Thursday, February 01, 2007
Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: Greenberg's squad due for one of these nights
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
BLACKSBURG -- Seth Greenberg wanted his players to foul. This was quite obvious. The Virginia Tech coach was standing there, both feet on the playing surface, screaming and making the "hack" sign. You know the one? Stiff right arm chopping down on stiff left arm?
Well, none of the players saw it. Or none of the players felt like doing it, one or the other. Because there was no foul. And soon N.C. State had scored on another layup, the game had gotten a little more out of hand and Greenberg had turned his back on the action.
Disgusted.
Virginia Tech simply must have been due for one of these nights.
That's a cop-out explanation, sure, but can anybody really provide a better one? The Hokies couldn't have been tired -- they'd had two days off and were playing at home. They didn't appear uninspired -- they were hustling and leaping and trying to exert their will.
But they couldn't hit shots. They couldn't stop N.C. State's Ben McCauley and Gavin Grant. And in the end, the team with the best record in the ACC couldn't beat the team with the worst record, and the darlings of the league fell 70-59 for their first loss in 11 games at Cassell Coliseum.
If this seemed a little too much like football -- the most shocking stumbles coming right after the largest buildups -- try to bear in mind that this is much different. The sensation Tech feels now doesn't have to linger for another week. It can be gone in as little as four days, when Tech travels to Boston College to face a team that is now tied with the Hokies for second in ACC behind North Carolina.
But all that "tiny-margin-for-error" business Greenberg has always told us about was on full display Wednesday night. The free-throw shooting, which had steadily improved this month? Back to 66 percent in this one, including a critical 3-for-8 stretch when Tech really needed to make a move.
The absence of a consistent post game? Bit the Hokies again, as big men Coleman Collins, Lewis Witcher and Robert Krabbendam combined to shoot 1-for-9 from the field. Backup center Cheick Diakite did have a pair of dunks, but if the Hokies are depending on Diakite to carry the scoring load down there, something's wrong.
But what wasn't wrong about this one? Even the student fans, the heroes of last week's win against Maryland, reduced themselves to chanting vulgarities after questionable calls. That's a facet of big-time basketball Tech could really do without.
The only positive -- and it's an important one -- is that the Hokies took care of the ball. They had only five turnovers in the game, tying a season low. Tech is defined by its guards and its ability to value possessions. As long as the Hokies don't lose that edge, they'll be in every game.
That's the only reason they were in this one, crazy as that sounds.
They clanked and airballed their way to 32-percent shooting in the first half but trailed by only two thanks to only three turnovers.
Greenberg apologized to the fans after the game, but that really wasn't necessary. He and this team have given the fans plenty, and the Hokies are still on track for their first NCAA appearance since 1996 -- a feat that would have everybody forgetting about this one.
Because sometimes you call for a foul and nobody sees it, sometimes every long rebound gets tipped to the other team, sometimes you walk off the court hurting and wondering what just occurred.
Sometimes you stink it up. And when that happens, the only thing to do is take one more look at the standings and remember how you got there -- then fight like heck to stay.
