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Press Box

with our sports staff

No racin' for Frank Beamer

Posted Mar30, 2008 at 10:34 AM

Aaron McFarling here at Martinsville Speedway, where we were awaiting Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer's press conference at 11 a.m. I'm not really sure what we were going to ask him -- "So ya like racin', Frank?" -- but now we won't have a chance to find out.

Speedway officials just announced that Beamer's helicopter could not get out of Blacksburg this morning. Iced in. Yes, iced. On March 30.

Needless to say, the crowd here today might be the smallest in a long, long time. But no rain as of yet, so here's hoping we see some racing.

UPDATE, 10:55 a.m.: Some guy from Goody's just "filled in" for Beamer in the media center. I'm reminded of the "Kamp Krusty" episode of "The Simpsons," when all the kids are waiting to see Krusty but instead get a video presentation and a substitute.

"Hello kids, I am Mr. Black..."

But they are trying to get Beamer on the phone for us.

UPDATE, 11 a.m.: Goody's guy, searching for stuff to say about Tech, just said something profound about "The Tighty Whitey Band." Then somebody reminded him they are actually called the "Highty-Tighties." Although the Red Hot Chili Peppers once performed in tighty whiteys, so maybe that was what he meant.

UPDATE, 11:09 a.m.: Frank just spoke. He said both quarterbacks will get equal reps in the spring. He said Kenny Lewis Jr., begins the spring as the team's No. 1 tailback.
But you know that already. He also said that he likes NASCAR. Did you know that? Yep. Likes the speed, the fans, the whole deal. Loves all the tracks in Virginia. Said there's a lot of things he thinks he could do in life, but climbing in a race car is probably not one of them. For that reason, he has a great admiration for the sport and the athletes in it.
"Mr. Black" promised to send Beamer some Goody's headache powder to ease his disappointment for not making the race. Frank thanked him.

Stephen Curry as court savvy as they come

Posted Mar29, 2008 at 02:00 PM

Stephen Curry continued to make fools of talent evaluators with another 30-plus point performance in the NCAA tournament. His scoring output is impressive enough, but he's averaging over 20 points in the second halves of Davidson's three wins. Crazy. I've got Kansas going to the title game in my bracket, but I will gladly sacrifice that pick to see Stephen play again next Saturday. The focus is on his shooting, but to watch him play without the ball in his hands is remarkable. His basketball IQ is even better than his jumper. -- Jeff Gilbert

Weekend schedule at Martinsville Speedway

Posted Mar27, 2008 at 11:23 AM

Friday

11 a.m.: Craftsman Truck Series practice (50 minutes)

Noon: Sprint Cup Series practice (90 minutes)

1:45 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series practice (45 minutes)

3:40 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series qualifying

Saturday

10:10 a.m.: Craftsman Truck Series qualifying

11:30 a.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice (45 minutes)

12:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice (60 minutes)

2:30 p.m.: Craftsman Truck Series driver introductions

3 p.m.: Green flag for Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 250

Sunday

1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup series driver introductions

2 p.m. Green flag for Sprint Cup Series Goody's Cool Orange 500

Hokies lose in NIT quarterfinals

Posted Mar26, 2008 at 10:37 PM

Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team saw its season end with an 81-72 loss to Ole Miss in the NIT quarterfinals

Ole Miss, not Tech, will be off to the semifinals in NYC

The Hokies were outrebounded a whopping 46-23. Dwayne Curtis had 17 points and 11 boards, and fellow senior Kenny Willliams had 10 points and 11 boards.

"We had to get ready for a physical game, and it seemed like we didn't respond," said Deron Washington, who had 23 points. "Those are some real big guys. .... They were pushing us out. It was a little tougher because we're an athletic team. We don't have that much size. When the guy can just push in from underneath the basket, it's pretty tough to get rebounds."

"A lot of that has to do with their scheme," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We're stepping out on those ball screens and give those guys angles to get to the offensive glass.

"When we stepped out on them, they get penetration. ... The guy that's rotating back has a hard time getting inside to block out and they're just pushing us underneath the basket. And those guys are fourth- and fifth-year seniors. We're rebounding agains them with a sophomore and two freshmen.

"We weren't getting the loose balls and we weren't rebounding the basketball. They were just a little quicker and a little more aggressive."

Ole Miss had 16 offensive boards.

"They were shooting the ball and the big guys or whoever were getting rebounds and scoring," Washington said. "It made it hard for us to get out and run."

It was Washington's Tech swan song.

"It's pretty tough, knowing my career is over here," he said. "It was a pretty fun journey. ... It's been a fun ride. I'm going to miss it."

Ole Miss shot 49.2 percent from the field - the highest percentage by a VT foe since UNC shot 50 percent in Chapel Hill last month

Continue reading "Hokies lose in NIT quarterfinals" »

UVa recap

Posted Mar26, 2008 at 10:31 PM

Bradley shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half Wednesday night and outlasted Virginia 96-85 in a third-round College Basketball Invitational game at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville.

Senior guard Sean Singletary finished his UVa career with a school-record 55th consecutive double-figure scoring game, although it took 10 points in the final 6:53 for him to finish with 17 points. He also had eight assists.

Freshman Jeff Jones was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 26 points for the Cavaliers (17-15). Senior Jeremy Crouch was 5-of-12 on 3-pointers, including 5-for-7 in the second half, and finished with a team-high 27 points for the Braves (20-15).

Bradley outrebounded UVa 43-38.

Hokies down at halftime

Posted Mar26, 2008 at 07:49 PM

Mark Berman here in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech trails Ole Miss 33-31 at halftime in the NIT quarterfinals.

After 2 straight NIT routs, Tech has itself a game tonight. When Ole Miss took a 16-15 lead with 12:02 left in the half, it was the first time Tech has trailed in this tournament since Morgan State took the lead with 11:55 left in the first-round game.

Ole Miss entered the game averaging 7.7 3-pointers and outrebounding its foes by 5 boards per game. The Rebels are living up to their billing, They are 4-of-9 from 3-point range and outrebounding VT a whopping 28-13.

AD Vassallo has 10 points but is just 4-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.

Ole Miss is shooting 35.5 percent from the field, while VT is shooting 37.1 percent. Tech is 5-of-16 from 3-point range.

Chris Warren and David Huertas each has 8 points for Ole Miss.

Back with more after the game.

Knicks revival not out of the question

Posted Mar25, 2008 at 06:22 PM

Forget about Shaq going from the Heat to the Suns, the biggest change of address in the NBA is ready to happen when Donnie Walsh turns his departure from Indiana into an arrival in New York. The Knicks have been an embarrassment to the league in recent years, but Walsh is an executive who can turn this thing around. Nothing is official yet, but this move will get Isiah Thomas out of the front office. When Walsh improves the roster, we'll find out if Isiah can coach (that is if Walsh keeps him around). No one could win with the team Isiah has assembled. The NBA needs the Knicks to be good. It's good for marketing. And I'm tired of following a losing team. -- Jeff Gilbert

Stephen Curry a great story for the nation

Posted Mar25, 2008 at 10:35 AM

Stephen Curry and Davidson are the darlings of the NCAA tournament. Google Curry today and the rest of the nation is catching up to the story of how Virginia Tech wouldn’t offer the son of Dell Curry a basketball scholarship. Curry was too small, Tech and other big schools said at the time. Another perimeter shooter to go with A.D. Vassallo this year certainly would have been enough to make Tech an NCAA team. That’s a one-that-got-away story Tech fans will never forget. But for the rest of us, it sure gives this tournament a storyline we will long remember. — Jeff Gilbert

More UVa-Old Dominion

Posted Mar25, 2008 at 12:45 AM

Early Associated Press reports indicated that Virginia would meet Houston in the third round of the College Basketball Invitational, but it will be Bradley coming to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

While the brackets on the cbi2008.com website indicated that the East region would meet the West region in the third round, the fine print said that teams would be reseeded after the second round.

Bradley (19-15) trailed 63-49 before going on a 21-3 run with 9:09 remaining. The Braves defeated visiting Ohio University 79-73.

Notes from Virginia's 80-76 victory over visiting Old Dominion:

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Virginia 80, Old Dominion 76

Team Notes
• Virginia had five different players score in double figures for the third time this season
• With tonight’s win, Virginia has won consecutive games in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 1995 NCAA Tournament

Individual Notes
• Sean Singletary (22 points) scored in double figures for the 54th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the ACC and the longest streak in school history
• Sean Singletary had the 43rd 20-point game of his career (16th this season)
• Sean Singletary (22 points, 10 assists) had his fifth double-double of the season (fourth as points-assists)
• Sean Singletary moved into 29th place on the ACC career scoring list with 2,062 points, passing Maryland’s Albert King (2,058), Georgia Tech’s Travis Best (2,057) and North Carolina’s Lenny Rosenbluth (2,045)
• Sean Singletary’s steal in the final 10 seconds was his 200th career steal

Player Career Highs
• Sean Singletary tied his career high with 10 assists

Quotes:

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Quotes
Virginia 80, Old Dominion 76

Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao

Opening comments:
“That was one of the more gut-wrenching games I’ve been involved with for a very long time. The way that both teams went after each other: the way that they started, the way that we came back, the way that they came back at us before halftime, the way that we came back at them after halftime. Then they responded again, and we came back and got up four, they came back and got up four. It was like that all the way to the end. In the end, everybody can have who they've got, and I’ll take Sean Singletary. He just continues to rewrite a story that’s already a bestseller in the annals of Virginia basketball. The three-pointer, at any other angle, probably would have missed, but thankfully it was head-on. Then the steal was something that you might be able to tell your children about 10, 20 years from now. He’s truly amazing.”

Did Sean create a miracle tonight?
“He gave us a chance. He’s given this team, this family, this program, a chance over the past four years, and made all this possible. We’ve been able to ride on his shoulders for a very long time. He’s a player that we should be having more conversations about—one in a million.”

On Sean’s last minute three-pointer and steal:
“People may say that the shot was lucky, but luck is a byproduct of hard work. You put yourself in a position to be lucky, so I don’t think it was a lucky shot. When a guy has done what Sean’s done in preparation, shots like that do go in at big moments. We’ve seen it last weekend, the weekend before that, and all over the place. The ironic thing about the steal is that he took the ball from the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year (Brandon Johnson), who led the conference in steals. It was a very fitting way to win a basketball game for us.”

Old Dominion Head Coach Blaine Taylor

Opening Statement:
“The game went according to script as far as we were concerned. We thought we could give them some problems early and we did. We knew they would come back at us and they did. We took a nice lead to the locker room. We knew they would come out of the locker room and it would be a battle. They gave us their best shot, got up six. My kids never went away, they kept battling. We put ourselves in a position to win at the end of the game. A little bit of this, a little bit of that; just one play from us walking out a winner. Hats off to them and best of luck as they go into the rest of tournament.”

“I am really proud of our team. There was a point in early February when we were struggling, trying to find ourselves and my older kids really hung in there. Great attitude about whatever it took for our team, and our young kids developed. We had a nice run in February winning six out of seven [games] and of course we made a statement in this tournament that we could have played as well as anybody if we had been given a chance to pursue the next round.”

Virginia Senior Point Guard Sean Singletary

On his late game steal:
“He liked to use the crossover and was very deliberate with his moves. When he went to the retreat dribble, I knew he was going to crossover, so I stuck my hand out and he put the ball right in my hands.”

On his mindset down the stretch:
“I knew we had to stay calm, and stay poised. Luckily for us, in this building, we had a lot of momentum and energy on our side, but we had to stay poised and focused.”

On this game being memorable:
“When I look back on my career, this will definitely be one of the bright spots. It was a team effort. Jamil [Tucker], Adrian [Joseph] and Mamadi [Diane] really stepped up and played big. Without their contributions, our season would be over.”

Virginia Sophomore forward Jamil Tucker

On Sean’s performance down the stretch:
“The ending to this one follows right up there with the Duke shot. The steal, the three-pointer, and the last few sequences were something a lot of players can’t do. “

On the team’s defense:
“Coach harps on playing good defense. We know our defense fuels our offense so it was really important for us to stay focused and make plays on the defensive side of the ball.”

On hitting big threes:
“With penetrators like Sean and Calvin [Baker] always setting you up, your job is just to get to the right spots. As someone who is going to shoot off their penetration, I just have to make sure I am in a good spot for them to get me the ball.”


Old Dominion Senior Guard Brandon Johnson

On what he thought while Sean Singletary was defending him at the half court:
“I was just thinking, get to the basket. I was thinking of going up with my right hand, but he stood right there, he played that well. When I tried to cross over, he was right there.”

On Sean’s speed:
“He is pretty quick. Out of all the players I’ve played, he’s probably up there in the top five.”

Old Dominion Senior Guard Brian Henderson

On the loss:
“It’s tough. But what can you do but just hold your head up. We played well. All of my teammates played hard.”


Hokies beat UAB

Posted Mar24, 2008 at 11:52 PM

Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech cruised to a 75-49 win over UAB in the second round of the NIT.

The top-seeded Hokies will play second-seeded Mississippi in the quarterfinals at 7 pm Wednesday in Blacksburg on ESPN2.'

It's hard to see Tech losing that game, considering another near-capacity crowd turned out Monday.

Tech held UAB to 36.2 percent shoooting from the field, including 3-of-18 from 3-point range. All-Conference USA first-team pick Robert Vaden had just nine points. He was 3-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range.

Deron Washington had 16 points and guarded Vaden for much of the game. AD Vassallo had 18 points and four of Tech's nine treys. Malcolm Delaney had 17 points and three treys.

JT Thompson had eight points and seven boards. He was 4-of-4 from the field.

Game story and column in Tuesday's late-edition paper and online Tuesday.

UVa-Old Dominion

Posted Mar24, 2008 at 10:27 PM

Senior guard Sean Singletary wasn't about to let his celebrated career come to an end Monday as he scored eight points in the final 29.6 seconds in Virginia's 80-76 victory over Old Dominion.

The Cavaliers (17-15) advanced to the third round of the College Basketball Invitational and will meet the winner of Monday night's game between Ohio University and Bradley.

Will update upon returning to Roanoke.

Hokies up at halftime

Posted Mar24, 2008 at 09:53 PM

Mark Berman here from Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team leads UAB 36-21 at halftime in the second round of the NIT.

The Hokies, who made their first 15 shots of the second half in last week's first-round win over Morgan State, made seven of their first eight shots tonight, including going 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Tech built a 19-7 lead with 15:39 to go.

UAB's top player, All-Conference USA first-team pick Robert Vaden, played only 16 minutes because of foul trouble. He played with 2 fouls for part of the time. He picked up a foul in the first 30 seconds, causing UAB coach Mike Davis to go livid. Vaden, a 3-point ace, is 1-of-9 from the field, including 0-of-5 from 3-point range. He has just two points.

Tech has shot 46.7 percent from the field to the Blazers' 35.7 percent. UAB has 10 turnovers to Tech's three.

Deron Washington has 11 points. AD Vsssallo is 2-of-2 from long range but went to the bench with his 2nd foul with 7:45 to go. Malcolm Delaney has nine points and two 3-pointers.

Previewing Tech vs. UAB

Posted Mar24, 2008 at 02:52 PM

UAB at Virginia Tech
9 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum

Records: Tech 20-13; UAB 23-10

TV: ESPN

Tech probable starters: F Deron Washington (127 ppg), F Jeff Allen (12.1 ppg), C Lewis Witcher (2.6 ppg), G A.D. Vassallo (16.9 ppg), G Malcolm Delaney (9.2 ppg).

UAB probable starters: 6-10 F Jeremy Mayfield (4.3 rpg), F Reggie Huffman (7.6 ppg), G-F Robert Vaden (21.4 ppg), G Channing Toney (10.8 ppg), G Aaron Johnson (5.2 ppg).

Notes: Tech is the top seed in its eight-team NIT bracket, with UAB seeded fifth. UAB won 80-77 at VCU in the first round. … The Blazers went 12-4 in Conference USA, including a 79-78 loss to Memphis last month. Vaden, who has a school-record 686 points this season, made the all-conference first team. Forward Lawrence Kinnard, who averages 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds off the bench, was a third-team pick. … The Blazers, who have won 15 of their last 19 games, are steered by former Indiana coach Mike Davis. His son is on the team. … Toney, a Georgia transfer, is the son of former Philadelphia 76ers guard Andrew Toney. … Backup guard Tyler Marsh is the son of UAB assistant Donnie Marsh, who was a Tech assistant under Ricky Stokes. … Tech boosters donated another 3,000 tickets to Tech students for tonight’s game. … If Tech wins, it will face the Nebraska-Mississippi winner at 7 or 9 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

Men's Division III basketball final: Washington wins

Posted Mar22, 2008 at 04:49 PM

Upated: 6:06 p.m.

Washington U. center Troy Ruths was too much to handle for Amherst on Saturday at the Salem Civic Center. Ruths scored 33 points and got plenty of outside shooting help from his teammates and Washington won its first national championship 90-68.

Amherst (27-4) failed to defend the championship in won in Salem last year.

Washington (25-6) saw its 13-point halftime lead shrink to 55-49 with 15:09 left on a basket by Brian Baskauskas. But Washington went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to build a 69-51 lead. The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the game.

Aaron Thompson added 19 points and Tyler Nading 13 for Washington.

Fletcher Walters led Amherst with 17 points and Andrew Olson had 16 points and six assists.

Ruths was named the Most Outstanding Player of the final four. Joining him on the all-tournament team was teammate Thompson and Amherst's Olson and Derek Van Solkema of Hope and John Noonan of Ursinus.

4:45 p.m. Saturday

Amherst's quest to win consecutive national championships in Salem is in danger at halftime. The Lord Jeffs trail Washington U. of St. Louis 45-32.

It was all Troy Ruths in the low post for much of the first half for the Bears as he wheeled and dealed in the lane for 17 points. He scored in a variety of ways or was able to get to the free-throw line as Amherst used four different players to guard the 6-foot-6 center. The Lord Jeffs opened with 6-10 Kevin Hopkins, then went to 6-7 Brandon Jones, 6-6 Matt Goldsmith off the bench and 6-6 Mike Holsey off the bench. Holsey, probably the best leaper on the floor, didn't play in Friday's semifinal until the final minutes when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Ruths scored 30 in Friday's semifinal win over Hope.

The Bears look for Ruths every time down the floor. But when they can't get him the ball, they had plenty of other shooters, led by Aaron Thompson with 11 points and Tyler Nading with seven.

Amherst point guard Andrew Olson, who dominated Friday's semifinal win over Ursinus with a triple-double, couldn't find many good open shots. He had only six points but had four important assists, two on backdoor plays. His assists came at a time when the Lord Jeffs were cutting a 25-12 lead to 35-27 with 3:36 to play in the half.

From there, Washington closed the half with a 10-5 run.

-- Jeff Gilbert

How's your bracket doing?

Posted Mar22, 2008 at 02:01 PM

Updated: Saturday, March 29, 3:36 p.m.

It's three hours before the regional finals begin, and we have an excellent chance to see four No. 1 seeds reach the Final Four for the first time. I picked all but Memphis to go, but after what the Tigers did to Michigan State last night my confidence in that pick is a bit less than it was.

I'm all for Davidson knocking off Kansas so we can see more of Stephen Curry, but the Jayhawks are awfully good. This is one Goliath that won't be overconfident. Rush, Robinson and Chalmers, I'm afraid, are just too much.

Xavier has been fiesty and resilient, but UCLA is just too big and too strong. And if it wasn't for Curry, we' be talking about Kevin Love being the best player left in the tournament.

North Carolina is supposed to be in this position so we take them for granted. Louisville is back on the national scene and playing well, so it's easy to sway toward them. But the Tar Heels are so hard to guard because they have so many weapons in the starting lineup and coming off the bench.

I have Texas beating Memphis, and I still expect that will happen. This is a great matchup of guards and athletes. Memphis is playing its best basketball right now probably because so many have been saying they are the most vulnerable No. 1 seed and most likely to be the first one beaten. So the Tigers will come very close.

Original post

After an uneventful first day, those 12s and 13s winning in Tampa on Friday surely busted some brackets out there.

Did you have UConn going on a big run? What about Drake, Clemson and Vanderbilt?

My bracket didn't suffer too much damage. I had Clemson and UConn getting to the Sweet 16, but that was as far as I was willing to take those teams. Some my Sweet 16 is down to 14 survivors heading into the second round.

Here's the link to my bracket. In the related box, just click the words that say Download Jeff Gilbert's bracket.

Let me know how you're doing by leaving a comment. Is your Sweet 16 intact? Have you lost a Final Four team? Who's in your Final Four and why? -- Jeff Gilbert

Amherst returns to Division III final

Posted Mar21, 2008 at 07:25 PM

Amherst will play for it's second straight Division III men's basketball title Saturday at Salem Civic Center.

The Lord Jeffs dominated Ursinus on Friday in an 84-58 romp and will play Washington, Mo., on Saturday at 4 p.m. Washington defeated Hope 89-74.

Point guard Andrew Olson had what he said was the first triple-double of his life with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. His previous rebounding high was six.

Ursinus star Nick Shattuck was held to 10 points on 3 of 16 shooting. He was playing on two injured ankles and an injured heel.

Troy Ruths scored 30 points to lead Washington.

-- Jeff Gilbert

Tech to play at 9 p.m. Monday

Posted Mar21, 2008 at 12:24 PM

Virginia Tech will host UAB at 9 p.m. Monday in the second round of the NIT. The game will air on ESPN.

If Tech wins, it will host the Nebraska-Ole Miss winner at 7 or 9 Wednesday on ESPN2, with a berth in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on the line

Hokies beat Morgan State in NIT

Posted Mar19, 2008 at 10:33 PM

Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team beat Morgan State 94-62 in the first round of the NIT in front of more than 9,000 fans.

"They shot the cover off the ball, .... great crowd, the NCAA pissed them off, so there was a whole lot of different things," Bears coach Todd Bozeman said.

The Hokies will face UAB in the second round on Monday at a time to be determined. UAB won 80-77 at VCU in another first-round game.

Tech, left out of the NCAA field, is two wins away from the NIT final four at Madison Square Garden.

"We had probably the two best practices we had in awhile," said AD Vassallo, who had 27 points and three treys and was 11-of-14 from the field. "Everybody was focused. Everybody is pulling in the same direction -- going to New York and trying to win this tournament."

The Hokies shot 65.4 percent from the field, including a school-record 82.6 percent in the second half.

"We came and had two good days of practice and it carried over to the game," said Malcolm Delaney, who had 13 points and three treys. "When we get stops, the offense runs well. We're a good transition team and when we got stops, we got out and ran, and that got the crowd into it. And when the crowd gets into it, I think we pick it up to another level."

"We was just making the extra pass, getting open shots," Deron Washington said. "It made the game so much easier. AD was knocking every shot down. We was running on the break, getting rebounds, running on the break and getting layups, getting wide-open shots in the corner."

Continue reading "Hokies beat Morgan State in NIT" »

Hokies lead Morgan State at halftime

Posted Mar19, 2008 at 07:51 PM

Mark Berman here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team leads Morgan State 40-25 in the first round of the NIT.

The game is being played in front of a near-capacity crowd.

AD Vassallo already has 19 points. He and Malcolm Delaney each have three 3-pointers.

The Hokies are shooting 51.7 percrent from the field to Morgan State's 37.9 percent.

Cal transfer Marquise Kately has 11 points for the Bears. MEAC Player of the Year Jamar Smith, who missed the team's MEAC title game loss Saturday with a bruised foot, has scored four points off the bench.

Down 16-14 with 11:55 to go, the Hokies went on an 18-5 run to build a 32-21 cushion with 6:25 to go.

The Hokies have six 3-pointers, one more than their season average.

Back with more after the game.

UVa-Richmond recap

Posted Mar18, 2008 at 10:28 PM

Sean Singletary scored on a short jumper with 1:15 remaining to give Virginia its first lead of the second half and the Cavaliers defeated Richmond 66-64 in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.

The Cavaliers, who trailed by 12 points with less than 8 1/2 minutes remaining, will serve as host to a second-round game Monday against Old Dominion. The Monarchs (18-15) held off Rider 68-65 in Norfolk.

A crowd of 4,022, smallest in two seasons at John Paul Jones Arema, saw Virginia come back from a 61-49 deficit by holding Richmond to one field goal in its last 14 possessions. The Spiders (16-15) missed 10 of their last 11 shots from the field.

Richmond's Dan Geriot, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, led all scorers with 22 points. Singletary, a senior point guard, had a team-high 18 for the Cavaliers (16-15).

Junior Mamadi Diane, no longerr a starter for Virginia, played 33 minutes and contributed 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Virginia had 17 turnovers, compared to 10 for the Spiders. UVa outrebounded the visitors 33-25.

Tech to host Morgan State in NIT

Posted Mar16, 2008 at 09:09 PM

Mark Berman back in Blacksburg with NIT news.

Virginia Tech will host Morgan State at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN Classic. Morgan State got an automatic NIT bid as the MEAC regular-season champ. Tech is the top seed in its bracket, with Morgan State the 8 seed. There are 32 teams in the entire field.

If VT wins, it will face the VCU-UAB winner in the second round. VCU is the 4 seed and UAB the 5 seed.

The other teams in Tech's bracket are No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 6 Charlotte, and No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 7 UC Santa Barbara

Hokies DONT MAKE NCAAs

Posted Mar16, 2008 at 06:41 PM

Mark Berman here from Blacksburg, home to an unhappy Virginia Tech team.

The Hokies DID NOT make the NCAAs.

Last 5 teams in were No. 12 Villanova and No. 11s Kentucky, St. Joe's, Kansas State and Baylor.

Kind of a surprise that Kansas State only got a No. 11. No one really looked at them as a bubble team, but committee thought less of them than No. 9 Oregon, No. 10 Arizona and No. No 10 South Alabama

Other teams whose bubbles were burst besides the Hokies: Ohio State, Arizona State, Illinois State, UMass, Ole Miss, VCU, Dayton.

Lunardi: VT last one IN

Posted Mar16, 2008 at 03:41 PM

Mark Berman here with more bubble talk.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has changed his mind! Now he has Virginia Tech as last one IN instead of last one OUT. He had a new version on ESPN today from what he had on espn.com Bubble Math last night.

Last four IN: Oregon, Arizona, Villanova and VT, says Lunardi

Last four OUT: Ill. State, Ohio State, New Mexico and Ariz. State, predicts Lunardi.

He moved Nova and VT in and put Ill State and OSU out

WDRL to air RU women's game live

Posted Mar16, 2008 at 10:41 AM

WDRL will air the Big South women's final between Radford and Liberty live at 2 pm today (Sunday).

WDRL was supposed to air the SEC men's final, which was originally scheduled for 1 pm, but when that game got switched to 3:30 pm on ESPN2, WDRL was able to add the Big South women's final.

Lunardi: VT 1st one out

Posted Mar16, 2008 at 01:49 AM

Mark Berman here with the latest bubble talk.

Joe Lunardi of espn.com has his latest Bubble Math, updated at 9 pm Sat. He has Ohio State as last one in and VT as first one out. If that proves true, boy will Seth Greenberg be steamed.

Now, if Ga wins the SEC or Illinois wins the BIg Ten, obviously there will be one or two more bubble teams left out and VT will drop down even more, but this is how it stands according to him, assuming they don't win Sunday.

Here's how Lunardi sees it on espn.com's Bubble Math:

"BUBBLE" (12 teams for 6 spots)
• IN (6, in S-Curve order): South Alabama, Oregon, Arizona, Saint Joseph's, Illinois State, Ohio State
ZONA, ST JOES, ILL STATE AND OSU = Last Four In


• OUT (6, in S-Curve order): Virginia Tech, Massachusetts, Villanova, Arizona State, VCU, New Mexico
VT, UMASS, NOVA AND ASU = Last Four Out


NIT (automatic bids if needed

Hokies lose to Tar Heels

Posted Mar15, 2008 at 08:08 PM

Mark Berman back here in Charlotte, where Virginia Tech lost to top-ranked North Carolina 68-66 in the ACC semifinals on a 15-foot baseline jumper by Tyler Hansbrough with 0.8 seconds to play.

"Very heartbreaking because I think we outplayed them," Malcolm Delaney said.

"It really hurts bad because we felt that we had this game," Hank Thorns said.

The shot likely ruined Tech's hopes of an NCAA at-large bid. It also left the Hokies stunned.

"We had it in our hands, but we just let it slip in the last second," JT Thompson said. "It's heartbreaking, but I'm very proud. It shows that we we can play with anybody if we play our hardest. We made them adjust to us."

UNC blew out Tech 92-53 last month in Chapel Hill, but the Hokies played with great effort today. UNC shot just 40 percent from the field. A team that entered the tournament averaging 94 points was held below 70 for the first time since November.

"I couldn't be more proud of our basketball team," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We wanted to get the game in the 60s; we got it in the 60s. ... We had the game exaclty at the tempo we wanted. .. That game was about our guys competing, defending, executing, trusting. ... They played as hard as humanly possible. ... That game had to do with our kids, their passion, their energy, their trust, their growth."

"We let them trick us into taking some quick shots when we were at North Carolina. We just took our time (today)," Jeff Allen said. "We played the No. 1 team in the nation our hardest."

Continue reading "Hokies lose to Tar Heels" »

Hokies, UNC tied at halftime

Posted Mar15, 2008 at 02:28 PM

Mark Berman here in Charlotte, where Virginia Tech and North Carolina are tied at halftime at 38.

That's right. No typo. 38-38. The team that lost to UNC by 39 points last month is giving the Tar Heels all they could want in this ACC semifinal.

Tyler Hansbrough picked up an offensive foul in the first 15 seconds, a sign that this could be interesting despite all the blue-clad fans in the stands.

Tech led 11-17 with 15:05 to go.

Down 21-20 with 9:21 left, Tech went on a 9-0 run to build a 29-21lead with 7:28 to go.

UNC tied the score at 34 with 3:15 left.

Tech has shot 40 percent from the field to UNC's 41.9 percent. The rebounding battle is tied at 20. Tech has just 4 turnovers.

Malcolm Delaney has 10 points. He went to the bench after getting his 2nd foul with 5:06 to go.

AD Vassallo has 11 points. Jeff Allen has 6 points and 10 rebounds. Deron Washington has 7 points.

Tyler Hansbrough has 16 points for UNC. Deon Thompson, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington are a combined 3-of-13.

Lunardi: VT one of last 4 out

Posted Mar15, 2008 at 12:18 PM

Mark Berman here in Charlotte, awaiting tipoff of the Hokies and Heels and thinking bubble.

Here's what ESPN "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi says on ESPN.com today when it comes to last 4 in and last 4 out. Hokies in latter category:
LAST FOUR IN
Illinois State
Oregon
Ohio State
Temple
LAST FOUR OUT
Massachusetts
Virginia Tech
Villanova
Arizona State
NEXT FOUR OUT
VCU
New Mexico
Dayton
Mississippi

Clemson, Duke, VT and UNC reach semis

Posted Mar14, 2008 at 11:53 PM

Mark Berman back here in Charlotte, where Clemson concluded Friday's quarterfinal action by thumping Boston College 82-48.

So your semis Saturday will be No. 1 North Carolina vs. fourth-seeded Virginia Tech at 1:30 p.m. Second-seeded Duke, which beat Georgia Tech 82-70, will face third-seeded Clemson at 4 p.m.

This is the first time since 2002 that the top four seeds all made the ACC semifinals.

In the regular season, Duke beat Clemson, while UNC beat Tech.

BC had 22 turnovers and shot 36.7 percent from the field. The 34-point margin of victory for Clemson made this the most lopsided ACC tourney game in nine years.

This is Clemson's first trip to the semis in 10 years.

Hokies beat Miami

Posted Mar14, 2008 at 07:55 PM

Mark Berman back here in Charlotte, where Virginia Tech has beaten Miami 63-49 in the ACC quarterfinals to give the NCAA selection committee something to think about.

"Whether we get invited, I don't know. But I feel in my heart of our hearts that we're an NCAA tournament team," coach Seth Greenberg said. "But what I feel doesn't count."

Tech improved to 1-6 against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. A lot of bubble teams have lost this week, but has Tech done enough with this win to impress the committee?

I think Tech still needs to beat top-ranked UNC tomorrow to be bound for the NCAAs instead of the NIT.

"We did a good job playing today," AD Vassallo said. "We're ready for a good game tomorrow. I think we're going to open a lot of people's eyes.

"If we've got to win the next game tomorrow [to make the NCAAs], we've just got to go out there and win. We've just go to make sure we go out playing as hard as we can and make a good impression."

UNC, which beat VT by 39 last month, beat FSU in the 1st game of the day to make the semis.

"You've got to take them out of transition," Greenberg said. "You've got to obviously rebound the ball. You've got to guard (Wayne) Ellington off screens. You've got to guard (Tyler) Hansbrough on the block. You've got to at least slow them down; I'm not sure that's possible.

"We've come a long way since that game, and they've come a long way since that game, quite honesty. They've got Ty (Lawson) back and he gives them obviously a spurt. ... We've got to be more alert defensively. We've got to do a better job in transition. We've got to be tougher."

"There's too many people you've got to guard," Vassallo said.

Continue reading "Hokies beat Miami" »

Tech beats Miami; faces UNC next

Posted Mar14, 2008 at 05:53 PM

Virginia Tech defeated Miami 63-49 in the ACC quarterfinals Friday. The Hokies will play top-seeded and No. 1-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Check back today for more postgame information.

Hokies lead Miami at halftime

Posted Mar14, 2008 at 03:17 PM

Mark Berman here from Charlotte, where Virginia Tech leads Miami 27-23 in the ACC quarterfinals.

The Hokies are outrebounding UM 22-13. They are holding Miami to one-shot-and-done; UM has just 3 offensive rebounds. That's a big change from last game, when Miami outrebounded Tech by 15 and won the game.

Deron Washington went to the bench with his 2nd foul with 13:59 left in the half, but Tech did fine without him.

There was a seven-minute offensive drought by VT, though.

Down 21-13 with 9:55 left, UM went on a 10-0 run to build a 23-21 lead with 3:11 to go. AD Vassallo finally scored with 2:41 left to end the Tech drought and tie the score.

Tech scored the final six points of the half.

Tech is shooting 36.7 percent from the field, including 1-of-6 by Jeff Allen, whose only bucket came with 3 seconds left. Allen was much better on offense in the first meeting, but he does have six rebounds.

AD Vassallo is 5-of-10 from the field for 11 points. Malcolm Delaney is 3-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, for eight points.

UM is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field.

Tech is hurting itself with 10 turnovers, though.

Back with more after the game. Tech is either 30 minutes from getting back on the NCAA bubble -- or heading to the NIT.

BC upsets Maryland to end 1st round

Posted Mar13, 2008 at 11:48 PM

Mark Berman here in Charlotte, where 11th-seeded Boston College beat sixth-seeded Maryland in the final first-round game of the ACC Tournament.

The loss means Maryland, which has lost five of its last six, is definitely headed for the NIT and no longer has any NCAA dreams.

Maryland blew an 11-point second half lead and committed 21 turnovers. BC outrebounded the Terps 41-31.

BC plays Clemson at 9:30 Friday. Va Tech faces Miami at 2:30. UNC faces FSU at noon. Duke faces Ga. Tech at 7 p.m.

So what did we learn today?

Miami beat N.C. State in an ugly, ugly game to lock up an NCAA bid. But Miami did not shoot well, so Va Tech has reason to believe it can win. But even if VT beats Miami, the Hokies still probably need to beat UNC on Saturday as well to earn an NCAA bid, which isn't going to happen

State went in the tank. The Wolfpack ended the year on a 9-game skid.

Maryland also has finished the season horribly.

Anthony Morrow showed in GT's win over UVa that I was right to put him on the All-ACC 3rd team, even though he didn't make it because I was in the minority.

Wake ran out of gas late in the year with all its youth.

It's looking like a 4-bid year for the ACC.

Back with more tomorrow.

UVa-GT recap

Posted Mar13, 2008 at 10:38 PM

Georgia Tech shot 59.3 percent in the second half and 57.3 for the game Thursday night and eliminated Virginia from the ACC men's basketball tournament in what could be the final game for UVa senior Sean Singletary.

Singletary had 20 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals -- team highs in all categories -- in a 94-76 Virginia loss at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Junior forward Mamadi Diane had 18 points for Virginia (15-15) but missed his last six shots after hitting his first seven.

Georgia Tech (15-16) had five players in double figures, led by seniors Anthony Morrow and Jeremis Smith with 18 apiece. Morrow had six 3-point field goals and freshman guard Maurice Miller had five as the Yellow Jackets went 13-of-24 from beyond the 3-point arc.

UVa coach Dave Leitao did not mention the possibility of postseason play until asked, explaining that a possible bid to the National Invitation Tournament or new College Basketball Invitational "is out of my hands," he said.

Georgia Tech meets second-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals tonight at 7.

ACC tournament update

Posted Mar13, 2008 at 06:17 PM

Aaron McFarling here from Charlotte, where we've hit the halfway point of Day 1 of the ACC men's basketball tournament.

Sunshine State schools everywhere you look. No. 9 seed Florida State knocked off No. 8 seed Wake Forest 70-60 in the day's first game, followed by No. 5 Miami topping No. 12 N.C. State 63-50.

So I suppose Virginia Tech has been spared having to face its nemesis in the quarterfinals. Although the Wolfpack that showed up here doesn't look like the same one that beat the Hokies for the sixth straight time earlier this season. In fact, today's loss completed a spectacular collapse by the 'Pack, which has dropped nine straight since beating Tech in Raleigh on Feb. 5. Today's performance was particularly lousy, as State shot 34 percent and turned it over 17 times. The one bright spot was freshman J.J. Hickson, who had 27 points and 14 rebounds. He's going to be a good one, no doubt.

Miami advancing is good news for the Hokies in another way, too. Beating the Hurricanes (22-9) on Thursday would give Tech its first win over a team ranked in the top-50 of the RPI. As Mark Berman has repeatedly told you in print, Tech's 0-6 so far in such spots and desperately needs that kind of resume-padding victory (and probably a win in the semis, too) if it has any hopes of making the NCAA tournament. The quarterfinal matchup will also pit the top two coaches in the ACC coach of the year voting against each other. Tech's Seth Greenberg edged Miami's Frank Haith by two votes in the balloting released Tuesday.

Getting ready for No. 10 seed UVa against No. 7 Georgia Tech here in about 30 minutes, followed by fading Maryland against fading Boston College. Something tells me there will be a little better atmosphere here at Charlotte Bobcats Arena tomorrow, when not every team seems to have "fading" in front of its name.

That's all for now. Fade to black...