Virginia Tech Hokies vs Maryland Terrapins Basketball Recap

Virginia Tech 91, Maryland 83

This was the game that the Virginia Tech Hokies have failed to win the previous three seasons. This was the kind of bubble battleground on which a snake-bitten program has fallen in recent years. This was the competitive crucible that needed to be conquered if Blacksburg, Virginia, was to provide an NCAA Tournament-worthy basketball team in 2011.

Now, the outlook is indeed bright for a team that might not have to print out NIT tickets this March.

It’s been a sad but familiar pattern for Virginia Tech and head coach Seth Greenberg: The Hokies have marched oh-so-close to the Big Dance from 2008 through 2010, but a few losses - particularly in late February and early March – have steered Tech to the top seed… in an NIT subregional. The ACC school without a distinguished basketball pedigree has always been fighting an uphill battle for acceptance in its new conference after joining it in the fall of 2004. Virginia Tech played in the old Metro Conference in the 1970s and ‘80s. It then swung to the Atlantic 10 before being jerked to the Big East for four years. Then, in 2004, came the move to America’s most prestigious college basketball conference, and even though the Hokies made the Big Show in 2007, they found it hard to retain their place. A wrenching loss (or four) would always creep into the mix; the Hokies would regularly play just well enough to lose – by two or three points – the pair of games they needed to win in order to punch a tourney ticket.

In both 2008 and 2009, a powerful North Carolina team that eventually made the Final Four denied the Hokies a huge ACC Tournament win that would have landed them in the tournament field. Last year, one of the losses that killed Virginia Tech’s NCAA hopes was an overtime loss at home to the Maryland Terrapins. It was with the knowledge of that particular setback that the 2011 Hokies took the court on Tuesday night in their home building, Cassel Coliseum. In a season when Maryland and coach Gary Williams have undergone their own considerable share of struggles, Tech had to take charge and post a victory if it was serious about breaking its far-too-long tournament drought.

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After 40 minutes of mortal combat against the Terps, the Hokies – while certainly not assured of anything – can certainly say that they’re in better position than any other ACC bubble team. While Maryland and Clemson fade into the background and Boston College hangs on for dear life, Tech is now – without question – the fourth-best team in the ACC and the club with the best chance of getting the league’s fourth bid to Bracketville.

How did Tech triumph over both its demons and the Terrapins? First, Tech clamped down on defense in the final minutes of a bona-fide racehorse game. This was a defense-optional contest for the first 34-plus minutes; Tech trailed 76-75 with 5:25 left in a game headed for the 90s, but that’s when Greenberg’s guys dug in their heels. Maryland scored just three points in the next four minutes and 40 seconds, enabling Tech to gain an 86-79 lead with 45 ticks left on the clock. Maryland made no credible response, and the Hokies promptly locked up the win with four foul shots from star guard Malcolm Delaney, who hit 14 of 14 free throws on Tuesday.

The other key ingredients in Tech’s win were balance and efficiency. The Hokies gained at least 14 points from all five starters, with Victor Davila (14 points) and Terrell Bell (16 points) more than doubling their seasonal scoring averages. Moreover, balance was not limited to scoring: Four of Virginia Tech’s five starters pulled down at least four rebounds while all five starters handed out at least three assists. In terms of efficiency, Tech posted 19 assists compared to just eight turnovers on a night when Maryland coughed up the ball 15 times. The Hokies didn’t shoot the ball quite as well as Maryland (45 percent to Maryland’s 49), but the plus-seven turnover differential enabled Tech to get five more field goal attempts and eight more foul shots. Those numbers matter in basketball, and they definitely factored into this eight-point triumph that has Seth Greenberg singing a happy tune… for now.

The next task for Virginia Tech: Don’t lose a game to an inferior team. As long as the Hokies win the games they’re supposed to, an NCAA Tournament berth is likely to bounce back to Blacksburg once more.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer