2007.01.31
Hokies lose to State
Mark Berman back here from Blacksburg late Wednesday night after the Virginia Tech men's basketball team suffered an abysmal 70-59 loss to a North Carolina State squad that had been in the ACC cellar entering the game.
"It had nothing to do with offense or defense tonight. We didn't come out with enough energy," said Zabian Dowdell. "They were the first ones to every loose ball, every rebound. They just played harder than us.
"We prided ourselves [entering the game] on playing harder than the next team. It seemed like tonight guys were out there hoping things [would] happen instead of making things happen."
The No. 16 Hokies (16-6, 6-2) dropped out of first place in the ACC, falling into a tie for second with Boston College.It was their first home loss this year.
"I can't really say one thing that, 'Boy we did a good job with that,' " coach Seth Greenberg said.
Losing a game it had been expected to win easily comes at a bad time for the Hokies, who will now enter what figures to be their toughest three-game stretch left this season. Tech visits Boston College on Saturday, hosts Virginia next Saturday and visits North Carolina on Feb. 13.
The Hokies shot just 35 percent from the field,
"We were able to penetrate when we had good spacing. But guys were out there with no spacing," said Dowdell, who had 11 of his 16 points in the first half. "It was hard creating."
Did State do anything defensively to make it tough on the Hokies to shoot?
"I couldn't tell you because I don't think we executed offenisvely enough to figure that out until I look at the film," Greenberg said.
RSS feed 