Joe Lunardi talks HokiesPosted Feb28, 2008 at 05:01 PMI asked ESPN “bracketologist” Joe Lunardi on Thursday about Virginia Tech’s NCAA chances. If the Hokies beat Wake Forest and Clemson to finish 10-6 in the ACC, would they lock up a bid? That would be “premature” thinking, he said. But if they also get a win in the ACC Tournament, he said they’ll be in fine shape. He said that while they would have a similar “profile” as 2007 wallflower Syracuse — which was left out despite 22 wins, 10 Big East wins and a win in the Big East tournament — they would benefit by being in a weaker mix of bubble teams than last year’s bunch. — Mark Berman PREP BASKETBALL SCORES, PAIRINGSPosted Feb27, 2008 at 03:27 PMVHSL BOYS REGION III REGION IV REGION C DIVISION 2 REGION C DIVISION 1 VHSL GIRLS REGION III REGION IV REGION C DIVISION 2 REGION C DIVISION 1 VIS BOYS DIVISION II DIVISION III VIS GIRLS
Tourney talk and TechPosted Feb27, 2008 at 02:48 PMYou want your email inbox to fill up as a columnist? Write an NCAA tournament bubble column. Presto. Filled. Simple as that. My take that Virginia Tech still needs three wins to get in generated a variety of responses this morning. From Jason in McLean, Va.: "First of all-if we go 10-6, we're in, win or lose in the ACC tourney. Just no way to dispute that. Leave a 9-7 ACC team behind, yes, it has happened before, but not 10-6 and that's not going to happen this year either. Not to mention, our RPI would be in the mid-40s (RPI factors in win-streak and we would've beat a top 25 RPI Clemson team). You should check out realtimerpi.com so you can get more up-to-date info than citing "Sunday's RPI" for a Wednesday article (even if it was written last night)." More on this a bit later. From Brett in Washington, D.C.: "I think it's time to give VT a new nickname attributed to success in all sports: 'Defense U.' Think about it....football, nuff said. Basketball? We wouldn't have won like we have this year or the past 2 years if the defense wasn't nasty. Soccer? I hear a very stingy defense as well. Don't know about baseball. Nonetheless, it's just funny how Greenberg has taken the 'business model,' if you will, of the football team, and applied it directly to basketball. Awesome coaching. Defense U. We take pride in defense." I have no doubt Brett -- a devoted Tech fan and frequent emailer, particularly during football season -- makes good money as a financial analyst in the big city, but I think he'd do all right for himself in this business, too. And even my own colleague threw in his two cents. Mark Berman, our Virginia Tech men's basketball beat writer, sent me this in reference to the column: "So what if no ACC team has been left out at 10-6? Sure, back when ACC had 9 teams and everyone played Duke and UNC twice, a 10-6 record meant something. But in the watered down 12-team ACC we have now, a 10-6 mark does not mean the same thing as it used to because teams' schedules aren't the same." That's the main reason I think Tech needs at least one win in the tournament, too. Although I stand by my assertion that leaving them out at 10-6 would be historic. Probably not unfair. But by definition, historic. Here is ESPN's updated take on the bubble situation. And, as usual, here is a fresh piece of fake news for all to enjoy. -- Aaron McFarling Hokies beat BCPosted Feb26, 2008 at 10:34 PMMark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team beat Boston College 67-48 for its 3rd straight win. The Hokies led by as many as 26 points in the second half. "The 2nd half was the best balance we've had between our offense and our defense," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We were very efficient defensively and we really executed offensively. We made the extra pass. We waited on screens. We cut harder. We were efficient in transition. "We've got some guys, the light bulb's starting to go on. ... They start to buy in to playing harder defensively, being more alert and using their quickness and athleticism and trusting each other." Tech improved to 8-6 in the ACC, grabbing sole possession of fourth place. "I'm excited -- not surprised," JT Thompson said. "In the media's eyes and whoever picked us, I think we exceeded (expectations), but in our own eyes .. this is where we thought we could be," Malcolm Delaney said. Tech went on a 14-0 run to build a 44-25 lead with 14:46 to go. "The defensive pressure (improved) - we pushed up on them a little," Jeff Allen said. Vassallo had all 12 of his points in the second half. "I got better looks (in the 2nd half)," he said. "They weren't denying as hard as they were in the 1st half. ... The guys did a good job finding me." Hokies up at halftimePosted Feb26, 2008 at 07:45 PMMark Berman here in Blacksburg, where for all of you who can't see this game on ESPNU, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team leads Boston College 25-20 at halftime. BC is shooting just 32.1 percent from the field to Tech's 40.7 percent. Tech has outrebounded BC 21-15, but Tech has 10 turnovers. JT Thompson has eight points off the bench for Tech. AD Vassallo is 0-of-3 from the field. Rakim Sanders has eight points for BC, while Tyrese Rice has six points. Deron Washington and Lewis Witcher scored back-to-back baskets to give Tech a 19-15 lead with 3:51 to go in the half. Tech has led ever since. Back with more after the game. Virginia-N.C. State men's basketballPosted Feb24, 2008 at 08:12 PMCHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia, which had not forced more than 20 turnovers in a game all season, took advantage of 17 first-half N.C. State turnovers Sunday en route to a 78-60 victory at John Paul Jones Arena. It marked the first time that Virginia (13-12 overall, 3-9 ACC) has won consecutive conference games this season, while N.C. State (15-11, 4-8) lost its fifth game in a row. The Wolfpack finished with 25 turnovers, compared to nine for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers had a season-high steals, including a career-high seven by senior point guard Sean Singletary. Singletary also had 21 points and six assists, game highs in both categories. Coach Dave Leitao said his team's defense in the first half, when it held State to 18 points while committing only three fouls, was the most impressive of his tenure. Hokies beat Georgia TechPosted Feb23, 2008 at 06:08 PMMark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team beat Georgia Tech 92-84. The Hokies led the entire second half en route to clinching their fourth winning season in coach Seth Greenberg's five years at the helm. The Hokies improved to 7-6 in the ACC. Not bad for a team picked to finish 10th in the ACC's preseason media poll. They have won 2 straight after a 3 game skid. "We weren't going to use our youth as an excuse," Greenberg said. "Two weeks ago we were Cinderella. And then a week ago we weren't so brilliant - 'we ran into the wall.' All I said to our gguys was, 'It's none of those things. Let's get better today. Let's play the next 40 minutes. Where do we need to improve? That's all we're trying to do. We're just trying to get better." Leading 70-63 with 7:24 left, the Hokies went on an 8-0 run to build a 78-67 cushion with 4:53 to go. AD Vassallo had 27 points for the Hokies. Malcolm Delaney had 16 points. Deron Washington had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Hokies, who outrebounded GT 42-27. "We had a lot of heroes," Greenberg said. "Lewis Witcher (8 points) ... really good energy and really good focus and quickness, geting to the offensive glass and playing off Jeff (Allen). ... AD struggled early on but he stayed with it and made some really tough shots. After he made those tough shots I think he started to see a big basket. The job Deron Washington [did] after {Anthony] Morrow got it going was huge. .. He realy did a good job of chasing him off screens aand staying down on the shot fakes, ... making it hard for Morrow to get a good look after he got it going." JT Thompson had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench after missing the Maryland game with a sprained ankle. "Probably the hero of the game was [trainer] Keith Doolan, getting JT back healthy," Greenberg said. "I wasn't really planning on coming back and getting as much time as I did," Thompson said. "I still have some aches and pains, but it's getting there." Thompson was just 1-of-8 from the field in Saturday's loss at UNC. "I used shot fakes (this time), so that helped me out a lot," he said. Hokies lead GT at halftimePosted Feb23, 2008 at 03:04 PMMark Berman here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team leads Georgia Tech 42-38 at halftime in a foul-plagued game. The Hokies hurt themselves with turnovers early and fell behind 12-2 with 14:41 left in the half. VT went on a 12-0 run to grab a 26-22 lead with 6:54 left in the half and has led ever since. AD Vassallo had seven points in the run. Vassallo had no points in the first 9-plus minutes of the half but now has 13. The refs are calling way too many fouls. Tech is 18-of-24 from the line in this half, while GT is 12-of-15. GT has 18 fouls and VT has been called for 13. Jeffl Allen picked up two fouls in three minutes. The Yellow Jackets have been outrebounded 25-17 and are shooting 37.5 percent from the field. Maurice Miller had 14 points. The Hokies are shooting 39.3 percent from the field and have nine turnovers. Back with more after the game. Basketball game "rained" outPosted Feb21, 2008 at 08:46 PMNo makeup date has been announced for the men's basketball game between Virginia and Georgia Tech that was postponed Thursday night. A wet floor caused Georgia Tech to announce the postponement at 7:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the scheduled tipoff. The Georgia Tech women's team practiced until 5:30 p.m., after which the men's teams took the floor for pregame shootarounds. Managers subsequently discovered droplets near the free-throw line at the east end of the floor. Atlanta has been under a drought watch for most of the year but a steady and sometimes heavy rain hit the area in mid-morning. UVa executive associate athletic director Jon Oliver said the game might be held following the regular season and prior to the ACC Tournament. Virginia-Georgia TechPosted Feb21, 2008 at 07:10 PMOpening game for the men's basketball game between Virginia and Georgia Tech has been delayed at least 20 minutes by a leak in the roof at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Puddles have developed near the foul line at one end of the court. Hokies win at MarylandPosted Feb21, 2008 at 12:03 AMMark Berman back here at College Park, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team rallied to beat Maryland 69-65. The Hokies won at Maryland for the first time since 1951, snapping a five-game skid in College Park. Tech swept the regular-season series and snapped a three-game losing streak. The Hokies evened their ACC mark at 6-6 and now have three straight home games to look forward to. Tech went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game on an AD Vassallo trey with 3:32 left. Vassallo had 19 points. Greivis Vasquez (25 points) made a trey to give Maryland a 54-53 lead, but Jeff Allen (14 points, 14 rebounds) made a jumper to give Tech the lead for good at 55-54 with 3:04 left. It began an 8-0 run. Hank Thorns and Vassallo made back-to-back treys for a 61-54 lead with 1:28 left. There will be a game story with quotes from Seth Greenberg and the players in Thursday's paper and online Thursday. There will be a follow-up story with even more quotes in Friday's paper and online Friday. Hokies down at halftimePosted Feb20, 2008 at 10:04 PMMark Berman back here in College Park, where Maryland leads Virginia Tech 31-29 at halftime. The Terrapins jumped to a 16-4 lead with 14:19 left in the half. Greivis Vasquez, who was 2-of-14 from the field in Maryland's loss at Tech last month, had three baskets for the Terps in the run. Seth Greenberg picked up his third technical of the season with 10:08 left in the half. The foul shots extended the lead to 24-14. The Hokies went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 28-25 with 4:38 to go. Tech's Dorenzo Hudson vomited on the court with abouta minute to go, causing Md. to bring out the mops and causing quite a delay. Hudson left the court. Tech is shooting 40.7 percent from the field to Maryland's 44.8. Tech has outrebounded Maryland 21-16. Tech has nine turnovers. AD Vassallo has eight points for Tech; Deron Washington has seven points. Vasquez has 14 points, four more than he had in the entire first meeting. Hokies' Thompson injuredPosted Feb20, 2008 at 08:22 PMMark Berman here from College Park, Md., where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will tip off against the Terrapins at 9 p.m. J.T. Thompson won't be making his third straight start, though. The freshman forward suffered a sprained ankle Monday in practice and will miss this game. He might be back for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech. Back with more at halftime. Snow forces postponementsPosted Feb19, 2008 at 05:35 PMSnow in Tazewell County on Tuesday forced the postponement of the first round of the Southwest District boys and girls basketball tournaments. Three boys games -- Richlands at Marion, Tazewell at Carroll County, and Graham at Grundy -- have been reset for Wednesday. Also postponed until Wednesday were three girls games -- Grundy at Graham, Marion at Tazewell and Richlands at Abingdon. The Mountain Empire District girls game between Pocahontas and Bland County at Rocky Gap High School was postponed until Wednesday with a new start time -- 4:30 p.m. The Southwest District postponements also forced the Hogoheegee District to change the site of Wednesday's girls semifinals from Marion High School to Northwood High School. The Blue Ridge District has moved its third-place game to Thursday at 7 at Lord Botetourt High School. The game was moved because of parking problems at the original site, Northside High School. Tuesday's boys' basketball tournament resultsPosted Feb19, 2008 at 05:09 PMPiedmont District Southern Valley District Hogoheegee District Mountain Empire District Three Rivers District VIC Division 1 VIC Division 2 VACA South Tuesday's girls' basketball tournament resultsPosted Feb19, 2008 at 04:59 PMWestern Valley District Blue Ridge District River Ridge District Seminole District Three Rivers District Blue Ridge Conference VACA South Monday's boys' district tournament resultsPosted Feb18, 2008 at 08:37 PMWestern Valley District River Ridge District Seminole District Pioneer District VACA South Monday's girls' district basketball tournament resultsPosted Feb18, 2008 at 08:27 PMTournament games River Ridge District Piedmont District Southern Valley District Hogoheegee District Mountain Empire District Pioneer District Other Games Nondistrict UNC blows out HokiesPosted Feb16, 2008 at 05:42 PMMark Berman back here in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels blew out the Hokies 92-53 in front of Billy Packer and a national CBS audience. "It's a little embarrassing," JT Thompson said. "We didn't play well," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We haven't had a night like tonight very often. ... You're going to have some of those nights with this young team ... The thing that does hurt is some of our guys are not used to understanding the intensity every night, the collective burden of the league. ... This is worse than losing at the buzzer, I can tell you that much. .... I'm not going to show them the film..... I'm not sure John Wooden can get much out of this tape." The Hokies trailed by 20 points at halftime and by 30 points with 12:12 to go. They trailed by as many as 47 points in the game. "We didn't play together as a team. ... People just gave up," said Malcolm Delaney, who had 20 points. "There was a couple people that gave their all, but as a team, we played terrible." The Hokies shot 25.9 percent from the field in each half en route to their third straight loss. "There was times when we didn't have a sense of urgency obviously in terms of transition or communication," Greenberg said. "We didn't do a very good job of talking. ... That was disappointing. ... We missed a lot of shots early .. They were forcing us baseline off those ball screens." "We didn't really get into our offense," Delaney said. "We could get in the lane whenever we wanted. We got open shots." Tech had swept UNC last year. "Last year they got the best of us, so coming in here and beating them, that takes the bad taste out of our mouth a little," UNC's Quentin Thomas said. UNC entered the game leading Division I in rebounding margin (11.4 rpg). The Tar Heels outrebounded Tech 54-34, including 18-8 on the offensive glass. "Second shots really helped us," Thomas said. Hokies trail UNC at halftimePosted Feb16, 2008 at 01:55 PMMark Berman here in Chapel Hill, where Virginia Tech has played abysmally in front of a nationwide CBS audience and trails 43-23 at halftime. Tech has looked horrid on offense, missing shot after shot and making unforced turnovers. The Hokies are shooting 25.9 percent from the field and have 10 turnovers, one fewer than UNC. The Tar Heels are shooting 47.2 percent from the field and are 8-of-8 from the line. Tech is 8-of-12 from the line and 1-of-9 from 3-point range. The fifth-ranked Tar Heels took a 6-0 lead before the Hokies even took a shot. All-American Tyler Hansbrough had two baskets in that span. UNC led 16-5 with 14:31 left in the half. Hansbrough has been frustrated with the physical way Tech has been playing him, but he still has 12 points and five rebounds. Deron Washington, who has shaved off his mini-Mohawk, and Jeff Allen have had bad first halves. Deron has four points and is 1-of-4 from the field. Allen has four turnovers and two points in 10 minutes. He has two fouls The Hokies have no bench points; UNC has 27 bench points. Alex Stephenson has eight points off the bench. UNC has outrebounded Tech 30-11. Tech started freshman J.T. Thompson for the second straight game. He is 0-for-4 from the field. AD Vassallo and Malcolm Delaney have 17 points combined. Ty Lawson is missing his fourth straight game. But Deon Thompson and Danny Green, who had both been questionable, are both playing. Back with more after the game. Tech-UNC hoops previewPosted Feb15, 2008 at 09:51 PMMark Berman here with a preview of Saturday’s Virginia Tech-North Carolina men’s basketball game. Fifth-ranked UNC will be without starting point guard Ty Lawson for the fourth straight game, according to coach Roy Williams. Starting forward Deon Thompson (knee injury) and sixth man Danny Green (flu) might also miss the game. Will UNC have to play a different way? " I don't think you can change in two days," Williams said. "One thing that will change is that Will Graves and Michael Copeland better get their butt in gear." Tech swept UNC last year. Is UNC a tougher team to defend this year? "When we're healthy, we're more difficult to defend right now than we were last year," Williams said. UNC has been vulnerable without Lawson. "We've got to cut down on our mistakes," Williams said. "We're hurting ourselves. ... We have to make sure we don't kill ourselves with our own mistakes. .... We've got to get positive contributions from [reserves] when they get in. We've got to stay out of foul trouble at certain positions. ... You have to play with a great deal of savvy and not hurt yourself with silly turnovers and not hurt yourself with silly fouls. ... And the other thing is maximize your opportunities on the offensive end by not just taking the first shot you look at." UNC still has Tyler Hansbrough, the best big man in the country. How will Tech defend him? “You've got to match his intensity. That's easier said than done," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "The guy's relentless. "He's playing at a very, very high level. You take that level of intensity and couple it with his unbelievable passion and work ethic and you've got a special, special player." Hansbrough had a toenail removed the other day, so the infected toe that he played with against UVa on Tuesday is feeling better. Hansbrough isn't the only player Tech has to worry about. There's Wayne Ellington, too. "You've got to make Ellington put the ball on he floor more than twice," Greenberg said. "You've got to take them out of transition. You've got to make sure you check [defend] Ellington and Green out when you're doubling Hansbrough. "And you've got to take care of the ball against all their junk -- back-tapping free throws and their scrambles out of timeouts." Timesland basketball Top 10sPosted Feb15, 2008 at 09:40 AMBOYS GIRLS Pettitte rings truePosted Feb15, 2008 at 09:37 AMI believe Andy Pettitte. Which means I don’t believe Roger Clemens. And, somewhat comfortingly, it means I don’t necessarily have to believe everything that came out of Brian McNamee’s mouth during Wednesday’s Congressional hearings on steroid usage in baseball. Pettitte’s sworn statements that Clemens told him he used human growth hormone are enough for me. Pettitte is (or perhaps was) a Clemens ally. He has no reason to lie. He has no reason to “misremember,” as Clemens claimed. McNamee might be a dirtbag, but Pettitte was a friend. And unlike Clemens, Pettitte seems to understand what being under oath means. And that’s bad news for the Rocket. — Aaron McFarling UVa-UNC men's basketballPosted Feb12, 2008 at 10:49 PMWin-starved Virginia came close to an upset of fifth-ranked North Carolina on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, but emerged with its seventh straight loss, 75-74. Sean Singletary's 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds remaining got the Cavaliers as close as one, but the Cavaliers had used their last timeout and could not foul the Tar Heels until 2.9 seconds remained. Carolina, playing without point guard Ty Lawson for the third straight game, got 23 points from Tyler Hansbrough and 19 from Wayne Ellington. The Tar Heels shot 52.5 plercent from the field and outrebounded the Cavaliers 43-36, scoring 16 points off second-chance baskets. Singletary finished with a game-high 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds. However, reserve Calvin Baker was the only other UVa player in double figures, finishing with 10 after a 3-pointer in the final minute. The Cavaliers needed to hit their last two 3s to finish 9-of-31 from behind the arc. They shot 37.8 percent from the field, the fifth time in the last six games that they have failed to hit 40 percent. UVa dropped to 11-12 overall and 1-9 in the ACC, matching its worst 10-game conference record in 31 years. The Cavaliers have lost seven games in a row and 10 of 11. They also have lost three straight games at John Paul Jones Arena, where they were 16-1 last year. Timesland Swim Records (as of Feb. 12)Posted Feb12, 2008 at 03:36 PMGIRLS Timesland swim times as of Feb. 10Posted Feb12, 2008 at 03:35 PM
GIRLS 200 FREE 1:54.43 – Ali Horn (Cave Spring) GIRLS 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY 2:07.92 – Susanna White (Jefferson Forest) Turn out the lightsPosted Feb11, 2008 at 10:41 AMGot into the office early today to soak up some of the sweet, sweet Roanoke Times electricity. Yes, my home is one of the 80,000 or so in Virginia without power. I'm pretty sure the other 79,999 families were also at Burger King with me this morning, and at Wal-Mart last night. We'll get through this together, guys, one croissanwich at a time. Brutal weekend in local men's basketball, where Virginia Tech lost to Miami, Virginia fell to Wake Forest and Roanoke College, Washington and Lee and Southern Virginia all went down. At least VMI snapped its losing streak thanks to the return of Reggie Williams. Of all the wreckage, though, UVa's plight is the most surprising. The Hoos have the best point guard in the conference but have lost five straight and eight of nine. They've got North Carolina on Tuesday night and travel to Boston College on Sunday. The Hokies are off until Saturday, when they travel to UNC. The Tech women visit Miami tonight without the services of Andrea Barbour, who is suspended for missing class. That won't help their chances of recovering from the program's worst loss in 10 years. I've gotten a lot of responses to that column, but nobody has argued that central point. Must say I'm a bit surprised. You figure somebody at some point sat through a game they thought was worse. A nice win for Dale Jr. in the Bud Shootout on Saturday could portend a very interesting year in NASCAR, says racing writer Dustin Long. Dusty's been trying to get me to come to Daytona with him for years, and eventually I'm going to take him up on it. I'm just hoping I don't call it "Nextel" Cup and confuse the readers when the circuit hits Martinsville in late March. I'm hoping the power will be back by then, too. --Aaron McFarling UVa-Wake leadPosted Feb09, 2008 at 07:45 PMThe Cavaliers lost their sixth game in a row and have now dropped nine of 10 games following an 80-64 setback Saturday at Wake Forest. The Cavaliers (11-11 overall, 1-8 ACC) cut the deficit to 67-64 on a layup by Sean Singletary with 3:52 left, but the Deacons (14-8, 4-5) scored the last 13 points and held UVa scoreless in nine straight possessions after going to a zone defense. Virginia shot 33.3 percent for the game, marking the fourth time in five games in which it has failed to shoot 40 percent, and the Cavaliers were only 4-of-19 on 3-pointers. Singletary finished with 21 points, his 44th straight game in double figures, and fifth-year center Ryan Pettinella had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Pettinella went 0-for-5 from the free-throw line and had a sixth attempt nullified when Adrian Joseph jumped into the lane. However, Pettinella's attempt barely grazed the rim. North Carolina comes to Charlottesville on Tuesday. Miami beats HokiesPosted Feb09, 2008 at 06:02 PMMark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Miami men's basketball team dealt a severe blow to Virginia Tech's NCAA tournament hopes. Miami won 74-71. Miami had lost 11 straight ACC road games dating back to last season. Miami had lost six of its past seven games overall "We should've won," JT Thompson said. "We have some deficiencies and they exploited them some today," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We didn't play well." Tech trailed 65-55 with less than 3 minutes left but cut the lead to 73-71 with 3.6 seconds left. After Jimmy Graham made one of two free throws, Deron Washington missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Hokies lost their second straight game and are now 14-10, 5-5 in the ACC. With games at UNC and Maryland up next that they will likely lose, the Hokies really couldn't afford to lose today. It looks like they are NIT bound now. "My wife better keep sharp objects away from me," Greenberg said sarcastically of the UNC and Maryland games looming. "I'ts going to be tough," AD Vassallo said of the next two games. "I'm ready for the challenge. ... We're just stumbling a little bit. ... We need better practices. We've got to get a little more attitude, more focus in practice." Tech was outrebounded 35-20. It had outrebounded 10 foes in a row but has now been outrebounded for two straight games. "They're bigger and stronger than us," Greenberg said of the Hurricanes. "They did a great job rebounding," Vassallo said. "Every time they missed or we missed, they got the ball ... and they had a chance to put the ball back in. ... Miami's just huge. Them guys are big and they're hungry for the ball. They go get it. They know what their role is. They just go get rebounds, lay the ball back up. They did a great job battling." Hokies down at halftimePosted Feb09, 2008 at 02:50 PMMark Berman here from Blacksburg, where the Miami men's basketball team leads Virginia Tech 28-26 at halftime. Down 16-10 with 12:10 left in the half, Miami went on a 9-0 run to grab a 19-16 lead with 7:29 to go. Jeff Allen has had a good half for Tech; he has 12 points, which is what he he is averaging for an entire game this season. He is 5-of-6 from the field. Tech is shooting 45.8 percent from the field to Miami's 33.3 percent. But Tech has been outrebounded 20-12, and Miami is 9-for-9 from the free-throw line to Tech's 2-of-3. Each team has nine turnovers. Jack McClinton, the best 3-point shooter in the ACC, does not have a trey in the half. He has two baskets, the first of which he scored with 5:42 to go. Back with more after the game. UVa-ClemsonPosted Feb07, 2008 at 10:15 PMJust finished writing my game story on the Virginia-Clemson men's basketball game Thursday night and realize now that I failed to mention there was more booing than I had ever experienced at John Paul Jones Arena. Obviously, the building has been open for only two years, but the Cavaliers have never looked worse, falling to the Tigers 82-51 in a game the Tigers once led by 38 (79-41). Nobody played well for the Cavaliers, including senior point guard Sean Singletary, who finished with 14 points and extended his double-figure scoring streak to 43 games but had five turnovers, four in the first half. Junior small forward Mamadi Diane and the shooting guard threesome of Calvin Baker, Mustapha Farrakhan were a combined 2-for-16 from the field after going 2-for-14 Saturday in a 72-65 overtime loss at Virginia Tech. Diane's annual February swoon is in full swing. K.C. Rivers, who broke J.R. Reynolds' single-game 3-point record at Oak Hill Academy, was 8-for-11 on 3s Thursday night and the Tigers were 16-for-26 as a team. Rivers finished with 32 points, the high for a UVa opponent at JPJ, and Clemson got 16 points, 11 assists, four steals and only two turnovers from senior Cliff Hammonnds, a stopgap point guard who outplayed Singletary (14 points, two assists, zero steals and five turnovers). Singletary called a players-only meeting after UVa's fifth straight loss and eighth in the last nine games. The Cavaliers, who visit Wake Forest on Saturday, fell to 11-10 overall and 1-7 in the ACC. Clemson is 17-5 and 5-3. Psst: Can you spare a win?Posted Feb07, 2008 at 12:50 PMToday is "you have no idea how much we need a win" day for a couple of local teams. Up in Charlottesville, the UVa men opened as a 1.5-point dog against visiting Clemson, but that line was quickly bet up to 2. Hard to believe in the Cavaliers right now, who admit they are struggling with their confidence after losing four in a row and seven of their past eight. The Tigers need a win to keep pace with Maryland in the race for third place in the ACC. The Terrapins knocked off Boston College on the road last night, 70-65, avenging a loss in College Park in the conference lid-lifter. So there's plenty to write about in Charlottesville, where Doug Doughty will be reporting, but I've decided to head south with Katrina Waugh instead and check out a battle of two women's basketball teams who've yet to win in conference play. Virginia Tech (13-10, 0-8) takes on the Demon Deacons (13-11, 0-9) in Winston-Salem. Despite the scoring of Narrows native Brittany Cook, who leads the ACC with 17.3 ppg, the Hokies have won just once in 2008 -- and they needed overtime against Dartmouth to do it. At home. We'll see if that strong performance against No. 4 Maryland carries over into this one. If it doesn't, you have to wonder if the Hokies will win any games in the league (although they do close the regular season with Wake at home). And finally, a piece of fake news that had me guffawing this morning. Pretty sure my in-game Orange Bowl blog had the same effect. -Aaron McFarling Football letter of intent signingsPosted Feb06, 2008 at 02:29 PMVirginia Tech and Virginia have listed their 2007 signees on their respective Web sites. Both sites will be updated as more players' letters reach their respective football offices. |