Virginia and Virginia Tech need to beef up their out-of-conference schedules
OK, so ACC teams don’t get to play the likes of Georgia State in January and February. That said, the Committee has made it clear that it expects power-conference teams to play more challenging nonconference schedules than Seth Greenberg likes to put together.
That much should have been clear to Greenberg a while ago, but, well, here we go again. I think Tech had clearly played its way into the field this year (as I had thought last year), but the message has been sent.
My advice to Greenberg and Tony Bennett: Call up Jim Larranaga, Shaka Smart, Blaine Taylor, Chris Mooney, and get on their schedules ASAP. Home-and-home. (Not you play us three times at our place, and we play you in five years at a neutral site.)
Prediction: The Big Boys win 75 percent of the games. (And still the midmajors get more credit for playing the ACC than the ACC gets for playing the midmajors.)
Bottom line: The balance of power in college basketball has shifted. Time to recognize that if you’re Tech and UVa. and try to do something about it.
Greenberg, Greenberg, Greenberg …
Seriously, he took over a program that was an afterthought and took it to the team that everybody feels bad for on Selection Sunday every year.
That said, Virginia has been to as many NCAA Tournaments in the past five years (one) as Tech has, and Virginia has recycled coaches in that period of time.
Me personally, I think this is the beginning of the end of the Greenberg era. Maybe he hangs on for another year or two in Blacksburg, but I think his tenure has jumped the shark.
Good move by UVa., but …
It might have been worth it for Virginia to have lost money to play a game or two in the otherwise worthless CBI, if only to give the young nucleus that will take the reins of the program in 2011-2012 a few more practices and game experiences to build on.
Year three for Bennett is going to be interesting. Even assuming that Mike Scott gets his medical redshirt, Virginia isn’t looked at as being much more than a team capable of finishing sixth, seventh, eighth, if things go well, and worse if they don’t.
Talk about totally pissing away a good thing. The school committed in the area of $200 million on what a lot of people who travel a lot more than me say is one of the top arenas in college basketball. The program has managed one NCAA appearance in that new arena’s first five seasons, and the only time it’s sold out anymore is when Duke or UNC come to town (and bring their fans with them.
Column by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
