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Rebounding Key to the Hokies' Success
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com

Virginia Tech has had a lot of unexpected success in basketball this year. Playing six freshmen, the Hokies finished fourth in the ACC and now stand at 19-12 overall, and are very much a part of the at-large bid discussion for the NCAA tournament. How did this young team get there? There are a number of reasons, but not the least significant is rebounding margin.

Virginia Tech has out-rebounded their opponents in 14 of their 17 ACC games this year. Including Friday's impressive 51-25 demolition of Miami on the boards, many of those games haven't even been close when it comes to rebounding.

The Hokies have such a young team, and on many occasions they aren't quite up to the task offensively. Winning the rebounding wars helps overcome many of those difficulties. In past Seth Greenberg coached teams, Tech accomplished victory by winning the turnover margin. This year the Hokies have essentially broken even in turnover margin in ACC play, but they are using rebounding to gain an advantage.

Over the last five games, Tech has really been dominant on the glass. No one has even come close to matching the Hokies on the boards recently.

That's not just winning the rebounding margin battle, it's flat out dominating it. The numbers since the Georgia Tech game are pretty amazing.

As Seth Greenberg says, the Hokies rebound by committee. They have an excellent inside player in Jeff Allen who can hold his own against any big man he faces. However, there is a lot more to it than that.

The Hokies have the benefit of having the best, clear cut #1 rebounding wing in the ACC. Deron Washington is averaging 7.3 rebounds per game in conference play. No other wing in the conference comes even close. Maryland's Greivis Vasquez and UNC's Danny Green grab six per game, while Virginia Tech's own A.D. Vassallo is averaging 5.9. But they aren't really close to Washington, who is seventh in the conference in rebounding in ACC games.

Throw in Jeff Allen, who averages 7.2 rebounds per game in ACC play (9th in the conference), and that's one fine trio of players who can rebound. In fact, all three rank in the top 17 in rebounding in the ACC. That's not even counting J.T. Thompson, who averages 4.9 per game off the bench. When you look at all those guys and their impressive numbers, it's easy to understand why the Hokies have such impressive team stats.