We weren't able to catch this game, but we've seen the recipe...
- Jeff Allen foul trouble
- AD Vassallo is the only consistent scorer
- Malcolm Delaney disappears for a half
- No other VT player steps up
Those 4 bullet points were the exact recipe for a loss to Wisconsin in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, and the Hokies were at it again in their 67-66 loss to Georgia. If there is any consolation its that the Hokies didn't lose at the buzzer once again. Georgia's Albert Jackson hit the go ahead basket with 30 seconds remaining and Virginia Tech took a few contested, bad shots that didn't fall.
The guys at TechHoops.com do a great job breaking down games, so let's see what they had to say...
This game was about as tightly played as any I’ve ever seen. The Hokies’ biggest lead of the game was five, and that was early in the first half at 5-0 and 15-10. georgia never led by more than four. Tech led 60-56 with 8 minutes to play, but seemed to run out of gas waiting for the under-8 media timeout. It never came and Greenberg finally burned a timeout with 5:21 to play after the game had been tied. The game was a see-saw battle after that with neither team leading by more than two.
Tech lost this game on the defensive glass, just like against mississippi in the NIT Quarterfinals last season. The SEC is a “man’s league” and VT looked like boys again inside. The dawgs had too much strength inside. Though the bulldogs 14-9 edge on the glass doesn’t appear that dominating, it led to numerous second efforts for the offensively challenged dawgs. Had the Hokies cleaned the glass on the defensive end, they win easily. At one point with 3 minutes to go, georgia missed both free throws, got the offensive rebound, missed the second of the next two free throws, and got another offensive board. That was the story for much of the night.
Another critical issue for the Hokies tonight was turnovers. They struggled mightily with georgia’s tough denial defense all night and led to the dawgs getting more than 20 points off VT turnovers. Jeff Allen had several bad passes.
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The announcer said at the end that, “You don’t have to worry about Virginia Tech, they’ll be alright.” I disagree 100%. While there is plenty of basketball left to be played and plenty of chances to punch a ticket to the Big Dance, VT has dug themselves into quite a hole. The Hokies are now 0-4 against big conference opponents, and only have potentially st. john’s left before conference play begins. This basically means VT will have one quality win at best heading into ACC play, and st. john’s is not a quality team right now so that might not even matter.
I’m sorry, but this season is already stinking of 2005-06. Let’s hope the guys get as fed up with this as Greenberg was at the end and start taking care of business, instead of finding ways to lose. I think if I had a thermometer right now, it would read over 100 on me (and Greenberg). This loss really stung as you sensed most of the way VT would win. They didn’t… yet again.
