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Lack of Top 50 Wins Could be a Problem Again by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com, TSLMail #461, December 3, 2010 The ACC had never lost their yearly challenge with the Big Ten until last season. Now they've lost it two years in a row, and it's perfectly clear that the conference isn't as good this year as it has been in the past.
That doesn't bode well for the Hokies, who have lost a few big opportunities to get Top 50 wins in their non-conference schedule. Tech will play one of the easiest ACC schedules this year, so their chances to pick up Top 50 wins once conference play begins might be few and far between. That game against Purdue was very important, and it could come back to bite them.
That's a look at the preseason ACC predictions, and how many times the Hokies face each team. As you can see, they face the worst teams twice and the best teams just once. That's good for their overall record, but it also reduces the number of opportunities to pick up Top 50 wins. So far, many of those projections look right. Georgia Tech and Wake Forest are very bad ACC basketball teams, and Virginia is much too young. Boston College looks better than expected, with wins over Cal and Indiana. NC State is unlikely to finish #4, and Miami is probably better than #8. Still, even if the Hokies sweep Georgia Tech, UVA and Wake Forest, that will be six ACC wins against teams that will probably finish the season outside the Top 100 of the RPI. And how many of those other 10 games will be against Top 50 teams? As of now, only Duke, Miami and NC State are in the Top 50, and Tech plays each of those schools just once. NC State is unlikely to remain in the Top 50 anyway. Boston College and UNC are hanging around the Top 50 as well, but will they stay there? What about the rest of Tech's non-conference schedule? It's not promising right now.
History says that Penn State won't stay #56 for long, and though Mississippi State will move up from #235, they have played poorly so far this season and it's a major stretch to see them finishing in the Top 50. In fact, the Hokies probably aren't going to play another team in their non-conference schedule who will finish in the Top 50. If that's the case, they'll have no Top 50 wins outside the ACC, unless Oklahoma State can move up and finish there. The Cowboys are #158 as of right now. With the ACC being down this year, and the Hokies playing the worst teams in the league twice each, opportunities to beat Top 50 teams aren't going to come often. Last year Tech had three Top 50 wins, but it wasn't enough to get them into the NCAA tournament thanks to their non-conference strength of schedule. That strength of schedule will be better this year, but the Hokies may have already played their way out of the Big Dance by losing to Kansas State, UNLV and Purdue. Only time will tell.
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I've
been thinking about what it would be like to win this game, and I've
been thinking about what it would be like to lose this game. And
I've decided that no matter what, this season is a success. Let 'er
rip, but the outcome won't change my opinion.
After
dropping their last two games against top 25 teams, Virginia Tech
will look to open their ACC schedule with a win over in-state rival
UVA on Sunday night. The Hoos are a very young basketball team, and
they've suffered a couple of early injuries to two of their most
experienced players.
Accompanied
by his parents and younger brother, Warren Central (Indianapolis,
IN) star Kris Harley made an official visit to Virginia Tech
last weekend. The 6-2, 265-pound defensive tackle prospect reflected
on the experience and updated the latest in his preparation for the
next level.
Having
earned three FBS-level scholarship offers, Kwontie Moore
already had good reason to feel good in this his junior year. Last
month, though, the 6-1, 242-pound running back/linebacker felt even
better when he helped Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, VA) capture its
first ever state championship.
Boston
College, Virginia and Virginia Tech have offered 6-6, 240-pound
junior offensive tackle Win Homer. Homer, who also has an
offer from Marshall but favors the three ACC schools at this point,
had the opportunity to attend games at Boston College and Virginia
Tech last month. Coincidentally, UVa was the visitor in each game.
Virginia
Tech got subpar performances from starting guards Malcolm Delaney
and Dorenzo Hudson and fell to #18 Purdue 58-55 in overtime in
Cassell Coliseum on Monday night. Purdue improved to 6-1 with the
win, while the Hokies dropped to 4-3.
Tyrod
Taylor was named the ACC Player of the Year today, becoming the
second Hokie to win the award since Virginia Tech joined the
conference in 2004. Taylor was also named Offensive Player of the
Year. Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers won Defensive Player of the Year,
with Tech's Jayron Hosley finishing #3 for that award.
Jim
Weaver and Frank Beamer book-ended the show, with several other
guests in between. Seth Greenberg talked about the 76 Classic, while
Torrian Gray was on to discuss his terrific secondary. Eddie Whitley
and Chris Hazley were the player guests.
Saturday
was very much a taking-care-of-business game for the Hokies. With
the Coastal Division bid sewn up, the to-do items for the Hokies
were to extend domination of the series with Virginia (notice I
didn't say "rivalry") and to finish undefeated in
regular-season play in the ACC. The Hokies accomplished both without
breaking a sweat.
11
Virginia Tech football players were named first or second team
All-ACC on Monday, which is the highest number for any ACC team
since expansion. Three of them were named First Team All-ACC. Two
others were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Virginia
Tech has been high on Lafonte Thourogood's list throughout.
In a TSL Pass article in October of 2009, the 6-2, 215-pound
quarterback said, "Virginia Tech is definitely in my top
five," but he didn't want to commit early in order to explore
his options. Thourogood made unofficial visits to Notre Dame,
Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. He took official visits
to Tech and WVU. He was considering official visits to Arkansas,
Florida, and possibly Michigan until this past Saturday.
Turnovers
and poor free throw shooting cost Virginia Tech a chance to beat
UNLV on Sunday night. The Hokies lost 71-59 in what was a very
competitive game up until the end. UNLV improved to 6-0 on the
season with the win, while Tech dropped to 4-2.