I've gotten the feeling during Tech's five-game winning streak that Seth Greenberg has been preaching to his players to leave no doubt in the selection committee's collective mind this season. After two disappointing Selection Sundays, the Hokies are finishing strong instead of crawling to the finish. Their current hot streak has been a great ride, but it could easily be derailed if they falter against a team like BC. However, I doubt Greenberg is going to let that happen this year. I've had questions about Greenberg's coaching and scheduling philosophies in the past, but his motivational skills and player development have been off the charts this year. The team is focused and getting production out of everyone. It's a stark contrast to last year's reliance on Vassallo, Delaney and Allen and its miserable ending to the season.
Links after the jump.
Virginia Tech 87, Wake Forest 83
Mainstream Media
Wake. Wow. (Kyle Tucker)
"The Hokies got eight straight points – all of them answers to Wake buckets that kept the Deacons from extending its lead past 11 points – from back-up forward J.T. Thompson during one stretch in the second half. He scored 10 points in barely four minutes and finished with 16 points and five rebounds (including a huge offensive board off a missed free throw when the game was tight late)."
Roles defined, Tech clearly a team (Aaron McFarling)
"That might sound simple, but teams can go entire seasons without achieving that kind of chemistry. You could argue the Hokies last year were one of them. In the most crucial moments, the 50-50 balls seemed to go the other way, the wrong players seemed to take the big shots and the game-saving box outs seemed to go unperformed."
Has Virginia Tech done enough to make the NCAA tournament? (Darryl Slater)
"OK, so let’s assume – and I know how silly that can be in college basketball – that the Hokies take care of business against their two remaining opponents outside the top 50: No. 106 Boston College (road) and No. 119 North Carolina State (home). And let’s assume they win none of their final three top-50 games: No. 2 Duke (road), No. 42 Maryland (home) and No. 29 Georgia Tech (road). They would be 2-5 against the top 50, presuming Seton Hall doesn’t work its way into that group."
Hokies' Terrell Bell has 'monster game' (Mark Viera)
"Bell, a swingman, had 14 rebounds on a night when Greenberg said it would be crucial for his guards to grab rebounds because of the physical nature of the game for the post players. In fact, Greenberg called Bell on Monday night to remind him of the importance of him and others rebounding."
Hokies conquer deficit, down Demons (Collegiate Times)
"With two of the Hokies’ key big men sitting out, the Deacons took control of the game and ran up an eight point halftime lead behind 21 first-half points from sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu. Junior guard Malcolm Delaney single-handedly kept Tech in the game with 15 points of his own in the first half and finished the game with 31 total."
Kuiper’s 3-Pointer: Virginia Tech-Wake (ACC Sports Journal)
"The Hokies used a 2-3 zone on and off for about 10 minutes of the second half. To be honest, I didn’t think it was a very good zone, but it was effective. I think Seth Greenberg’s reasoning for using the zone was to try to slow Wake down. The way you do that is to control Smith. For the most part, I think it worked."
Bloggers
Niemo’s Notes | 2.17.10 (Tech Hoops)
"The Hokies all but locked up a first round bye in the ACC Tourney last night. VT has the tiebreaker over wake, clemson, and uva, the 4th, 5th, and 7th place teams respectively. Based on the games everyone has left, Tech just needs to go 2-3 the rest of the way to lock up a bye. I know that’s not what anyone wants, just saying that is what it will take."
Hokies Down Deacs 87-83 (Tech Sideline)
"Delaney, as well as all of Tech's guards and wings, paid attention to Seth Greenberg's key to the game: the perimeter players must rebound the basketball. Delaney finished with nine rebounds, Dorenzo Hudson pulled down seven to go along with 21 points, and Terrell Bell had a whopping 14 boards and four blocked shots."
Hokies Rise From the Dead to Knock Off Demon Deacons (Fight for Old DC)
"The dunk sparked a 21-8 run that gave the Hokies a 71-69 lead, a lead they held onto for the final 6:30 en route to an 87-83 come-from-behind win over #23 Wake Forest. The win put Tech in sole possession of second place in the ACC at 21-4 overall and 8-3 in conference, while Wake fell to 18-6 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. In addition, the Hokies remained undefeated at home in 14 attempts, and accomplished their first five-game conference win streak since joining the league."
