Road losses are frustrating, especially when you abandon your core beliefs and function like somebody you’re not. The Hokies tried to go toe-to-toe with a hot shooting Boston College team and failed miserably. While BC shot lights out from beyond the arc, the Hokies had stretches where they were lucky if the ball just hit the rim.
Tech abandoned its defensive gameplan early, after Joe Trapani of Boston College knocked down a couple threes to give Boston College an early 15-2 lead. Sadly, the Hokies never recovered. Its rare that you lose a game in the first four minutes, but that’s exactly what happened in Boston on Wednesday night.
Coach Greenberg deserves praise for what he’s done in Blacksburg but the inability to close down the stretch is something the Hokies have struggled at recently. Below is a chart that shows the record of the Hokies last eight regular season games since joining the ACC in 2004. As you can see it’s not very pretty.
2008-2009 season
Last season’s collapse was possibly the worst of the Greenberg era as Tech finished just 2-6. It is of note that the Hokies did play five ranked teams in that stretch, however they only beat one of them. Tech defeated 12th ranked Clemson in Little John Coliseum and Georgia Tech for their two wins then proceeded to lose at UVA, at Maryland, Florida State, UNC, Duke, and once again at Florida State. Tech went on to beat Miami in the ACC Tournament but failed to beat UNC on a buzzer beater the next day.
2007-2008 season
Malcolm Delaney’s freshman season was promising, especially since the Hokies finished in the top half of the ACC with a 9-7 conference record. Tech still faltered down the stretch losing three in a row to NC State, UNC, and Miami before rolling off four straight wins. The one point loss at Clemson sealed the Hokies fate of not making the NCAA tournament. Tech went 4-4 down the stretch, respectable but not impressive.
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2006-2007 season
Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon’s senior year was the last time the Hokies made the NCAA tourney yet the record is no better than the 2007-2008 season. Tech won just four of their last eight, but more importantly they were able to knock off UNC in Chapel Hill. That win vaulted them into the NCAA tournament. An interesting side note, Tech was ranked for three of their final eight games, they lost all three. Ouch!
2005-2006 season
Tech entered the 2005 season with high hopes but the Hokies faltered in the ACC after losing on a Sean Dockery half-court heave that will live on infamously in Duke history. If the Hokies would have won that game, who knows where they would have gone this year but Tech just couldn’t recover. They finished 4-12 in conference and lost six of their last eight.
2004-2005 season
The 2004 team was a schizophrenic bunch that ultimately wound up in the NIT thanks to a 15-14 overall record and an 8-8 ACC record. The Hokies once again faltered down the stretch losing five of their last eight. Greenberg’s bunch was able to beat Duke at home but failed to even beat Georgia Tech to advance past the first round of the ACC tournament.
Closing down the stretch has been a problem for Tech. I know the tone of this article is doom and gloom but a lot of teams have these same problems, its what makes College Basketball so spectacular especially in this part of the calendar.
The Hokies post-season fate will come this Saturday in Cassell Coliseum when the 10-3 Maryland Terrapins come to town. A loss would force the Hokies to have to win their final two, which includes a tough road game to another bubble team in the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. A win would ease some of the stress on Coach Greenberg and would put the Hokies in not only a position to get a first round bye in the ACC tournament, but in position to finish the season with 10 or 11 ACC wins. That would be a huge accomplishment in this league.
But, for the Hokies to beat the Terrapins, they need to get back to what they do best. Defense. If Tech suffocates ACC Player of the Year candidate Greivis Vasquez and forces Maryland to take some tough shots, the Hokies will be successful in accomplishing their goal and that’s to put themselves in a position to win late in the second half.
This Hokie team can do it, they’ve done it all year but they need to come out on Saturday and prove to all of America that this team can finish.
Stats
Bullet Points
- I have to admit that I quit watching this game at about the 15-minute mark of the second half. I’ve seen this before and honestly there was nothing worth watching down the stretch. When the Hokies are able to mount a comeback they tend to out play the opposing team in the first five minutes. That didn’t happen and the result was a 20 point loss.
- Jeff Allen continues to make headlines, as he is physically unable to stay on the floor for longer than two seconds. Actually two seconds might be too much since for him it seems possible that he picks up three fouls during that time period. Allen played 13 minutes against BC and picked up five fouls. Jeff’s game has really improved in the last few contests but with him on the bench for most of the game it’s hard prove that to a subjective audience. I’m honestly dumbfounded at how Seth Greenberg would even go about coaching Allen on this. Jeff’s second foul came when he was turning to run up court and ran straight into the ball carrier, who was standing still! Jeff proceeded to tackle him and was sent to jail, not passing “go” and not collecting his 200 dollars. At this point, Frank Beamer needs defensive ends and Allen has the athleticism to play that position, maybe a change of sports is in order.
- Malcolm Delaney continues to struggle from the floor, shooting just over 30-percent in his last six ACC games. If the Jeff Allen on the bench and the Delaney shooting woes continue, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Hokies don’t win a game the rest of the season. Your two best players have to contribute in some way.
Next Up
Tech only has three regular season games left as the month of March approached. The Hokies will face the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Cassell Coliseum. This is the Hokies biggest game of the season so far, so if you’re going be loud.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I thought Delaney played terrible in the BC game and caused the Hokies to not have a shot at winning. He did have 21 points but they mostly came when the game had long been decided. Like you I didn’t have near as much interest in a lot of the second half because I have seen it before also. You can tell when the team doesn’t care and that is sad and someting Seth has to address in the program. I was hoping MD would be pulled early in the game. You could tell he did not have it and when your leader is bringing the team down you need to sit him. Don’t wait until the game is over sit him right away. This team can win without MD on the court.