketball, and gifted us with a national stage for a whole day.  The Hokies did not disappoint.  In reality, how could they?  Tech has been hindered by injuries all season, and with a short inexperienced bench, Tech really has done well with this season.  The Hokies also have increased the strength of their schedule slating games against Purdue, K-State, OK-State, and UNLV.  The Hokies only managed to win 1 of these games, but took Purdue to OT, and lost to K-State in Manhattan.  The simple fact is that we are proud of this team, and with a win or not we are just happy to host Duke on the national stage.  The good news is that the Hokies came to play, and played well.  From the tip Tech looked inspired to get the marquee victory that finally might get them into the tournament.  Duke started off the game 0 for 5 from behind the arc.  Tech scored 9 quick points, and maintained a lead through most of the first half.  Malcolm Delaney was off to a slow start, and Tech also struggled from the free-throw line.  It would seem that Duke would be ahead by a lot if this were true, but Jeff Allen was on his game, and Victor Davilla played inspired around the rim, collecting rebounds and finishing a lot of shots he usually doesn’t make.  T-Bell also made is very difficult for Kyle Singler to score, and even though he had 22 points, he also struggled from the field.  The second half was a little less dominated by the Hokies, and Duke had a 6 point lead with under 10 minutes to go.  The Hokies stormed back, and after a Davilla slam to ignite the crowd, the Hokies took the ball away from Duke, and Delaney found Bell for a wide open 3 and tied up the game.  The Hokies didn’t look back, and ended up winning the game 64-60.  The remarkable thing is that the Hokies were 7-17 from the free-throw line, and Delaney finished with a mediocre 11 points.  Tech, while struggling from certain areas, stepped up in others.  They held Seth Curry, son of VT great Dell Curry, to 0 points, and after his 4th foul was serenaded to chants of “Who’s your daddy?”.  Seth fouled out after turning the ball over with 1.6 seconds left and almost sealing Tech’s victory.  The crowd stormed the court, and stayed there celebrating with the team as “Enter Sandman” and “Get ‘Em Hokies” blasted through Cassell’s speakers.  Greenberg and the Hokies finally got the win they needed to burst onto the March Madness scene.  They have two games left, both against ACC bubble teams.  The Hokies take on BC tonight in Cassell for Senior night.  This will be Malcolm, Jeff, T-Bell,  and Paul Debnam’s final games in Cassell, and they look to further their tournament resume.  BC will be inspired to beat the Hokies to do the same.  The Hokies also travel to Clemson later in the week to finish off the regular season.

The Duke Blue Devils, recently gained their #1 ranking back, look to avoid the trending #1 defeats on the road this season.  They will have their hands full, and might want to invest in some earplugs.  As Digger Phelps inspired the multiple thousands of students that turned out for College Gameday, before the show even went on air, the students were proving why they were chosen for the prime time event.  Students had camped out since 9 pm the previous evening.  The Gameday crew knew they were somewhere special.  Even the sound guy needed to take a second and admire the sea of maroon and orange after he intelligently decided to blast Enter Sandman through the speakers.  The entire 4 hours I spent in Cassell Coliseum this morning was a blur.  I will not ever experience a scene like that again in my life, and am happy to say so.

To the game.  It is important to introduce this game as what it is.  A deal maker/breaker.  For the Hokies, this can be the game that puts them into the tournament, and gives them the closure to this 4 year “bubbliciousness”.  They also can make it another year on the bubble if they cannot win, and if the loss is by a significant margin it will make every game the Hokies play a must win, and they must win at least 1 game at the ACC tournament.  For Duke, they are looking to almost sure up the ACC regular season title with a win, and gain the 1 seed going into the ACC tournament.

I think Tech wins this game.  I am not saying that because I go to Tech, and I want to celebrate into the early hours of the morning, I really think this team is still waiting to play its best basketball.  I also think, from what I saw at Gameday, that the fans will push this team towards victory.  Tech is proven against #1′s and with Jeff Allen being able to dominate the paint it should give Tech the ability to shoot the 3, and get back on defense to guard against the quick Duke guards.

Virginia Tech 78  Duke 71

Sweep. Sweep. Sweep.  The Hokies took the floor to a crowd not seen this season.  In my previous article I spoke about Coach Greenberg’s plea to fans to get more involved, and provide the Hokies’ opponents with a hostile crowd.  His prayer was heard.  Ushers were provided with free tickets from the time the gates opened, and students flowed in the doors.  For the first time all season Cassell was truly rockin’.  The student section was full, and the non-student section was as full as it has been.  The main thing that changed was the energy the fans provided.  It was one of the loudest scenes I have experienced in my 4 years at Virginia Tech.  Enter Sandman, for one of the few times, was allowed to complete its full 1:00 into the break of the song that sends fans into a frenzy. From that point on the crowd didn’t relent, and the intensity was high.  The last time Maryland came to Blacksburg the game went to double OT, and Maryland ended up prevailing.  The crowd was loud that entire game, and this time was not different.  The game was back and forth the entire time, and the crowd was given a great spectacle.  Malcolm Delaney finished with 22, Green had 20, and TBell finished 5/5 from the 3pt line which earned him a career high.  Jeff Allen also continued his double-double streak, and the Hokies prevailed 91-83.

Tech returns to action on Saturday.  They travel to UVA, tip off is set for 1 pm.  TV coverage: ACC Network split

With Virginia Tech being one of the most highly regarded “crowd” colleges in the country, it seems that every basketball game would be packed to the rafters.  The truth, however, is far from that.  In many of the Hokie’s recent games, attendance has been poor.  The game against Longwood, while having a listed attendance of over 9,000, had far less than that.  Cassell holds around 10,000 and during the last few games whole corners, and an entire section behind a basket were empty.  During the last game against Georgia Tech, a “blackout” game, the student section was empty until the opening minutes of the game.  The “non-student” section or season ticket holder section was never full, and only got loud and into the game on select plays.  The student section was on its feet the entire game, and was loud.  The issue is the numbers.  The student section is not full at any point, and hasn’t been all season.  The “alumni” section as well has not been full at any point, and if it is not a weekend game there is about half of the seats empty.  The school has a system that allows students to take empty seats for free at any game.  All they need to do is line up and wait for the game to start.  This helps, but is not enough.  The issue students have is with the lack of importance placed on them.  They feel as if the other season ticket holders have better seats, and do not show up to every game, and that can be upsetting to regular attendees.  This is also compounded by the scheduling of “effect” games.  The team has 4 different effect games throughout the year.  There is orange, gray, black, and maroon.  The team and fans wear these colors to promote an enveloping scene of color to overwhelm the visiting team.  The blackout game, one of the most popular games of the year, was this past Sunday at 1 pm against Georgia Tech.  The problem with this scheduling is not just a matter of date and time.  Sunday and early are two things the average college student doesn’t know.  It is hard to picture going out til the early hours on Saturday and having to wake up in a matter of hours to go yell for 2 hours.  This is also an early time for out of town fans to make it in for the game.  Third, it is only against Georgia Tech.  Blackout games should be against the most rivaled opponents.  The problem is not just that it is GT, it is that Duke is coming to town for a 9 pm Saturday game on ESPN featured by College Gameday.  This game, from day 1 was set up perfectly for a blackout game.  Not only is it not blackout, it isn’t even the orange effect game, it is maroon monsoon.  The least intimidating color option for the game that is most important.  This, along with the $10 cost for the blackout shirt makes it less than desirable.  The other issue is that non-student fans usually do not wear the proper colors for the effect games.  This, along with the collection of empty seats, ruins any attempt to create a more hostile environment.  The school also hurts itself.  The ticket office hangs up sold-out signs on the doors.  This gives the impression that all the seats are accounted for, and students looking for free seats are turned away.  The issues are long, and severe enough to get Head Coach Seth Greenberg involved.  Coach Greenberg sent out a mass email to ticket holders expressing his disappointment in attendance, and intensity in the last game against Georgia Tech.  He reiterated how College Gameday is coming to Blacksburg because of our established passion, and intensity as fans. He asked the fans to finish the season strong, and support the team better than they have been.  He also made sure non-ticket holders can take empty seats for free.

The Hokies host Maryland tonight, looking for the season sweep. Tip off is set for 8 pm.  Lets hope that Coach’s message was clearly delivered.

In the shadow of Groundhog’s Day (just had to do it) the Hokies find themselves at the end of a long week.  Once again the Hokies let a less than mediocre team slip right back into the game (twice) when allowing 10 and 16 point leads, to Miami and NC State respectively, slip right through their fingers.  This team has looked better than I have seen, and about as bad.  The good news is, that they still won those games.  The bad news is that they may have just called for an early Spring.  March/April may be months spent enjoying break and pondering a what if season.  When the Hokies took on the Boston College Eagles, a team seated in a position the Hokies were predicted to hold in the ACC, they knew they had a chance to prove their worth.  With an RPI of 60, they were almost exactly where they had to be, but they needed to win.  The Hokies grabbed 40 rebounds, and limited themselves to 6 turnovers.   Sadly, they shot just 34% from the field, and in any game that will hurt your chances.  Jeff Allen, who is my current nomination for most improved player in the ACC, had 25 points, 19…wait yeah I said 19 rebounds, 1 block, 3 steals, and here comes the shocker…was 5/5 from the FT line.  He shot 10 of 19 and 8 of his, VT, ACC, record setting, 19 rebounds were offensive.  He also managed to only take 1 three point shot.  On a night where the team couldn’t hit a shot, you might as well try your luck.  I wanted to build up some anticipation before I said this, but I can’t wait any longer…he also managed to restrict is ever hindering fouls to 2.  TWO! In 38 minutes, yes that’s only TWO minutes less than the full game.  To put this in perspective, Malcolm had 3 in 40, which is 1 foul every 13 minutes.  Jeff managed to do it once every 19 minutes.  For a down-low power like Allen, that is truly staggering.  Jeff Allen, now this teams most consistent asset, has developed into what the Hokie faithful have been waiting for all along.  Now, is it too late? I would say that Tech has a strong chance to still make the tournament, but one player making us all wet ourselves is not going to raise those chances.  We need a team effort, and a helluva lot better final shot play.  In the game today, with under 30 seconds left and down by 2, Malcolm missed the front end of a 1 and 1, T-Bell was whistled for foul on what many would call “questionable” over the back rebound, and the final shot was taken by a wide-open, yet mildly unreliable Erick Green.  Sure, Green has improved, and I would trust him with any mid-range to short range shot, but we have Malcolm Delaney on the team.  Why, when we all know he can shake off a defender for fun, is he leading the point on a final shot.  Why, if he is not open, are we not giving the ball to our hottest player…Jeff Allen…on the coldest shooting night of the year.  I really must reiterate that Erick Green has been this teams biggest crutch when dealing with all the injuries, but he is not our best weapon for a buzzer beater.  Even T-Bell has made some good threes this year.  This play has haunted us in the past, and along with not having time-outs called before the last shot, and not having our Senior leaders, and best players make the plays down the stretch can get aggravating. It is all hind sight however, and the way that we can be so criticl, is based on the fact that we are not on the team.  That being said, while this year has not been the crowd’s finest moment (less than stellar attendance numbers).  I feel the students deserve a chance for the dance.  I love the NIT crowds, and getting to see students (who deserve all the seats in the house) line up hours and days in advance to see us play Quinnipiac, but being able to watch us in a region we can’t get to on CBS would be nice too.  This is the year that was supposed to be ours, and whether you like to blame it on injuries, or effort, or schedule, it doesn’t matter.  All of those things are excuses, and everyone has got one.  The Hokies are all out of excuses and it’s time to step up, or get ready for another early Spring.

Tech’s next big opportunity is against GT on Sunday at 1 p.m..  This was chosen as the Blackout game? (Maybe should have been Duke, for College Gameday and all).  So I leave you with this…The Hokies, while searching for what they are only need to decide on who they want to be.  I think they can be great, and I hope they realize it soon. For the hope of dancing…

The Hokies may have punched another early ticket to the NIT.  For their less than an impressive season to this point, it is clearly panic time, and a hurricane approaches.  After a less than impressive game against Longwood, and a mistake ridden loss to Georgia Tech, the Hokies now find themselves 3-3 in conference play.  Tech’s 3 losses came to UVA ,UNC, and GT.  The Hokies had leads in all three games,  but could not seem to finish out.  The Hokies had a 16 point lead in the 1st half against UNC, but could not hold on.  The loss to a young and struggling UVA team was very hard to take, and considering the fact that it was at home, on Dell Curry night, shows that this Hokie team is having a problem staying consistent.  With the losses of Hudson, Chaney, Thompson, and Raines Tech has an excuse to remain off the predicted path, but with this severe lack of consistency it is hard to not blame them for their struggles.  Tech has beaten 3rd place Florida State in convincing fashion, as well as Wake Forest, and Maryland.  All 3 of these games were not very close in the end, and is what you would expect from a team picked to finish 2nd in the conference.  The losses, on the other hand, have proven that Tech is still not where it needs to be.  With a blowout loss to Kansas State, a team now struggling, and an overtime loss to Purdue, a team that climbed to #8, Tech has lost all it’s chances to claim some out of conference victories worthy of a tournament team.  Tech faces Miami at 5:30 pm today, and looks to climb above .500 in conference play.  If Tech struggles tonight, they will not win this game, and will almost assure themselves, barring an ACC tournament 1st or 2nd place finish, another NIT berth.  With Erick Green starting to find his form, and Jeff Allen getting double-doubles like its easy, this team really is tournament ready, but bound, is unclear.

So tonight might leave Blacksburg in ruin, or if the Hokies can weather the storm, and take down the Hurricanes, they might be able to salvage a season destined for greatness.

After a heartbreaking loss to UNC on Thursday night, the Hokies looked to turn around their play.  The Hokies have made it clear that they are having struggles closing out games.  After having a double digit lead against a weak UNC squad, the Hokies saw their lead slip away, and never come back.  They turned around their fortunes and took the lead early and never saw it dwindle.  At the half, the Hokies had put up 44 points and held the Deacs to 24.  This game was dominated by the Hokies, and 6 players scored 10 points or more.  This group, however, did not include Malcolm Delaney, who has imporved as one of the Nation’s best 3 point shooters.  He also added 2 rebounds, and 9 assists in 34 minutes.  Manny Atkins continued his hot shooting, and was high point scorer for the game with 16.  By the 5 minute mark in the 2nd half, the Hokies had their bench cleared, and brought in the likes of Paul Debnam, Andrew Griffin, and football team addition Prince Parker.  The Hokies have looked sharp since their loss to UVA, and have won 7 out of their last 8.  The Hokies head to UMD on Thursday night.  The game is slated for a 9 p.m. tip off and will be covered by ESPN2.  The Hokies return home next Saturday to host Longwood.

On a night where the the experts had VT as the team to beat, Stanford proved why they were ranked the #4 team in the country.  With the 1st half looking like the game would be a shootout, the 2nd half brought the Hokies’ chances of a 12th straight win crashing down.  The score at the break was 13-12 Stanford, and VT looked to be handling Luck’s passing abilities.  Tech recorded the 1st safety in the Orange Bowl since 2006 when a deflected Luck pass was caught by a Cardinal O-lineman in the endzone, who was tackled for 2 points.  VT also blocked an extra point, and a Tyrod Taylor TD pass to David Wilson looked like a play of the year candidate. This, however, would not be enough.

It all ended when Tyrod Taylor was intercepted at the Stanford 2 yard line.  With Tech driving, and only down 7 they looked to have a chance to tie it up. An underthrown pass to Jarett Boykin was picked off, and halted the VT drive.  Stanford took two plays to score, and never looked back.  Andrew Luck finished with 287 yards and 4 TD’s.

There was an evident lack of Ryan Williams tonight.  There seemed to be no reason for this plan, and having one of the Nation’s top backs would seem to be a strength, but Ryan didn’t get a carry until the 2nd half, and was not used for much of the game.  Stanford controlled the Hokies the entire 2nd half, and looked to be severely out matched.  Tech could not stop Stanford’s passing attack and the Offensive line was even worse.  The Hokies looked to go backwards from the 1st half, something they only did once all season. Tech looked like they needed to go back to the JMU game and remember what not to do.  The month spent preparing for this game was clearly not spent wisely.  Harbaugh’s ability to make half-time changes, and dominate Bud Foster’s defense was something not seen in at Tech in a long while.  This was the worst loss Tech has had since early 2007 when the Hokies played LSU and lost 48-7.  Ironically these two losses were Tyrod Taylor’s first and last games as a Hokie.

Whats next?  It seems that the only thing the Hokies can do is focus on the good.  The did win 11 in a row, the ACC Coastal, the ACC, and ended up ranked after two heartbreaking losses.  However, this loss will hurt the most.  After keeping Stanford at bay, and being down only a point at the half, Tech looked to be in prime position to take the game over.  They seemed like they never left the locker room, and whatever was changed at the half, if anything, didn’t work at all.  I think that Stanford came to play with better players, and a better plan of execution, but Tech is still the better team but never played as one tonight.  The shining moments of the game were Tyrod Taylor plays, or Stanford miscues.  The Cardinal defense looked determined and hungry to take the game over, while Foster’s defense looked anything but.  It was just not a night that the Hokies were meant to be successful on.

We say goodbye to many Seniors, and thank them for all the great moments they provided us over the years.  Thanks especially to Tyrod Taylor, a record setting, ACC POY, and overall great Hokie.  Next year cannot come too soon, and The Lane will be as loud as ever, as we welcome a new season and a new set of memories.

I will be keeping the Hokie faithful posted on off-season news and headlines, but until then thanks for reading, and GO HOKIES!