#58 R.P.I. NC.State @ #11o R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

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des·per·a·tion

[des-puh-rey-shuhn]  noun

1. the state of being desperate  or of having the recklessness of despair.

2. the act or fact of despairing; despair.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English desperacioun  < Latin dēspērātiōn-  (stem of dēspērātiō ). See desperate, -ion

Synonyms
1. See despair.

Virginia Tech is a .5oo basketball team (15-15), which right now at this very moment is teetering on the proverbial post-season razor’s edge. Can Virginia Tech survive one more close shave — or will Virginia Tech be cut to ribbons? As Virginia Tech simply must win one of its next two basketball games to even have a sniff at the National Invitations Tournament. As the always parsimonious to a fault Jim Weaver has already brazenly announced that Virginia Tech will turndown any impending C.B.I. or C.I.T. post-season invites for fiscal as opposed to spirited or forward-facing reasons.

Yah; I’d say that Seth Greenberg and company are a little desperate right now.

Wouldn’t you?

 NC.State at a glance:

• 11^th in assists per game (16.4)
• 45^th in offensive rebounding
• 49^th in scoring offense (73.8 ppg)
• 51^st in rebounding margin (+4.3)
• 59^th in blocks (4.3)
• 228^th in scoring defense (68.6 ppg)

NC.State Frontcourt:

• N.B.A. pros= 1 (C.J. Leslie, a power-forward trapped in a small-forwards body)
• Injuries=none

The best player on this years Wolfpac hoops team you ask? Most likely his name is C.J. Leslie. He wears #5 and he is first in points at 14.2 ppg and second in rebounding at 7 rebounds per contest does not suck, and neither does leading the ‘Pac in FTA’s at 144 on the year and in blocks at 1.8 swats per game. The 61.8% FT shooting however could stand some work from the 6`8“ 209 lb. sophomore string-bean small-forward. So could his political correctness as his anti-Gay tweets clearly demonstrate. Be that right or ‘rong, nothing short of conflict and controversy follows that in today’s highly sensitive now; and short on forgiving later “fascinating modern world”. Ditto the fact that this member of the Wolpac has friends with benefits. $410 worth of benefits if you are keeping score at home and such costs C.J. a three game suspension this season. Nevertheless, $410 for a car and a months rent in today’s economic downturn is pretty savvy if you ask me, so +1 credit hour for C.J. in Macro Economics is hereby awarded. C.J. is one of the top recruits to ink with the Wolfpac in years, as he was the #4 ranked power-forward and McDonald’s all-American this time two seasons ago. That said, C.J. has indeed showcased improvement across the board this year as his shooting is up 7% from the floor, 8% from beyond the arc, and 7% from the FT-stripe. Not many Atlantic Coast kids can say that year-after-year and that does hint at a enthusiastic work ethos and we all know that the only place winning comes before working is the dictionary.

Also hammering away (quite literally) and providing a substantial 1-2 frontcourt punch for Coach Mark Gottfried up front is #1 Richard Howell. Dick is a 6`8“ 250 third year bruiser of a power-forward who can be hard on you down low in the paint. Howell is quite productive when he is not in foul-trouble as his team leading 9.2 rebounds (good for fourth best in the A.c.c.), 10.9 ppg on 50.4% shooting clearly demonstrates. That said he is in dutch with the refs often enough as his remarkable 5 D.Q.’s (disqualifications) and his staggering 14 games already this year with 4 or more personal fouls whistled against emphatically, well … states. Now mix in 1o4 skyrocketing offensive caroms for this former Georgia AAAAA state champion and it becomes quite obvious that Mr. Howell is simply a beast down-low; when he’s actually on the court and in the game that is. That’s just downright solid production and that’s a fringe frontcourt star if you put those numbers up in Blacksburg Virginia men.

6`6“ 177 lb. junior swing Scott Wood comes up with 12.4 ppg on a team leading 41.5% from downtown and is said to be one of the best pure shooters in the whole entire A.c.c. Scotty is the third frontcourt starter upfront in a line-up that only features one true starting guard from coach Gottfried. Scotty is a one man press-conference just looking for a place to happen. Don’t believe me? Just ask his seldom censored, emotions on his sleeve –off the cuff one-liners ever post-game that are a sports reporter’s tape recorders dream come true. Dood is loquacious, and dood is not shy on letting you know exactly how he feels both on and off-court. I noticed that about this seasons’ NC.State Wolfpac team; they will run smack, they will talk (bleep) and they will get into your impoverished sports psych head if you let them. Scotty is a couple of other things while I’m at it; he is a fine 3-point shooter checking in right now at a nifty and team leading 41.5% from 3-point land, and he too is a former state champion (Indiana quad-A). The singular frontcourt sub’ off the Wolfpac bench would be 6`9“ 227 lb. true-center DeShawn Painter. DeShawn is a Hargrave Military Academy kid who had Seth and company’s attention three years ago. Right now DeShawn is a better defender than he is offender as this former Florida signee gets you 4.5 rebound, a block and 6 points off the Wolfpac pine. DeShawn is a below average shooter (43%) for someone who plays so close to the basket and his next textbook low-post move will be his first. That said, he is a quality reserve for the hustle and defensive capabilities he brings to the game and that makes him a bona-fide A.c.c. big.

NC.State Backcourt:

• Association pros= 1 professional candidate (‘Zo Brown who is right sized as a point-guard indeed)
• Hurts=zero

The truncated and hence fatigue prone Wolfpac 7-man rotation only courts two true backcourt players, so go ahead and bet the under on this section as a Word.doc word-count goes.

The one authentic backcourt purified guard starter for State would be #2 Lorenzo Brown. ‘Zo checks in at second in scoring for the Wolfpac this campaign at 12.6 ppg and is second in the entire A.c.c. with 6.3 assists per contest. That’s some pretty slick backcourt skillz in the modern era that has seen the one or the point-guard slot morph into more of a lead-guard position in opposition to the first-school yesteryear tenants of distribution via quarterbacking the team. ‘Zo goes 6`5“ and a sleek 186 lbs. ‘Zo is known to be a attacking point-guard and he likes to attack from the wing or off the so-called forty-five (45° angle) where he enjoys the handles to go either left or right. That makes ‘Zo a handful -pun very much intended- off the dribble and he has also morphed himself into a smart on-the-ball defender as he does lead the way with 1.7 steals per game for the Wolfpac. That’s a pretty dang useful point-guard if you ask me and if this highly versatile kid ever develops a touch more range on his J and finds about 10-15 lbs. of right-mass this is a future all-A.c.c. applicant just begging to happen. That means that ‘Zo could very well be collecting a professional paycheck be that home or aboard come 2014 once he gets to where he can move some real live weight-room iron.

The only backcourt substitute that you will see checking in off the ‘Pac bench would be 5`10“ 195 lb. junior season Alexander Johnson. Alex is California State University of Bakerfield graduate student who has a history of knee troubles to go with a penchant for bombing away from the outside. Alex nets you 4.7 points and drops 3.2 dimes (assists) and burns the floor for 1.7 rebounds as the only legitimate backcourt relief in what is obviously enough a rather thin Wolfpac backcourt rotation. Alex does have range on his J, although he will also jack-up the inopportune long-range shot from time-to-time as his overall shooting percentage (34.9%) just does not jive with his reputation as a Cali’ juco mad-bomber from the outside.

Conclusion(s), illation, OPT digits:
Note the R.P.I. freefall that Virginia Tech has just experienced in the header up above –60 spots in one flippin’ night if you are keeping score at home!

Ergo, was that audible “snap” you just heard down at Clemson on Thursday night the orange and maroon bow finally breaking? How much more water can the H.M.S. Duck Pond take on? Did Seth and company finally let go the rope? I don’t know for sure either way; although I do know that our hooping hands must surely be scorched from this many late game tug-of-wars. Check it out…

VT+2 vs. OK.State (neutral court)
VT-3 @ Minnesota
VT-3 @ Wake Forest
VT-4 @ Florida State
VT-2 @ Boston College
VT+2 @ #17 france
VT-2 vs. B.Y.U.
VT-4 @ Maryland
VT+2 vs. Clemson
VT+1 vs. Boston College
VT-1 @ #21 Florida State
VT+1 vs. Georgia Tech (overtime)
VT-2 vs. france
VT-5 @ #3 Duke (overtime)
VT-2 @ Clemson

SHEW!

“History records results.”
-EFIII-

In the game of Life just like in hoops alike, there is a W column, there is a L column and yet there is no Close column. Or in other words … history does not footnote almost. Virginia Tech had played in an astounding 15 close games overall this campaign with a aggregate close game point total of negative twenty points (-2o) to go with a perfectly even .5oo or 15 W’s and 15 L’s of a regular season record to show for all of our close game madness thus far. In said close games Virginia Tech has gone 5 up and 10 down or .333% overall. Talk about a season on the brink men–un-freakin-real!

Such leaves Seth and company heading into a fish or cut bait, must-win, all-out, all-in showdown of an A.c.c.  game vs. NC.Sate on Sunday down in the New River Valley. If poor Seth Greenberg had any hair left (on top) it would clearly have turned gray by now –and as you can see from the pic, Seth is desperately attempting to put a silver lining on all of this.

NC.State is a .5oo road team this year at 4 up and 4 down. State is a mixed bag out on the road as their offense and rebounding drop off a bit whereas the Pac’s defensive effort actually ramps up a notch. The Wolfpac scoring diminishes by 6 ppg and State’s rebounding margin goes from +4 to -2. Quite as swing as both metrics go. That said, NC.State’s defense tightens up by 4 ppg allowed and by 4% from the floor allowed as well. Go fig’ on that as you typically see a linear swing when teams travel if things swing at all.

So after that I looked at the recent 5-game trends. Yes State is 1 for their last 5 games (actually 1 for their last 6); however they have played the A.c.c.’s big-3 this year (U.N.C., Duke and F.S.U.) during that same 5-game-span. So the following stats may have been artificially injured by the top-tier Atlantic Coast level of Wolfpac competition of late. In the last 5 games the State offense has cooled off by 4% overall and by 4% from downtown. The Wolfpac defense has ballooned by 9 ppg allowed over that same time frame.

Virginia Tech however is a noticeably superior home-team when it comes to offense thanks to a +5 scoring bump per game inside the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum –all other orange & maroon vitals held their ground. The kicker here however is that Virginia Tech’s offense has fallen by 5.5 per contest and the Hokies defense is contesting fewer shots as the Tech stop-unit’s FG percentage allowed has risen by 7% to the ‘rong since February the 12^th.

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Now, and all of that to day, it occurred to me this morning that the one team that has always been my very own personalized bugbear when it comes to handicapping a Vah.Tech revenue sport opponent in hoops and out on the gridiron alike has surely been the Wolfpac of NC.State. Historically speaking, whatever I pick in State vs. Tech terms, go the other way, go the other way in a hurry and be richer not poorer for it. That attempt at humility thus made –I did run down some pretty good sources this week. After listening to what they gave me, I am inclined to wonder out-loud just how much more this Virginia Tech hoops team can stomach. State is almost unquestionably the better basketball club and would clearly be the lawful favorite down in Raleigh, and prolly even on a neutral court. Inside of Cassell Coliseum things tighten up a bit, though not enough. I’ma gonna side with the Wolfpac who is +1 on rest/reps right now that that is likely code for “rest” itself as this 7-man State replacement corps is lean indeed. And yes, this will be another cardiac attack, heart-stopping, nail-bitter of a game; this one goes down to the wire and Virginia Tech misses the last shot.

Virginia Tech=67, NC.State=69

“LETS GO!”

“HOKIES!”

bourbonstreet**