‘Hoos pull upset of Tech in ACC opener
A desperation Dorenzo Hudson three-pointer fell short, leaving a second-half comeback attempt by Virginia Tech short as Virginia knocked off its in-state rival 57-54 Sunday night.
Virginia (5-3, 1-0 ACC) jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and led the Hokies by as many as 14 in the first half. Tech (4-4, 0-1 ACC) closed to within two points on two occasions in the final two minutes, but Mike Scott hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left following a breakaway on which Hokie forward Jeff Allen was called for an intentional foul, and Mustapha Farrakhan followed with another pair to make it 57-51 UVa. with 16.8 seconds to go.
Malcolm Delaney, who led all scorers with 26 points following his dismal 2-for-18 shooting night against Purdue in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, hit a three from NBA range to close the Hokies to within 57-54. Joe Harris and Scott both missed the front ends of one-and-ones to give Hudson a shot at sending the game into overtime, but Virginia rebounded the airball and ran out the clock.
Scott led Virginia with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and a game-high 14 rebounds. Delaney hit on 10 of his 15 field-goal attempts for Virginia Tech, which held Virginia to 21 second-half points.
Only two other players were in double figures – Tech’s Allen with 12 points and UVa.’s Harris with 10.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Ticket giveaway encourages UVa. fan support
Virginia head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett announced this week an essay contest to award 50 2010-11 season tickets in section 108 at John Paul Jones Arena. Coach Bennett will give away these season tickets for free to 25 fans. The winners will be a part of Tony Bennett’s Fanatic Cavalier Club.
“I thought the essay contest and fanatic fan club Mike London created leading up to football season was a great idea,” Bennett said. “Our fans really made a difference in some of our home wins last season with their vocal support. I want to help create the best home-court advantage for our team.”
To enter the contest fans must submit an essay that answers these questions: Why are you crazy about Virginia basketball, and how do you show your Cavalier spirit?
Link to the rest of the story on VaSportsOnline.com.
Ticket giveaway encourages UVa. fan support
Virginia head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett announced this week an essay contest to award 50 2010-11 season tickets in section 108 at John Paul Jones Arena. Coach Bennett will give away these season tickets for free to 25 fans. The winners will be a part of Tony Bennett’s Fanatic Cavalier Club.
“I thought the essay contest and fanatic fan club Mike London created leading up to football season was a great idea,” Bennett said. “Our fans really made a difference in some of our home wins last season with their vocal support. I want to help create the best home-court advantage for our team.”
To enter the contest fans must submit an essay that answers these questions: Why are you crazy about Virginia basketball, and how do you show your Cavalier spirit? Read more
UVa. releases men’s hoops schedule
A 17-game home schedule, featuring eight games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and including games against Iowa State, LSU and Oregon, highlights the Virginia men’s basketball team’s 2010-11 schedule released Thursdayby the ACC.
The Cavaliers are also scheduled to participate in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) and play at Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Link to story on VaSportsOnline.com.
UVa. releases men's hoops schedule
A 17-game home schedule, featuring eight games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and including games against Iowa State, LSU and Oregon, highlights the Virginia men’s basketball team’s 2010-11 schedule released Thursdayby the ACC.
The Cavaliers are also scheduled to participate in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) and play at Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Read more
Can Virginia Tech get the ACC back in the national-title mix?
Two words: national championship. It’s why they play college football, ultimately.
it’s been a while since the ACC has been a relevant factor on the national-championship scene. Virginia Tech seems poised to make some noise to that end in 2010.
“That’s our goal. I think if you’re in the hunt enough times, one of these days, it’s going to work out. That’s our plan. There’s no denying that that’s our goal at Virginia Tech. That’s our plan,” said Tech coach Frank Beamer, once again the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference and a solid #6 in the preseason USA Today coaches poll.
Beamer’s Hokies have been in the hunt off and on for the last decade, starting with the 1999 team that went 11-0 in the regular season and took a lead into the fourth quarter of an eventual 46-29 national-title game loss to Florida State.
Link to story on TheNewDominion.com.
Building a program, and a new culture, at UVa.
It’s not easy rebuilding a culture.
“I make the joke that I’ve spoken to the Boys Club, the Girls Club, the Rotary Club, the Hair Club for Men, I’ve done all those things, from Rhode Island to Florida. But that’s necessary, I think, when there’s change,” said Mike London, the new football coach at the University of Virginia, fresh off a pair of playoff runs at I-AA Richmond.
From those playoff runs, including the 2008 I-AA national title, London inherits from his former mentor, Al Groh, a team picked by the writers at the 2010 ACC Football Kickoff to finish dead last in the six-team ACC Coastal, with the general consensus among the cognoscenti that UVa. might be fortunate to win three games in 2010.
“I don’t think I need to use that as a motivating factor for our team. We are what people think we are,” London said at the Kickoff. “All I’m worried about is what we think about ourselves and how we do on the field. So far what I think about my players – my thoughts are positive thoughts about where we are, what we’re doing. The season starts pretty soon, and we’ll talk again, I would assume, after the season is over.”
Link to story on TheNewDominion.com.
WIll UVa. D be better in 4-3?
Depending on how you account for things, around half of the NFL uses a 3-4 defensive front – featuring three down linemen and four linebackers. The scheme is popular with pro coaches looking for ways to slow down West Coast offenses that rely on timing in the passing game and quick hitters on the ground. Teams employing the 3-4 need to have guys with size to play in the front seven, and especially on the line, where the three down linemen need to be able to take on blocks that free up linebackers and safeties to make plays behind them.
The problem with trying to use the 3-4 in college, as former Virginia coach Al Groh found out, comes in recruiting players to fit the scheme.
“I like the 3-4. I think it is a great defense, but it is a little harder to recruit to because of the size of the guys that you’ve got to get,” said Anthony Poindexter, a former All-America at safety and holdover from the Groh regime now on staff with new UVa. coach Mike London.
Link to story on TheNewDominion.com.
VaSportsOnline.com: ACC Football Previews
- Boston College: A long list of concerns
- Clemson: Tough group ready for another title-game run
- Duke: ‘We believe that we can be a bowl team’
- Florida State: Ch-ch-ch-ch-anges
- Georgia Tech: A step back?
- Maryland: The end of an era?
- Miami: Nine wins won’t be enough
- North Carolina: Can Heels turn the corner?
- N.C. State: Just win, baby
- Virginia: Building a program, and new culture, at UVa.
- Virginia Tech: Can Tech get the ACC back in the national-title mix?
- Wake Forest: Riley’s gone
Wake Forest: Riley's gone
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech: Oct. 16
Riley Skinner won 31 games and led Wake Forest to the Orange Bowl in 2006. Ancient history now. Riley’s gone.
“That’s the good thing about having smart kids at Wake Forest. They finally figured out by the end of spring ball that Riley wasn’t coming back,” Wake coach Jim Grobe said as his program prepares for year one of the post-Riley Skinner era. Read more
N.C. State: Just win, baby
Virginia Tech at N.C. State: Oct. 2
Talk about the pressure being on. Tom O’Brien left Boston College for supposedly greener pastures within the ACC at North Carolina State.
Recruiting is supposed to be easier at a state school like N.C. State than at a private school like BC. Not to mention that Boston is tucked up in the far corner of the ACC footprint outside the main recruiting hotbeds in the Mid-Atlantic and Florida, while State is literally right on Tobacco Road.
It’s eating at O’Brien that he’s won 16 games in three seasons at State all the while losing ground to the program he left behind at Boston College, which played in ACC championship games in 2007 and 2008 and was in contention for a title-game berth in 2009. Read more
'Hoos pull upset of Tech in ACC opener
Posted by afp on December 5, 2010 · 1 Comment
Cavs lead throughout, hold off Tech rally
Virginia (5-3, 1-0 ACC) jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and led the Hokies by as many as 14 in the first half. Tech (4-4, 0-1 ACC) closed to within two points on two occasions in the final two minutes, but Mike Scott hit a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left following a breakaway on which Hokie forward Jeff Allen was called for an intentional foul, and Mustapha Farrakhan followed with another pair to make it 57-51 UVa. with 16.8 seconds to go. Read more
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with acc, atlantic coast conference, jeff allen, joe harris, malcolm delaney, mike scott, university of virginia, uva. basketball, virginia tech, virginia tech basketball