Virginia Tech 78, Wake Forest 71

[Cameron]

We have another dandy in the ACC, folks. The Hokies have a 10 point lead, 34 to 24, at the half in Winston-Salem over top ranked Wake.

[dukebsbll14]

I don't think VT can hold them in the second half. I think Wake will come back. Plus, I'd like to see Wake number 1 when we play them. I like us being number 2 in a 1v2 matchup.

GO DUKE!!

[3rd Dukie]

It is on ESPN2.

[OldSchool]

I'd like to see Wake number 1 when we play them. I like us being number 2 in a 1v2 matchup.

I'd rather see Wake and UNC-CH get as many conference losses as possible to give us a better chance at winning the regular season and a number one seed in the ACC championship.

VT strategy seems to be not to over-play the passing lanes and allow the quickness of Wake's guards to burn them - on defense everyone is just trying to stay between his man and the basket and then quick to collapse on the paint if the ball goes inside. Wake is either going to have to hit some outside jumpers or somehow force the ball inside. Whether Wake's bigs get into further foul trouble will be key.

[Karl Beem]

The # 1 team in lo-def:rolleyes:

[Cameron]

After much debate in my head, I'm going to have to agree with OldSchool. I want that cushion for the ACC Tournament, and that can happen if Wake loses tonight.

It might be scary seeing a Wake team coming off a loss at the Joel when we travel to Winston-Salem next Wednesday, but it's a risk I'm willing to take, especially considering Gary's boys will be battling for the national title in Cameron this Saturday. You never know how that one will turn out.

Let's Go Hokies!

[Cameron]

Dwindled to six.

Bye, bye, Seth.

[DukieInBrasil]

when i tuned in VT was up by 13 and now it´s six. Nice little run by WF. i kinda want WF to win to maintain the possibility of a 1-2 match-up when we meet them. I kinda want VT to win to show that in the ACC, there are no door-mat teams (well, ´cept GT).

[Virginian]

when i tuned in VT was up by 13 and now it´s six. Nice little run by WF. i kinda want WF to win to maintain the possibility of a 1-2 match-up when we meet them. I kinda want VT to win to show that in the ACC, there are no door-mat teams (well, ´cept GT).

Well, if WF loses tonight and we win Saturday, we'll be No. 1 next week and they may be No. 2. So there you go.

[Cameron]

DukieInBrasil:

The interesting thing here is that Wake could lose tonight and we could still have a one vs. two matchup in Winston-Salem next Wednesday, as UConn is in real danger of dropping its game with Nova tonight. So, Wake could, in reality, take over the number two spot we would leave empty if we were to knock Maryland on Saturday.

Tech up 13 with six left.

[devildeac]

vt just went up 13 with just over 6 to play...

[RelativeWays]

VT is going to win this one. Wake made its run, got it to 4, and the Hokies withstood. Wake doesn't have another run in them unless Teague goes all Childress on them and hits every 3 he shoots.

[Karl Beem]

Now it's 13 with 5:19 left - feasible.

[devildeac]

DukieInBrasil:

The interesting thing here is that Wake could lose tonight and we could still have a one vs. two matchup in Winston-Salem next Wednesday, as UConn is in real danger of dropping its game with Nova tonight. So, Wake could, in reality, take over the number two spot we would leave empty if we were to knock Maryland on Saturday.

Tech up 13 with six left.

'Nova fading-down 10 with under 8 to go

[Cameron]

Scratch the UConn in danger of losing part. Just turned the channel back to that game and Nova seemingly died. Sorry, Taylor.

[Karl Beem]

It would help if Tech would cover the 3point shooters!

[devildeac]

Teague just cut it to 6 with a long 3

[moonpie23]

68-62 4:17 left to play....wake shooting fouls


now 68-64 on teague's dunk.....wake surging....crowd back in....

[devildeac]

down to 4 again with 4 to go

[CDu]

Wake just got hosed on a bogus double technical. Diakite ran into McFarland at the timeout, and they called a double tech. The tech became McFarland's fifth foul.

[OldSchool]

McFarland may not have deserved that T, but he is a cheap shot artist. He should have been given an intentional earlier in the game as well as been penalized 10 yards for an illegal block in the back when he cheap-shotted a VT player from behind earlier in the game.

[moonpie23]

wow.......serious BOGUS foul on wake's big man......walking off the court shouting "let's go!" to his team mates when a VA tech player bumps him and the ref calls a DOUBLE T against them both......that's mcfarland's 5th foul....

[devildeac]

Wake just got hosed on a bogus double technical. Diakite ran into McFarland at the timeout, and they called a double tech. The tech became McFarland's fifth foul.

I was wondering if anyone else thought that...

[CDu]

McFarland may not have deserved that T, but he is a cheap shot artist. He should have been given an intentional earlier in the game as well as been penalized 10 yards for an illegal block in the back when he cheap-shotted a VT player from behind earlier in the game.

Yes, he is a cheapshot artist. But in that scenario, he got hosed.

[SMO]

wow.......serious BOGUS foul on wake's big man......walking off the court shouting "let's go!" to his team mates when a VA tech player bumps him and the ref calls a DOUBLE T against them both......that's his 5th foul....

Tech is self-destructing. I see another late game melt-down in the works for Goonberg.

[devildeac]

deacs cut it to 2

[Duvall]

It's Wake Forest and Virginia Tech - odds are that every player on the floor deserves at least one technical foul tonight.



(And a hearty welcome to the Hokie Defense Squad, who should be along shortly.)

[moonpie23]

wake is struggling to take control.....they can't seem to focus...

[MChambers]

Wake just got hosed on a bogus double technical. Diakite ran into McFarland at the timeout, and they called a double tech. The tech became McFarland's fifth foul.

It was some sort of payback, karmically speaking, for McFarland's outrageous foul in the first half, hammering a shooter after he let the shot go. Should have been intentional.

[devildeac]

up to 5 then down to 2 after a Teague 3

[CDu]

Wake imploding down the stretch. Bad turnover, then a dumb foul 20 feet from the basket. Teague hits a three, then commits another dumb foul 70 feet from the basket.

[SMO]

This is shaping up to be quite a finish.

[SMO]

Wake imploding down the stretch. Bad turnover, then a dumb foul 20 feet from the basket. Teague hits a three, then commits another dumb foul 70 feet from the basket.

Just when I thought Tech had cornered the market on falling apart at the end of games...

[CDu]

It was some sort of payback, karmically speaking, for McFarland's outrageous foul in the first half, hammering a shooter after he let the shot go. Should have been intentional.

So he effectively gets called for two fouls when he committed one (albeit a bad one)? That doesn't really even out in the wash. I'm definitely no fan of McFarland (he's a punk), but that's a crappy call.

[moonpie23]

johnson fouled out now......va tech hitting their free throws.....wake is going down...


wake feeling the greenburg funk....

[devildeac]

wake crumbling-missing shots and sending vt to the line down 4 with 1:17 to go

[CDu]

Wow. Wake did a good job cutting it down to two with 2:43 to go, and they've played like morons the rest of the way. They're lucky to be down only 5 with 1:15 to go.

[SMO]

So he effectively gets called for two fouls when he committed one (albeit a bad one)? That doesn't really even out in the wash. I'm definitely no fan of McFarland (he's a punk), but that's a crappy call.

There's no excuse for a call that bad. The official had no angle to see if McFarland initiated the contact or said anything. He should have looked to his colleagues to clarify what happened prior to signaling the double T.

[SupaDave]

Should be a crazy finish.

[CDu]

Hopefully Wake can play like this against us. Too bad they gave away some of their cushion against UNC though. I'd have liked them to keep UNC down to #3 in the conference.

Hopefully Clemson can shock the world tonight.

[devildeac]

vt ft-clang, clang

[SMO]

Hopefully Wake can play like this against us. Too bad they gave away some of their cushion against UNC though. I'd have liked them to keep UNC down to #3 in the conference.

Hopefully Clemson can shock the world tonight.

Wow, huge call against Wake on the offensive foul. This has been one ugly finish by both teams.

[CDu]

There's no excuse for a call that bad. The official had no angle to see if McFarland initiated the contact or said anything. He should have looked to his colleagues to clarify what happened prior to signaling the double T.

Agreed. It's sort of like the technical on Monroe (sorry to bring up old stuff). On calls like techinical fouls (which count as personal fouls), you should be absolutely certain that you know what you're calling. The ref in this game certainly didn't, and the ref wasn't looking when he called the T on Monroe.

That's just bad officiating in my opinion.

[moonpie23]

williams fouled out now......guess wake won't be number one come monday...

[devildeac]

vt ft : clang, swoosh

[CDu]

This is an incredibly ugly finish. Tech should have sealed this two minutes ago.

[SMO]

williams fouled out now......guess wake won't be number one come monday...

I don't know. Vassallo keeps missing free throws then his own man almost knocked him out of bounds after he grabbed a board. Both teams look a mess. And now another miss by Tech at the line. Geez!

[devildeac]

more vt ft: clang, swoosh -wake in serious trouble

[SMO]

This is an incredibly ugly finish. Tech should have sealed this two minutes ago.

Maybe the official can call a "double loss" where neither team wins due to the horrible play.

[CDu]

Maybe the official can call a "double loss" where neither team wins due to the horrible play.

The silver lining would be that Va Tech may be building their tournament resume (aside from the largely-irrelevant #1 ranking we'll likely now have come Monday). Maybe the ACC can sneak in a few more teams.

[devildeac]

more vt ft: clang, swoosh and the winner

[Karl Beem]

Now Wake is mostly undefeated.:)

[Duvall]

After that finish, there are no winners here.

[SMO]

I like the implications for Duke in the ACC standings, but I still cannot stand Goonberg. I enjoyed the marker he accidentally rubbed on his face tonight though. That was a good look for him.

[MChambers]

Hopefully Wake can play like this against us. Too bad they gave away some of their cushion against UNC though. I'd have liked them to keep UNC down to #3 in the conference.

Hopefully Clemson can shock the world tonight.

But if VT can win at Wake, a lot can happen.

Does K call Bobby Knight tonight to congratulate him on once again no team going undefeated?

[RainingThrees]

So VT wins!!!! Despite horrid, horrible free throw shooting down the final stretch.

[SMO]

Shhh. Oglesb...SHHHHHH!

[Cameron]

Anyone have a bad feeling about UMD now that we are playing for a chance at regaining the nation's top spot for the first time since '06?

That feeling just hit me.

[BlueintheFace]

As I have been saying, Wake is too young and I still believe that they will not be top two in the ACC. They are a very good team, but discipline and youth remains a problem for them. These two issues breed inconsistency. That doesn't mean that they can't be a final four team, but they are just young and undisciplined.

[RainingThrees]

About to comment on on the Wake Undefeated thread and say HELL NO!!

[weezie]

Anyone have a bad feeling about UMD now that we are playing for a chance at regaining the nation's top spot for the first time since '06?

That feeling just hit me.

:D:D:D No.

[dukebsbll14]

looks like I was wrong lol

now its clemson vs chill

[dukelifer]

Wake fell apart at the end even as VT handed them countless opportunities to get it close or win. Wake just couldn't hold number 1 so Duke could take it away from them.

[ChrisP]

Now, we may lose to them next week, but I've long believed that Wake and their fans are posers. Not able to handle being #1. I was looking forward to knocking them off at their place next week. Nice job, scrubs!

[RainingThrees]

Wake fell apart at the end even as VT handed them countless opportunities to get it close or win. Wake just couldn't hold number 1 so Duke could take it away from them.

We did see Wake do a bad job of managing the late game situation against UNC which is a sign of a young team. If Duke gets into a tight game I still like our chances.

[godukecom]

Now, we may lose to them next week, but I've long believed that Wake and their fans are posers. Not able to handle being #1. I was looking forward to knocking them off at their place next week. Nice job, scrubs!

Can I safely assume then from your distaste that your name is not for Chris Paul?;)

[calltheobvious]

Am I remembering correctly that when Duke won at the Joel in 1997, it was Wake's first game after becoming #1 for the first time in school history?

I remember Carrawell pinning Duncan, and Capel coming up huge that night. Good times.

[RainingThrees]

link to the game recap.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=290210154

[ChrisP]

Can I safely assume then from your distaste that your name is not for Chris Paul?;)

No, I'm older than he is so...I had it first (my last name is not Paul, though - just so we're clear).

I went to grad school at Wake. Don't have many nice things to say about the place. I shouldn't be so harsh, I guess. They're nice enough people. Can't say the quality of education is on par with Duke but...hey not many are, right? I just get tired of all the cheesy, manufactured "antics" at LJVM and it bugs me. Plus, I was REALLY looking forward to giving them a smack-down in front of their tie-died fans when they were undefeated. Oh well.

[geraldsneighbor]

Looks like Wake isn't going undefeated

[LetItBD08]

So does that make us the only team in the country currently to have beaten every team we've played? (Subtle difference...I know someone else alluded to this fact on one of the other threads)

[devildownunder]

so much for undefeated. It must be really tough for kids to focus when they get to No.1 and it's a rarity for the program. Heck, it's tough enough where it happens with some regularity.

[devildownunder]

So does that make us the only team in the country currently to have beaten every team we've played? (Subtle difference...I know someone else alluded to this fact on one of the other threads)

this made me chuckle. Reminds me of the chicago river boat tour I took years ago, in which they felt the need to give every building at least some type of near-superlative, resulting in proclamations like "On your right, you will see the 5th-largest copper-veneer building with a radio tower between Iowa and the East Coast."

[devildeac]

Well, it was kinda fun/interesting to have the 2 highest ranked screen names/mascots on the board for a while:o;).

[devildownunder]

I think this wake loss serves as a warning to us to be ready to play Saturday, so that's a positive. I know we don't usually look past opponents but a little reinforcement never hurts.

Unfortunately, wake's loss also refocuses them prior to their game w/us. But I say bring it on. You don't get many opportunities to test yourself against the very best. It's nice from a competition standpoint when you see that opposition at full strength.

[CameronBornAndBred]

The last time we had the chance to claim the #1 spot we blew it (last year). Let's get through the week first. Damn, I really wanted to play Wake as 1-2.

I guess that 1-2 is still possible, only with us at 1.

[jv001]

The last time we had the chance to claim the #1 spot we blew it (last year). Let's get through the week first. Damn, I really wanted to play Wake as 1-2.

I guess that 1-2 is still possible, only with us at 1.

Do you think Wake get's ranked above U-Conn? In the AP poll they will probably be ranked below unc even though they beat them. I still like Pitt. They are a very good team. Let's beat the twerps and get the #1 ranking if nothing else to tick off the unc fans. Go Duke!

[rsvman]

I like the implications for Duke in the ACC standings, but I still cannot stand Goonberg. I enjoyed the marker he accidentally rubbed on his face tonight though. That was a good look for him.

Say what you want about Greenberg and hate him if you want to, but that guy is very smart and he's an excellent basketball coach. He gets more out of less talent than any coach in the ACC, IMO. We should just be thankful he's not the coach at Carolina; they'd probably win the national title every danged year if he were.

[bird]

Wake's inexperience really showed.

Teague was way too deferential toward the end. The rest of the team made no effort to get the ball to his hot hand. Several times Teague passed on possible shots / driving opportunities, only to have the passee to immediately jack up a stupid shot.

On the other hand, Wake can get better. And Teague is a major talent.

[jv001]

Wake's inexperience really showed.


On the other hand, Wake can get better. And Teague is a major talent.

Sort of like Duke University. We can get better and Henderson and Singler are major talents. Go Duke!

[roywhite]

Wake's got some "issues".

1. Team unity? Did you see Teague's body language in the last few minutes? Do these guys pull together in the clutch or go their own way?

2. McFarland---he's not a star but he needs to show up. Last night 11 minutes, 0 points, 5 fouls.

3. Johnson and Aminu---are they getting enough touches to keep them both happy? One or the other seems to disappear for long stretches of time.

4. LD Williams (in the W-S paper) admitted the team got "big-headed" and needed to go back to basics.

5. General decision making on the court---Teague looks amazing at times; are they going to build everything around him? Is he willing to be the go-to guy near the end of games? He either passed off late, or the rest of the team didn't look for him enough.

6. Player behavior---playing to the camera, sulking, celebrating too much---doesn't look a #1 team.

7. Coaching---is Gaudio up to managing this whole deal?

[KyDevilinIL]

I'm thoroughly disinterested in being No. 1 right now, even though we will be as long as we take care of Maryland.

We have improving to do, and a meaningless No. 1 ranking only adds unnecessary pressure and distraction to our progress. I'm not saying we're destined to lose a game as No. 1 that we wouldn't lose as No. 2, but being No. 1 never helps, IMO.