In case you live under a rock, or have recently been struck by a rather large rock, you may not know that VT, yes, the Virginia Tech hoops team that basically nobody -including me- picked to go much of anywhere preseason … is the #4 seed in this years A.C.C. Men’s hoops tournament and therefore draws a 1st-Round bye.
That means that VT plays the #1 A.C.C. seed should VT actually advance. That means VT will draw a re-match with Duke that I personally know our team would love to get a big ole piece of. That however is putting the horse before the cart, as VT must first beat the Wake vs. Miami winner on Friday afternoon at 2pm. That and the fact that my Duke sources swear up and down that VT got lucky to catch Duke on a chilly shooting nite; which they feel if prohibitive a second time around. That and the fact that VT’s Top-3 scorers are all nursing various injuries of varying severity. (more on that below)
That might make for a 1 or 2 game stay in Greensboro, NC. That is what the always amorphous “they” will tell you. That is what “they” want you to believe.
I however beg to differ. VT is still that match-up that Duke does not wanna see. That is if MD’s 4 injuries get well soon, if Allen’s shoulder stays in socket, and if Hud’s bad foot somehow improves.
That might be asking a lot frankly. Though that is exactly what VT has given all of you all season long … a whole damn lot!
Round#1 Games:
Thursday 12 noon: #8 Boston College vs. #9 france+4.5
No sylvan landesberg, to go with his 17 points, 5 boards and 4 assists is a very bad thing for the french in my book. C’est la guerre, or c’est la school. france has dropped 9 in a row and is playing the least good basketball in the A.C.C. right now in my eyes. Boston College is nobodies Tricia Hefler – or nobodies’ threat to win the A.C.C. beauty-contest at this years tournament. The Eagles may not pass the so-called eye-test, yet they are however the most big east team in the A.C.C. I’ve said it before and I am saying it again, you can take Boston College outta the big east, yet you can’t take the big east outta Boston College. B.C. is too physical and too aggressive for the french, hoo isn’t. Why? Because their old-school Flex offense has been somewhat fluid of late. The post-season is the ‘rong time to loose your leading scorer; as the tempo slows down in tournament play which places points at a premium. I just do not see france out-scoring B.C.
Prediction: B.C. by a handful. (odds: 64%)
Thursday 2pm: #5 Wake Forest vs. #12 Miami of Florida+4.5 (WINNER plays VT!)
No Dwayne Collins heading up from down on So.Beach? That is what my sources outta Miami suggest, as the ‘Canes #1 scorer (12) and rebounder (8) looks to be out for a while with a possible stress fracture in his leg. Sources close to Miami further suggest that Collins has a bad-back and a bum ankle, which caused a measure of overcompensation which produced the always freighting stress-fracture. That’s just not good news and God Bless Dwayne. However, I would still be picking Wake even if poor Dwayne was good-to-go. Miami has dropped 4 of their last 5 and Wake has the best 1-5 (Point-Guard to Center) starting-5 in terms of offensive flexibility in the A.C.C. to me. The Decs are #1 in all of D-1 basketball in Offensive Rebounding; that is the insulation around any frayed offensive wiring when shooting short circuits in one-n-done tournament play. Wake is also #4 nationally in FG% allowed. Defense and Rebounding are effort-based metrics. They never go cold and I expect Wake is way too hot to trot for a depleted Hurricane hoops team. That and Coach Greenberg has already planned an 11am Wake Forest walk-through for Friday; along with some extra pick-n-roll action tactically speaking.
Prediction: Wake by double-digits (odds: 74%)
Thursday 7pm: #7 Georgia Tech vs. #10 North Carolina+3.5
The proverbial utensil that UNC has sticking out of them is otherwise known as a fork. The defending National Champion is over, done, thru. FT% (266th), Scoring Defense (274th), Turnovers (294th) … lets see, can’t defend, can’t make deadball FTA’s, and habitually turning the ball over without even missing a FGA. That’s not good folks, and I just watched a Defending National Champion who let go the rope vs. Duke and thereby submitted while dominatrix Duke went 32 point b-l-o-w-out S&M upside UNC’s head. UNC’s best player (Davis) is out for the duration, and after a MNC season of doing a lotta pitching, UNC sure has done a whole lotta catching. Georgia Tech is not a world-beater, they are a very talented and yet somewhat, somehow on some level — an underachieving squad. A major conference (A.C.C.) team with an And1 mix-tape tour flavor to them. Almost playground looking at times; although GT is indeed 12th in FG% allowed and 8th in offensive rebounding, that should be enough and you have to wonder if a .5oo (16-16) UNC team would have the hubris to accept an N.I.T. bid or not?
Prediction: GT by mid-teens, (odds: 69%)
Thursday 9pm: #8 Klempson vs. #11 NC.State+7
Klempson is a pretty good team that has been playing some pretty good ball of late. Not great, yet pretty good. In fact, there is nothing truly great about Klempson. The Tigers are however 8th in steals and 15th best in 3-pointer defense. That’s code for having a few extra possessions and being a team that closes out well beyond the arc. That means it will be tough to cage these Tigers from range late in a game should Kelmpson have a decent lead in the final few minutes. State has played a little better of late, closing the regular season with 3 wins in the Wolfpac’s final 4 games. Though State had dropped 5 in a row and 7 of their last 8 before that – in short, I just do not see enough offensive firepower outta Smitty and company to win the 2010 Steve Corwin Invitational. Tigers vs. Wolfpac, A.C.C. style, and I’ll take Klempson in a raw, untamed and elemental one.
Prediction: Klempson by 7 or less. (odds 59%)
Klempson Update: sources at the ACCT suggest that T.Booker’s bad eye is a problem here for the Tigers. A meager 6 points last time out vs. Wake speaks to the issues here; if Booker’s eye is that quarrelsome, Klempson drops down to being within NC.State’s reach. Gonna stick to my Klempson guns; though my confidence has not gone up with this injury update and seeing (bad pun, I know) how poorly Booker shot the rock vs. Wake. If Booker’s 16 points and 8 boards are not locked and loaded, one could possibly dabble in a Wolfpac upset pick for this one folks.
A.C.C. Tournament odds:
Boston College — 100:1
Miami of Florida — 100:1
NC.State — 100:1
france — 100:1
UNC — 100:1
Wake — 12:1
Georgia Tech — 12:1
Klempson — 12:1
Virginia Tech — 12:1
FSU — 8:1
Maryland — 3.5:1
Duke — 1:1.4
Virginia Tech ACCT takes:
I for one do not feel any real opening O&M A.C.C. 2010 Tournament pain. Yes, I too would rather play a depleted Miami. Yet I do like how we match-up with Wake and I like our chances to win a entertaining uptempo game vs. the Decs to maximize our 5 day Rest advantage on Friday afternoon. It is the amount of pain that Hud’s bad foot, MD’s 4 different hurts, and Allen’s now bum shoulder will feel on a 20 hour turnaround that has me genuinely concerned. That could prove to be disagreeable folks. Sources say that Hud’ will miss practice until at least Wednesday, and that Allen will be in a proverbial gold football jersey; in an attempt to limit contact with said bum shoulder. MD of course will continue to treat a quadfecta of injuries as needed throughout the week; though his lift on his J did look better for only the second time since Longwood on Saturday vs. Georgia Tech. That sure seems like code for one that is healing up and two that are wearing down.
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I do not know about you, yet I am concerned about how well our walking wounded can respond to a 20 hour turnaround down in Greensboro, NC. Then there is this little thing otherwise known as #1 seeded Duke. Beating them would be an upset indeed; though VT does have a shot, beating Duke is not umpossible, though it may be improbable on 20 hours of rest. I am almost sure that VT returns to Blacksburg VA with no less than 24 wins. It’s just that that 25th win looks dicey indeed with so many hurting Hokies. What say you???
“LETS GO!”
“HOKIES!”
b’street
I think every team is hurting to some degree, we just know a lot more about our ills because we follow our guys a lot closer. I also think VT has more mental toughness then Duke does. I’ve seen Duke fold under pressure this season… can’t say that I’ve seen the same from VT. I’ve seen VT come out and lay an egg (see BC) but I’ve not seen another ACC team beat us because they had the edge on testicular fortitude. That my friend, in my opinion gives VT the edge in a tournament situation like this.
Don’t be surprised to see VT make a run in the ACC and NCAA tournaments and you can be sure that when they finally do go down in each, they will go down swinging.
I suspect Hudson’s injury is more than just a bone bruise and doctor’s will advise that he will be risking a more serious injury if he plays in ACCT. Will not be surprised if Hudson’s in the boot this weekend and doctor’s will decide whether he should play in NCAA’s or not.
Yah; I agry JLM-Hokie. I could see a VT NCAA (or N.I.T.) run happening. Why? Because VT gets more downtime in between. Nearly 45 hours rest.
Much easier to recover like that.
Though that is why in some ways; Conference Tournaments are more demanding.
b’street
Can’t say I’d die of shock if that is true hokieville. I do know that the powers that be have checked, double-checked and rechecked Hud’s bad foot numerous times. That does not seem to me like they know what is ‘rong; nor does it sound like it is getting better.
Our Training and Medical staffers are aces. Yet they are human, and even all of our high-tech gizmos and diagnostic equipment have limitations. Sadly, we saw that all to harshly with D.Evans in football last August. The longer Hud’ continues to worsen, the less comfortable I am. I will put it that way.
b’street
Bourbon St.–If I buy you a copy of Microsoft Word, do you promise to use the spelling and grammar checks?
Believe it or not, I write in Word.doc.
Then I C&P it over to TSL.
Some things fit. Some things don’t.
“add to dictionary” has a whole lotta love from me.
If you get me Wordperfect (which has a better grammar checker) I will happily convert; and gladly give you published credit for such. You might even backdoor a OTP winner.
; )
late-
b’street
Type-o. Clemson (the “p” is invisible) is #6 seed…not #8.