Has Virginia Tech done enough to make the NCAA tournament?
Darryl Slater
Feb 17, 2010
Are they in?
That’s what everyone who follows the Virginia Tech Hokies basketball team was wondering last night, as coach Seth Greenberg appeared on Father ESPN to talk about the big win over Wake Forest, and then again this morning, as Dorenzo Hudson’s one-hand dunk over Ish Smith seemed to air in a loop on “SportsCenter.”
For his part, Greenberg has latched onto the line that he isn’t paying attention to Bracketology, Bracket Busters, not even Buster Brown. He is nearing double-digit uses for it already, though it lags far behind Kreskin references on his list of go-to one-liners.
The Hokies are up to 44th in the Ratings Percentage Index after last night’s 87-83 home win over Wake, which is now 12th. Tech is 2-2 against the RPI top 50, having also defeated No. 32 Clemson at home. And the Hokies beat No. 57 Seton Hall as well.
Earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament hinges largely on getting quality wins, which is why the Hokies’ records the past two season against the top 50 (2-9 and 1-7) kept them out of the tournament. Last season they beat No. 16 Wake and No. 28 Clemson. Two seasons ago, they beat No. 34 Miami.
Moreover, during the past two seasons the Hokies had only beaten one other team, besides those three, that made the tournament – No. 60 Boston College last season.
So if you go by the RPI, last night’s win was the biggest this group of Tech players, mostly juniors, has won since coming to Blacksburg.
But are they in?
Well, the Hokies (8-3 ACC, 21-4) could seal it if they win Sunday at Duke, the RPI’s second-ranked team. They could also move into a tie for first place in the ACC if they beat the Blue Devils, who are 9-2 in the league. Maryland, at 7-3 with a loss to Duke, is the league’s only other three-loss team. (Both teams’ records were before their games last night.)
Even if Tech loses to Duke, it might move into the top 25 for the first time since Feb. 26, 2007, when it was 21st. But Greenberg cares only about making the tournament, not a hollow mid-February ranking. “All that other stuff is French pastries,” he said. “It just sounds good.”
OK, so let’s assume – and I know how silly that can be in college basketball – that the Hokies take care of business against their two remaining opponents outside the top 50: No. 106 Boston College (road) and No. 119 North Carolina State (home). And let’s assume they win none of their final three top-50 games: No. 2 Duke (road), No. 42 Maryland (home) and No. 29 Georgia Tech (road). They would be 2-5 against the top 50, presuming Seton Hall doesn’t work its way into that group.
In that case, are they in?
Some might depend on what they accomplish in the ACC tournament. Some certainly depends on what happens elsewhere around the country, because the pool of at-large teams could grow if, say, Siena (No. 33 RPI) or Northern Iowa (No. 25) slips up in the Metro Atlantic or Missouri Valley tournaments.
The Hokies might not be 100 percent certain yet that they will make the tournament, but here, with five games left in the season, are five things they do know …
1. Junior point guard Malcolm Delaney’s shot seems to be back.
He got a much-needed up-tick in his accuracy against Wake. He shot 9 of 20, including 3 of 8 on 3-pointers. In the first 10 ACC games, he was shooting 36.7 percent and 23.2 on 3s (13 of 56).
Delaney sprained his left ankle Dec. 30 against Longwood, then he sprained his right one, less severely, on Jan. 23 against Boston College. In the six games between then and last night, he made just 4 of 33 3s – 12 percent. That is an insane slump for a guy who made 40.2 of his 3s as a freshman and 35.4 percent last season. But during that time, he said, his shots were going in during practice, just not in games, which helped him maintain his confidence.
2. Terrell Bell, the junior wing player, is peaking at the right time and showing the awareness of a maturing player.
He had 14 rebounds (seven offensive) against Wake after having nine in the previous game, a win over Virginia. He made an important block on C.J. Harris, taking the perfect angle as he chased down Harris – just like he did when he blocked another fast-break layup, by Clemson’s Demontez Stitt.
Bell is also bursting off the wing every time his teammates shoot, anticipating a miss, so he is often in good position to grab a rebound. He is now averaging 6.6 rebounds in ACC play.
Greenberg wanted Bell and Tech’s guards to chip in with rebounding last night. Greenberg planned to have Tech’s big men box out Wake’s huge post players under the basket, while Bell and the guards sliced in for rebounds. This was so important to Greenberg that he called Bell on Monday night and asked him, “You understand what I’m talking about?”
He clearly did. As did Delaney, who grabbed nine boards.
3. Backup power forward J.T. Thompson is one tough hombre.
Thompson, a junior, gave Tech critical minutes against Wake, playing 26 and scoring 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. While Tech’s starting power forward, Jeff Allen, played just 18 minutes because of foul trouble, the 6-6 Thompson put in a hard night’s work in defending 6-9 Al-Farouq Aminu, one of the ACC’s best big men. Aminu disappeared in the second half, scoring four points after getting 21 in the first half.
4. Cadarian Raines, the freshman center from Petersburg High, finally seems to be coming around.
Raines, who is 6-9, played 20 minutes and had a big block of 6-11 David Weaver’s layup that led to Hudson’s celebrated dunk. It was a great play by Hudson, but he would have never have gotten a fast-break opportunity if not for Raines. And blocking shots is what Raines does best. He improved his shot-blocking timing in high school by playing on the volleyball team with some of his basketball teammates.
Raines was averaging 6.6 minutes against ACC competition before last night. But he was pressed into duty because starter Victor Davila played just 10 minutes because of foul trouble and a sore tailbone.
Raines missed the season’s first six games after breaking his left foot in a preseason practice. Greenberg decided not to redshirt him because he believed Raines could become a factor and provide some defense in the post, as defense isn’t Davila’s strength. Greenberg said before the game that Raines is beginning to grasp the details that he missed while not being able to practice.
5. Junior shooting guard Dorenzo Hudson might be the ACC’s most improved player.
There is no award for this, but consider that Hudson has more than quadrupled his conference scoring average last season. He is now averaging 16.6 points in league play. His 21 points last night marked the third time he has scored at least 20 against an ACC team this season.
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The Hokies’ win over Wake Forest last night was the highest-quality victory, in terms of the RPI, for this group of players.
