Tag Archives: Virginia Tech Basketball

Is It Really a Down Year?

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As the regular season winds down, it is becoming clearer which teams will be dancing. In Joe Lunardi’s latest edition of bracketology, just four ACC teams make the cut. I say “just four” because many experts have coined this as a down year for the conference. I will concede that compared to the powerhouse Big East, which is slated to receive an unprecedented 11 bids, the ACC is in a down year.

I argue though that, for the last few years, the conference has become a little overrated.  The ACC has received just four bids in two of the last five seasons, and through the last ten years, the conference only averages five bids each year. Furthermore, through that span, it averages fewer than two teams reaching the Sweet 16 each year. To find the last time three teams from the ACC reached the Sweet 16 you have to go all the way back to 2005. In 2005, North Carolina won the championship, and No. 1 seed Duke reached the Sweet 16 along with No. 10 seed N.C. State.

This year it seems likely that the conference sends two teams, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, to the Sweet 16. Both teams are ranked in the top 13 of both the AP Poll and Coaches’ Poll this week. They are slated to be a No. 2 and No. 3 seed respectively in Lunardi’s latest projection. The other ACC teams projected to receive bids are Florida State and Virginia Tech. Both of these teams beat Duke to earn their signature victories. Clemson, who is one of first eight teams missing the cut according to Lunardi, has the chance to do so tonight, while Boston College will likely have to make a run in the conference tournament next week if it wants its season to continue.

Regardless of how many teams end up making the cut, if Duke and North Carolina both pull their weight, this cannot be coined a down year for the conference. It will be a very standard year for the ACC. The conference may be slightly overrated if this is considered a down year when in reality it is average when you look at the statistics. If either the Seminoles or Hokies make a run like the Wolfpack did back in 2005, then this year can ultimately be considered a strong year for the conference.

Which team is more likely to make a run? As of now Lunardi projects Virginia Tech as a No. 9 seed and Florida State as a No. 10 seed. The Hokies received the votes in the AP Poll this week while the Seminoles did not receive votes in either of the major polls. Both have their big wins against the Blue Devils coming at home, so let’s take a look at some other metrics to compare these two squads.

The teams have very similar resumes. Both teams are coming in hot, each boasting a 9-3 record in their last 12 games. They also have identical records in combined neutral site and road games, 8-6. Based on strength of schedule, the Seminoles have a slight edge (96th compared to 104th), but Florida State does not have any impressive road wins. In their chances against quality opponents on the road, they have lost to Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Maryland. While the Hokies do not have any overly impressive away wins, they beat the Terrapins at College Park as well as N.C. State.

Since it is difficult to give one team an edge based strictly on resumes, let’s take a look at some of their statistics. Florida State averages more turnovers than assists (16 to 13) per game. They also only have one player, Chris Singleton (who is injured and out indefinitely), who averages double figures in points. On the other hand, Virginia Tech has three healthy players who average over ten points-per-game, each of whom are capable of scoring 20 on a given night. They boast a better assist-to-turnover ratio, along with higher percentages from the foul line and behind the arc. Because of those statistics and the cliché that guard play is key in March, I’m going to give the edge to the Hokies.

Although the tiebreaker could really ultimately be the seeds they receive. A No. 8 or No. 9 seed makes it more difficult to reach the Sweet 16 because the team must then go through that bracket’s No. 1 seed. Therefore all of this column may be a moot point if one of the teams ends up with a No. 8 or No. 9 seed and the other is lucky enough to be a No. 10-12 seed in its bracket.

ACC Player of the Year Race Takes Shape

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Time to celebrate—Duke finally has company from its conference in the AP Poll this week. Florida State, which downed the Blue Devils on January 12th, climbed into the rankings at No. 22. In the USA Today Coaches Poll however, Duke is still the lone representative of the ACC. These two teams are tied atop the conference with a 5-1 record in league play.

Virginia Tech padded its resume this week with its most impressive win of the season, a 17-point victory over Maryland at College Park. Having won nine of their last ten games, the Hokies have earned respect and eight votes in the AP Poll. If it can take care of business on the road against bottom-feeding Georgia Tech and a struggling Miami squad who is 1-4 in conference play, might we see three teams in the AP Top 25 from the ACC?

A large reason for Virginia Tech’s recent success is the play and leadership of senior guard Malcolm Delaney. In the Maryland game, Delaney scored 19 points, right on his 18.9 points per game average, and passed well, racking up seven assists. Delaney is third in the conference in scoring. The Hokies will need him to remain a candidate for Conference Player of the Year if they want to make noise in March.

Joining Delaney in the conversation for ACC Player of the Year is Blue Devil guard Nolan Smith. While Kyrie Irving was healthy, Smith saw a lot more time at shooting guard, but he has handled the point guard duties with Irving on the sideline. Leading the ACC in both scoring and assists, Smith has been a catalyst and facilitator for Duke’s explosive offense which averages eight more points per game than any conference foe. He has carried the offense on his back in the Blue Devils’ last ten contests, averaging just under 24 points per game during that stretch.

The next highest scorer is Boston College guard Reggie Jackson. Jackson leads the Eagles in scoring and assists, and is second only to Smith in both categories in the conference. In order for Jackson to get real consideration for conference player of the year he would likely have to lead Boston College to finish in the top echelon of the league. The Eagles face a tremendous challenge Thursday night when they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on No. 3 Duke. The matchup of Smith and Jackson should be a fun one to watch.

Any conversation for ACC Player of the Year would not be complete without including Smith’s teammate and fellow senior for the Blue Devils, forward Kyle Singler. Singler has posted double digits in scoring in all but one game this season on his way to fourth-best in conference scoring. As the highest scoring forward in the conference, Duke’s Singler has made his presence felt on the boards too, averaging over six per game.

Jordan Williams is one player who had his way on the boards against the Blue Devils. He posted 23 points and 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass in their matchup on January 9. Williams is averaging over 12 rebounds per game and has posted at least 11 boards in each of the Terrapins’ last 13 games. It is likely that many voters would select Williams over Singler as the most valuable big man in league play thus far given his importance to his team and contributions on the glass.

Although North Carolina does not have a true ACC Player of the Year candidate, it is difficult to ignore Roy Williams’ squad. The Tar Heels are unbeaten at home this season and they have won six of their last seven games. Thanks to quality play from forwards Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes, North Carolina is 3-1 in the ACC, good for third in the conference.

We are starting to see some players step up for their respective teams at this points in the season, but we also are starting to see the conference separate into tiers. Last week when I wrote this column, the ACC featured five one-loss teams and six two-loss teams. At this point in time, there are only three-one loss teams and two two-loss teams remaining. Thursday night’s matchup between Boston College and Duke features two of the top teams in the conference and should be a good one.

ACC Teams Looking for Answers as Conference Play Approaches

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Mike Scott and the Virginia Cavaliers are one of the few bright spots in the ACC this season.

In last week’s column, I highlighted some of the marquee matchups of this year’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Many would argue that the ACC exceeded expectations in winning five of the 11 contests this season. Albert Lacarda published a piece on ESPN.com on Monday in which he ran a ratings system, which takes an average of each school’s ranking in Massey’s, Pomeroy’s, and Sagarin’s computer ranking systems (as well as the RPI) and then calculates the conference rankings. The ACC ranked fourth in the opening poll behind the Big Ten, Big East, and Big 12 respectively. Although this year has been coined a down year for the ACC, winning five of 11 games against the top-ranked conference in the nation is nothing to sneeze at; however, ultimately the conference’s strength will be determined by its teams success in March.

By this point in the season, some teams are still trying to figure out what works while other teams are rolling on all cylinders. While there is no doubt No. 1 Duke is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, the other ACC teams face questions, some facing larger problems than others.

Another ACC team who seems to be in a rhythm is Virginia. After losing leading scorer Sylven Landesberg to the Maccabi Haifa, an Israeli team who signed Landesberg after he went undrafted in the NBA draft, the Cavaliers needed playmakers to emerge. Senior forward Mike Scott has stepped up in a big way for his team. After averaging 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a junior, Scott is averaging over 17 points and 10 rebounds per game this season, and he is a big reason Virginia is coming off back-to-back impressive road victories. Scott totaled 38 points and 25 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ wins over then No. 17 Minnesota and in-state conference rival Virginia Tech. With eight consecutive home games around the corner for Virginia, look for them to push up into the Top 25 by the time conference play heats up.

On the other hand, Malcolm Delaney’s Hokies have been sliding down the standings. After a 4-1 start where their only loss came as visitors against No. 3 Kansas State, Virginia Tech has lost three straight games, the first of which came on a neutral court against UNLV by double digits. In that contest, Delaney scored 30 points and the rest of the Hokies scored just 29. A similar trend occurred in their home loss against the Cavaliers where Delaney scored 26 points and the rest of the team accounted for just 28 points. Seth Greenberg’s squad will need another player to emerge as a consistent scorer if they hope to contend in ACC play and the NCAA Tournament later on this season.

Other teams who suffered disappointing losses this weekend were Clemson and Maryland who both fell to non-conference foes on Sunday. The Tigers fell as visitors to in-state rival South Carolina 64-60. While the Gamecocks boast a 6-1 record thus far, they had not beaten any team from a power conference up until Sunday’s matchup with Clemson. The Tigers will have to right the ship quickly since they face Florida State, one of the stronger teams in the ACC so far, on Sunday.

Similar to the Seminoles, the Terrapins appear to be one of the better teams in the conference. Led by sophomore Jordan Williams, Maryland has beaten five opponents from non-power conferences (in addition to beating Penn State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge), but they have lost to their best three opponents, Pittsburgh, Illinois and Temple. If the Terrapins hope to be a factor in March, they will have to learn to close out games against talented opponents.

Bottom Half of the ACC Struggles Early

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Malcolm Delaney's Hokies struggled last night.

As No. 24 Virginia Tech took the floor against No. 3 Kansas State Tuesday night, the Hokies were not only playing for a big win for their team, but they were fighting to earn respect for the Atlantic Coast Conference as a whole. After Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, last year’s sixth and seventh place finishers in the conference respectively, each lost by double digits to Atlantic Sun opponents, many experts are pegging this year as a down year for the ACC.

In Eamonn Brennan’s column from November 9, he attempts to rank all 32 conferences in Division-I college basketball. Although the last decade of college basketball has been dominated by the ACC and the Big East, Brennan omits each of these conferences from his top three. Brennan lists Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, and Florida State as potential tournament teams, but he describes the rest of the conference as “pretty mushy.”

Now I don’t know exactly what “pretty mushy” means in sports terms, but I am pretty sure the Deamon Deacons losing by 10 points on their home court to Stetson qualifies as “mushy.” Wake Forest was outrebounded 42-31 thanks to 12 boards from Stetson’s 6-foot-5 forward Ridge Graham. The only Deamon Deacon with over five rebounds was 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Ari Stewart who came off the bench. Given that Wake Forest struggled so mightily facing a lineup which featured only one player above 6-foot-5, Jeff Bzdelik, Wake’s first year head coach, has his work cut out for him.

Paul Hewitt also faces an uphill battle after his Yellow Jackets lost to Kennesaw State, the Atlantic Sun Conference’s eighth place team last year who sported a 7-13 record within the conference. The Owls went up 7-0 in the first 1:31 of play and did not surrender the lead. Georgia Tech certainly expected their talented trio of guards, Mfon Udofia, Iman Shumpert, and Glen Rice Jr., to take over the game, but Udofia and Rice combined for just one three-point field goal made and one foul shot made between them. Hewitt is going to be counting on those players to control the tempo of the game against ACC opponents, and that level of production certainly won’t cut it.

One of the conference’s bright spots in the first real week of action was unranked Miami. The Hurricanes opened up the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon at midnight Monday night in Memphis. They faced the No. 19 Tigers and hung tough until the end, with the contest was tied with 1:42 remaining before eventually falling 72-68. Miami dominated the glass racking up 46 rebounds compared to Memphis’ 27; however, the Hurricanes’ 18 turnovers may have cost them the game.

“If we go back and look at it, of their 19 field goals, there were few against our set defense,” Miami head coach Frank Haith said. “They scored a ton of buckets off our turnovers in transition.”

The Hokies also came up short on the road against a talented opponent this week. National player of the year candidate Jacob Pullen had three fouls in the first half, contributing to Kansas State only leading30-29 at halftime. In the second half, though, Pullen and company proved too much for Virginia Tech to handle. The Hokies had three players injured coming into this matchup, and when three of their starters, Jeff Allen, Victor Davila, and Terrell Bell, suffered through foul trouble of their own, Kansas State pulled away. This game was closer than the final score indicated, but the Wildcats were definitely the dominant team.