Virginia Tech vs Boston College Recap

Virginia Tech 63, Boston College 62

To appreciate how fortunate and relieved the Virginia Tech men's basketball team must be, you need to take a trip back in time. In order to grasp the magnitude of the Hokies' one-point escape against a gritty but frail opponent from Boston College, you should revisit another January day in the ACC history books.

On January 29, 2009, Virginia Tech hosted Clemson at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. Coach Seth Greenberg's group shot out to a 36-24 lead midway through the first half and continued to flummox the visiting Tigers at virtually every turn. With 16:41 left in regulation, the Hokies owned a 63-48 lead against an adversary who showed no signs of life. Solid, steady basketball was all Tech needed to tuck another number into the win column.

Instead, a program that has barely missed each of the past two NCAA Tournaments just couldn't do things the easy way. 

On that long-ago night, the Hokies abruptly hit a wall, going six minutes and 56 seconds without scoring, as Clemson took a 66-63 lead on the strength of an 18-0 burst. The final few minutes were nip-and-tuck in Blacksburg, but in the end, the calmer crew from Clemson notched an 86-82 win that sickened the stomachs of everyone on the Virginia Tech bench. That four-point failure against an ACC foe represented the kind of game the Hokie program has consistently lost in recent times, and it's that kind of loss which has denied Tech a dance card when Selection Sunday has arrived. Virginia Tech has the talent to compete with many teams (something which puts Greenberg's guys in good company; there's a great deal of parity in college basketball), but the Hokies have developed a close-but-not-quite reputation in the ACC and throughout the nation.

After this 2010 tilt against Boston College, maybe fortunes will change in Blacksburg. After all, said fortunes did indeed experience a happy Hokie reversal on one heaven-sent afternoon.

Just like last year's crushing loss to Clemson, Virginia Tech came out fast and built a big lead in the first half. One year's 36-24 bulge became another season's 38-24 advantage.

Just like that Clemson contest, Tech maintained its winning edge a few minutes into the second half. Last season's 63-48 lead with 16:41 remaining against Clemson was this season's 42-33 edge with 17:07 to go against coach Al Skinner's B.C. Eagles.

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Just like the Clemson game from 2009, Tech experienced a long and agonizing scoring slump. Last year's 6:56 drought became this year's six-minute, 41-second journey through parched desert sands in which the ball didn't tickle the twine. When Jeff Allen finally broke VT's scoreless string on a jumper with 10:26 left, the score stood at 44-43 in favor of the homestanding Hokies. After two pendulum swings in distinctly different directions, Boston College and Virginia Tech settled in for 10 minutes of hard-fought but nerve-addled basketball.

This is when the comparisons with last year's Clemson game came to a blessed end for Hokie fans.

The Eagles carved out a 62-59 advantage with just 29 seconds remaining, and the hearts of Hokies were sagging in the cozy confines of Cassell Coliseum. Malcolm Delaney did hit a pair of foul shots to trim the deficit to 62-61 with 22 ticks on the clock, but the plain truth was that Boston College would have to flinch in order for Tech to prevail.

Sure enough, that flinch occurred.

BC's Biko Paris was picked by Tech's Terrell Bell, and soon afterward, Hokie guard Dorenzo Hudson worked his way to the basket and dropped in a go-ahead layup with five seconds left. When BC guard Reggie Jackson lost a clean handle on the ball during the Eagles' final possession, Virginia Tech's narrative - so similar to an agonizing loss one year ago - turned on a dime.

That's the kind of finish Seth Greenberg hoped for against Clemson in 2009. At least he received it against Boston College.

As a result, one year's NIT ticket could turn into a much more valuable destination in 2010.

By: Matt Zemek
ACC Fans Staff Writer