(littlejohn, 2/25, 7:30pm)
Aah, deception.
(Watch from the 2:00 to 1:45 mark)
Is it me, or is Virginia Tech the most overrated team in the league this year? I think its a combination of a few things; first, VT is coming off two great years (particularly for a program without recent basketball success). Also, last year they had a good (not great) case for the NCAA tourney but were left out, and Seth Greenberg was all over the airwaves defending his team in the lead up to and the aftermath of the perceived snub, making/defending the VT case. I think this really sort of solidified a narrative for VT basketball that has carried over into this year: a good team in a great conference that gets little respect. Then they pulled out a early ACC shock upset against Wake Forest, which got pundits and broadcasters talking about some kind of traditional "midseason surge" (kind of the anti-Clemson--when will we ever here the end of the late season collapse talk?) (Actually, I'm not sure where this comes from for VT, last year they didn't have any particularly impressive wins, although they did pull a few shockers from out of nowhere in 2007.) Put it all together and I think you have a team perceived as being pretty good--but the reality is quite different.
They're not a bad team, but from a stats perspective, they are no where near the level of the 2007-2008 teams and really can't be considered a team to fear. On top of this, they profile as a team that Clemson has played well against this year, middling defense with a decent offense. Think Boston College with a slightly better defense, considerably worse offense.
On offense, VT doesn't shoot the ball particularly well, but they do get to the line often. VT gets their shots blocked quite often, so look for Sykes and Booker to pad their stats. If Clemson avoids giving up too many easy buckets in transition, they should be able to handle this offense. We all know what happened in game 1, and I definitely second ClemBen: if there is ever a time for Purnell to call off the press from time to time, or mix it up some, its probably at the start of this game.
On defense, look for VT to get a few blocks of their own, and more less keep Clemson's FG percentage down to a reasonable level. One thing they really struggle with is forcing turnovers, 289th in division I. Again, Clemson should like most of this--VT's weaknesses tend to play to our strengths and our weaknesses (like turnover %) are not going to be effectively exploited by VT.
Brace yourself for the broadcasters to drone on ad nauseum about how close these teams play each other, and how the last 27 games or whatever have been decided by a total of 2.5 points. And yes, VT is "fighting for its postseason lives" or something--I'm actually not sure how a team with a consensus 70-80 rank in overall efficiency has any claim to the postseason--but honestly, given the gap in performance between the two teams to this point, I think anything less than a double digit win will be a disappointment for Purnell and crew.
GO TIGERS!!!
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