NIT ROUND 2 Preview: Baylor @ Virginia Tech

Following an exciting 116-108 double overtime win against Duquesne Wednesday, Virginia Tech hopes there’s still gas in the tank as they host another talented group in the Baylor Bears Saturday at 11 AM.

No. 3 Baylor (21-14, 5-11 Big 12)












Baylor is coming off an historic 74-72 win over Georgetown in the first round of the NIT. The win marks the Bears first postseason victory in 59 years.

The crew from Waco, TX has five players of averaged double figure scoring this season. The Bears like to play at a face pace and really push the ball up court quickly, similar in some ways to the style of play employed by North Carolina.

The group of Baylor scorers is led by guard Curtis Jerrells who is the trigger-man for the Bears attack. The senior averaged 16.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.7 APG and nearly two steals per contest. Jerrells has scored in double figures in all but 4 games this season and will look to do it again on Saturday.

The next two top scoring guards for Baylor are both equally suited to shoot the basketball, and make up two fifths of an all-name team.

Guards LaceDarius Dunn (15.5 PPG, 4.5 REB) and Tweety Carter (10.6 PPG, 3.1 APG) are both capable of stepping aside to let Jerrells carry the load, or exploding for a big night themselves.

Dunn scored 33 earlier this season at Kansas State and Carter had 30 points in a mach up with Oklahoma State.

Down low, the Bears are led by senior forward Kevin Rogers (12.4 PPG, 7.5 REB). At 6-9, Rogers will likely see a combination of Cheick Diakate and J.T. Thompson. Diakite didn’t play against Duquesne as the Hokies were forced to go with a smaller lineup against the Dukes guards.


No. 2 Virginia Tech (19-14, 7-9 ACC)






The Hokies got career nights from sophomore cousins J.T. Thompson and Dorenzo Hudson last time out. Both scored career highs in points with 21 and 15 respectively.

All five Tech starters scored in double figures and were once again led by senior A.D. Vassallo.

Vassallo scored 33 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and added 5 assists and 3 blocks. He now sits in fifth place on Virginia Tech’s all-time scoring list.
Sophomore Jeff Allen was also dominant against the smaller Dukes posting a double-double of his own with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney just missed a similar feat with 20 points and 9 assists. In his last two games, Delaney has 19 assists. He’s playing within the offense and letting things come to him. He’s playing at a very high level right now.

The Hokies will be able to go with their more conventional lineup in this one, but after his impressive play of late, J.T. Thompson may well start his second consecutive game in place of Cheick Diakite.

Tech will look for similar scoring balance in this one to ease the burden on the “big three” of Vassallo, Delaney, and Allen.


PREDICTION

When the Hokies play an opponent that likes to push the ball up court quickly, they like to try and dictate the pace of the game and keep things to their liking.

Look for Tech to be deliberate on offense. They’ll certainly score quickly in transition when the opportunity presents itself, but they’ll slow things down as much as possible.

Duquesne was a very good team, but Baylor is at a higher level. Don’t let their bad conference record fool you, of the Bears five Big 12 wins, three were over Texas, Kansas and Texas A& M, all teams that made the NCAA Tournament.

This game should be yet another close one which will come as no surprise to Hokie basketball fans.

Tech always has an advantage playing at home and that advantage may be even bigger in this one. The 11 AM start will feel like a 9 AM tip-off for the Bears who travel to Blacksburg from the central time zone.


Baylor 78
Virginia Tech 80

Hokies Edge Clemson, Set Sights On Duke

Led by a gritty performance from sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech defeated #13 Clemson 80-77 on the road in Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday night.

Despite landing hard on his right side while driving to the basket in the second half, Delaney recovered finishing the game with 26 points and 6 assists, including a blistering 4-7 from three point range.

Senior A.D. Vassallo added 21 points going an equally impressive 4-9 from beyond the arc. Vassallo also knocked down two crucial free throws in the final moments to give Tech the 3-point cushion that proved to be the final margin.

Diminutive sophomore guard Hank Thorns made his first start of the season and was a difference maker for the Hokies. Thorns played 30 minutes, scoring 10 points, dishing out 4 assists and grabbing 3 rebounds. He did a solid job helping Tech navigate the Clemson's full-court press, eventually causing the Tigers to abandon their pressure defense.

With the win, Tech is now 17-10 overall and 7-6 in the ACC. The much needed victory ended the Hokies' three-game losing streak, and has rekindled hopes of an NCAA Tournament birth but the road will be tough.

The Hokies' run through nationally ranked opponents continues Saturday in the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum against the #7 Duke Blue Devils.

Tech looks to avenge an ugly 69-44 loss to Duke back on Jan. 4. Since joining the ACC, Tech-Duke games in Cassell have been very exciting and hotly contested. The Hokie faithful will certainly be more than ready to help the Hokies continue their run to postseason play.

To help get the juices flowing early, heres an amazingly bad no-call in a recent Duke home game. Of course, it would take a brave official to call something on Duke right in front of their bench.

There won't be such Devil-friendly calls come 3:30 on Saturday...

Hurryin' Hokies Knock Off #1 Wake Forest

There were no slingshots handy in Winston-Salem Wednesday, but Virginia Tech didn’t need any to slay a giant, knocking off #1 Wake Forest 78-71.

Malcolm Delaney led the Hokies (13-5, 3-1) with 21 points and 8 rebounds and both Jeff Allen and A.D. Vassallo added 16.

Tech got huge contributions off the bench but none bigger than those from Cheick Diakite. The 6-9 senior from Mali came into the game averaging just 3.6 points per game but totaled 8 points and 5 rebounds to go along with 1 block helping knock off the top-ranked team.

Guard Jeff Teague paced Wake Forest (16-1, 3-1) with 23 points and forward James Johnson added 18 before being one of three Demon Deacons to foul out of the game.

The loss means there are no longer any undefeated teams in college basketball.

For the Hokies, the game marked the program’s third victory all time over the #1 team, the others coming in 1983 over Memphis and 2007 over North Carolina.

Tech is now 3-7 all-time against the #1 team, this victory coming in the program’s 100th season of competition.

The Hokies now head home to Blacksburg where they will host Miami (14-4, 3-2) Sunday at 5:30. Wake Forest will have a week off before hosting #2 Duke (17-1, 4-0).

Hokies Take Bite Out Of Big Apple

Photo Credit/AP Photo Steve Helber

For the second year in a row Virginia Tech won the Aeropostale Holiday Festival by defeating St. John's 81-67 Sunday in Madison Square Garden.

For the second game in a row, Tech's Malcolm Delaney played the entire 40 minutes scoring 22 points to go along with 8 assists en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

Last year's MVP, A.D. Vassallo also went the distance in this one and had another fine day adding 24 points and 8 rebounds.

Jeff Allen had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just 24 minutes due to foul trouble. While Allen still has a penchant for making some silly fouls, he also has been the victim of some horrible calls including one today when two St. John's players fell over and he got whistled despite not touching them.

One could surmise that some of the tough calls going against Allen are retribution for his "bumping" an official last season. Food for thought at the very least.

Virginia Tech (8-4) will now have a week off before traveling to Charleston Southern (5-5) for their final preparation for conference play. Tech kicks off it's ACC slate Sunday, January 4 at Duke.