Virginia Tech men’s basketball on a roll
Posted at 3:00 pm on Friday, December 22nd, 2006 by VinceThe Virginia Tech men’s basketball team started the season with a very shaky record of 4-3. Two of those losses came in the Old Spice Classic, where Tech finished a disappointing 6th place. After beating Iowa 69-65 as apart of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Hokies had a tough 1-point loss to George Washington in the BB&T Classic. With a 62-61 lead and less than 20 ticks of the clock left in the game, Coleman Collins missed a slam dunk that would have put the Hokies in a great position for the win. Hampered by a preseason injury and the loss of his father earlier in the year, Collins’ senior season has been a disappointment thus far.
Since the GW loss, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team has rattled off 4 straight wins: beating ODU by 17, Appalachian State by 32, Wake Forest by 3, and Seton Hall by 19.
While those wins weren’t necessarily against premier opponents, they were each good, solid victories in their own right. ODU managed to close within 7 a few times in the second half, but the Hokie late-in-the-game meltdown that plagued the team so much last season never materialized. App State was held to 37 points, which was the second fewest point total by an opponent in Cassell Coliseum. Somehow the Hokies made enough free throws to beat Wake Forest. Wake lead at the half 31-27, but Tech had a pivotal 13-2 run in the second half that gave them control of the game. Tech also survived a 3-point attempt at the buzzer by Wake Forest that would have sent the game into overtime. This game marked the first time the Hokies won their conference opener since the 1996-97 season. Against Seton Hall, a solid team from a great basketball conference, the Hokies played their best basketball of the season during a 20-0 run in the 2nd half.
According to the Washington Post recap of the Seton Hall game, written by Adam Kilgore, Hokies head coach Seth Greenburg analyzed the tape from the team’s first 5 games after Thanksgiving weekend to figure out why Tech was 3-2. Coach Greenburg’s conclusion was that the defense he installed in the preseason wasn’t working, so he implemented a new defense that came into its own against Seton Hall. Tech held Seton Hall (who were averaging 81 points coming into the game) to 61 points, forced 21 turnovers, and had 16 steals & 12 blocks. The Pirates shot just 27.7% from the floor and were held scoreless for nearly 8 minutes in the 2nd half.
The Hokie defense really shined against Seton Hall, and this is a good time to hit their stride, too. After taking on Campbell (Dec 23) and Marshall (Dec 30) during the Holiday Season, the Hokies play Richmond at home (Jan 3), at Duke (Jan 6), at UNC-Greensboro (Jan 10), and North Carolina at home (Jan 13). From Richmond to UNC, that’s 5 games in 15 days. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s a tough stretch.
Another positive note from the win over Seton Hall was Coleman Collins’ game. While he only finished with 5 points, he played 19 minutes off the bench and had 6 rebounds. He played with energy and hustled on defense. I think he’ll use this game as a springboard to get his season turned around.
Doubters will look at the last four games and say that while the Hokies have rolled, they really haven’t played anyone. However, the three out of conference wins are going to be solid RPI boosters (according to RealTimeRPI.com VT is 34th at the time of this writing), and any conference win is a good win in the ACC. They’re on a roll, and if they can maintain this momentum, Virginia Tech should be 11-3 going into the meat & potatoes of their schedule and playing with the kind of confidence with which tournament-quality teams play.