There is nothing more agonizing for college basketball fans than being a fan of a bubble team. Yet that is exactly what the Hokies have been several times under Seth Greenberg. Coming off a good year in 2007 when they were awarded a 5th seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the second round, last year they overachieved with a young team but fell just short of the tournament. There short comings were mostly attributed to their lack of early season success during non-conference play.
This season is starting to feel awfully similar.
Chris Coleman on Techsideline.com wrote a great article today on Virginia Tech Basketball Issuesthat pretty much sums up the Hokies struggles as a team so far this year and how it might affect things come NCAA tourney selection time. To net it out, the Virginia Tech Basketball team has failed to get any big out of conference wins. Unfortunately many of the losses have been close, unlucky, including one that was a half court shot. But the fact is, even if the Hokies win the rest of their non-conference games and do well in ACC play, they are likely to be a.....yes.....bubble team.
I expect the Hokies to do well in ACC play. Its a tough conference, there are clearly a group of teams simply better than Virginia Tech (UNC, Duke, Clemson, probably Wake Forest). However there are many teams with no more than equal or less talent than the Hokies. I think the Hokies will win more than they lose.
So let's say they have a good year in conference, like last year, and go 9-7. So far this year they are 4-3, and I think they will win at least 5, more likely 6 of their non-conference games left. That would put them at 19-11 going into the ACC tournament with really no good out conference wins. The committee often looks for wins vs top 50 teams in the RPI, so unless the Hokies can beat a few in ACC play, they won't have any.
My friends, a 19-11 team with few if any good wins, is the profile of a bubble team. Like past "bubble years", we'll have to hope Virginia Tech can win at least 2 game in the ACC tournament and then bite our fingernails on Sunday night when brackets come out. We many be headed for the great buzzkill known as the NIT.
Of course this is all hypothetical, Virginia Tech could do much better or worse in ACC play, or even stink it up in there next 6 games against relatively inferior opponents. But for us Virginia Tech Basketball fans, it sure seems like we've seen this movie before....
Go Hokies!
Great Virginia Tech Christmas and Holiday Gifts
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
If we go 9-7 in the ACC and one of those teams that we beat is Duke or UNC, we are in.
We hae to go 15-7 in our next 22 games, HokieG… the win over Navy was good… now, we have to keep it going… beat Georgia… if we win the next six non-conference games, we are at 11-3… 9-7 in the ACC (with a win over Duke or UNC) gives us 20 wins… and we are in at 20 wins.