Seth Greenberg made an interesting comment after his Virginia Tech men’s basketball team lost to Wisconsin Monday (Dec. 1) night. When he was asked if he thought the loss, and the loss earlier to Xavier, would hurt his team’s chances of getting into the NCAA tournament, Greenberg said, “You guys are certifiably nuts.“

I wasn’t at the game, so I didn’t ask that question. But I won’t deny Greenberg’s assessment. You don’t have to be crazy to be a sports writer, but it helps.

However, I do think it was an excellent question. Greenberg’s point was that the game was played on Dec. 1, and there is a lot of basketball left to play.

He’s right about that. And I hope I’m like everybody else in thinking that way too much time is spent talking about the NCAA tournament in December. What I’m thinking about, though, are the sports talk shows where a panel of “experts” go conference by conference predicting how many teams the ACC, Big East or SEC will have in the tournament. They also list possible “bubble” teams.

In December? That’s a bit much for me.

However, after an actual game, which has potential bearing on the post-season, even in December, I think it’s a legitimate topic.

In December, Virginia Tech’s biggest remaining non-conference game is against Georgia, in Athens. No one expects Georgia to be a top 25 team this year. Winning in Athens would be nice. But even in a bad year, it’s tough to win on the road against and SEC team.

The point of the question was this. Wisconsin has a chance to finish the season in the top 20. Beating the Badgers would have given the Hokies a very good victory when NCAA at-large berths are being decided.

Now, don’t get all huffy on me. I’m not saying the Hokies can’t win the ACC tournament and get the automatic bid. I’m just saying that’s going to be a challenge. North Carolina’s not bad. Wake Forest is not bad. Duke is not bad. You get my drift.

Greenberg talked about the ACC schedule, and it’s true that teams in those power conferences have a tremendous advantage in the RPI category, simply from playing each other.

But if you’re 8-8 in the conference and go 1-1 in the conference tournament, you need something to give you separation when the selection committee is weighing whether to take another team from the ACC or a third team from the Missouri Valley or a second team from the CAA.

Having a “W” over Wisconsin would have given the Hokies an edge. Have a close loss to Wisconsin, at home, doesn’t give the Hokies anything.

Losing to Xavier, even in overtime, and Seton Hall, which might be a surprise team in the Big East (or might not, I admit that), in Puerto Rico, doesn’t do anything for the Hokies either.

And speaking of the CAA, this looks like a tough year for that league to get a second team in the tournament. So far, the most impressive victory outside the conference came when Northeastern beat Providence, in Providence. It’s not clear how well Providence will do in the Big East. Northeastern, and the CAA, has to hope the Friars turn out to be a powerhouse.

VCU, picked to win the CAA, lost at Rhode Island, at East Carolina and to Vanderbilt in the Cancun Challenge (seems to me the challenge in Cancun would be focusing on basketball when the weather is warm and the beach is nearby).

The Rams needed to win several those games.

If you want to talk about a team getting it done, let’s talk about the Liberty Flames. They have beaten Virginia, William and Mary and George Mason. The William and Mary and George Mason games were in Lynchburg, and the Flames won both in overtime.

But winning is winning.

The Flames are a team to watch. They play at Clemson Sunday, and if they upset the Tigers, now that would be something.

Liberty plays in the Big South, and the chances of the Big South getting an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament are practically non-existent. But the Flames are winning in December against teams from higher rated conferences, which is what you have to do to even have a chance to get on the selection committee’s radar.

There is a lot of basketball left to play. If Virginia Tech is really strong in the ACC and finishes 12-4 or 10-6 in the conference, the Wisconsin game won’t matter. If they’re in the middle of the ACC pack, then that last-second loss against Wisconsin might mean something.

We’ll see.

Posted by Paul Woody in
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