The Will Call: Your Ticket To The Game

Right around this time each year the regular season of college football is wrapping up…students are wrapping up classes with finals and parents are wrapping up presents for their kids. It’s a hectic time of year and with all the commotion going on guess what usually gets overlooked?

COLLEGE HOOPS

Each year fans of the sport miss some key November and December games that give hints as to how the season will unfold. Sometimes we miss championships of preseason tournaments and highly ranked contests. Did you know UCLA and UNC were sharing the #1 ranking until the Durant-less Texas Longhorns pulled the upset back on Dec. 2? And if you don’t know the new names Love, Beasley, Mayo, Rose, and Gordon, well…I feel bad for you.

The Will Call doesn’t want to get off topic. While discussion of college hoops is our goal, this segment of The Will Call is a “Ticket to the Game” or simply a game preview. What’s that? You were unaware we have a key ACC matchup against Wake Forest on Sunday? That’s right, it has begun.

First, The Will Call wants to catch up those of you too caught up in football to the current affairs of the basketball team. Heading into Sunday’s game, the Hokies are 6-4, including 5-0 in Cassell Coliseum. Deron Washington has already thrown down one of his nastiest dunks in a game (see George Washington game recap on the site and…trust me…search it on youtube) and VT has one of the most under-the-radar freshmen in the ACC in Jeff Allen, known as “The Big Donut.” Whether or not The Big Donut will become has popular as “T-Mobile” is yet to be seen.

Tech’s four losses aren’t as bad as they could be. The first loss came to then #22 Butler at the Alaskan Shootout in overtime…on the weekend of the UVA football game.  Again, don’t feel bad for missing it. Two more losses came at Penn State by five and at ODU by three…the only time the Hokies got blown out was the day after the tough Butler loss when Gonzaga won by 18.

So that’s the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly so far this season. The game on Sunday in Winston-Salem is important because Virginia Tech and Wake Forest were picked by the ACC to finish 11th and 12th in the ACC Pre-Season poll. Only one ACC game has been played thus far, with Boston College overpowering an absolutely underachieving Maryland team that Tech hosts on the first weekend back next semester.

A road win in Tech’s first ACC game and a home win in January against Maryland could be exactly the kind of start the team needs, particularly because of its youth. The Hokies start two freshmen in Allen and Las Vegas native Hank Thorns running the point. The other freshman consist of two-guard Malcolm Delaney who is starting to see increased minutes and points off the bench and J.T. Thompson, who comes in as a high energy guy. Tech recently attained the highly touted freshman Dorenzo Hudson after some academic issues but his impact is yet to be seen.

Tech’s PPG average as a team is tied for the worst in the ACC at 66, going up against Wake Forest’s which is only one spot ahead at 69. Early in the season Tech has, at times, had trouble defending the three ball. Luckily for the Hokies, the Demon-Deacons are the second-worst perimeter shooting team in the conference.

If the game is close down the stretch, which I predict it will be, the Hokies are having some serious issues at the free thrown line. They’re shooting only 66 percent as a team and have made and attempted far fewer than any other team in the conference.

The battle of the boards may be the key factor in this game. Rebounding is one of Wake’s biggest strengths, averaging 40 RPG compared to Tech’s 35. The Deacons also have the leading rebounder in the ACC in freshman James Johnson, who grabs 10 a game along with his team high average of 12 points.

PREDICTION

The Hokies are fortunate in that this game falls over winter break. If they can grab a road win in their first game of the ACC season…while avoiding the true difficulty of the road, it’s definitely a plus. More than likely, the number of those crazy gold and black spinners the students usually have at the games will be limited due to the students being gone for the holidays. The “Freakin Deacons” are crazy and passionate fans, especially after the tragic passing of former coach Skip Prosser this past summer.

The game may be a sluggish one offensively, because both teams are not good offensive teams and because the teams’ strengths are both defense. The Hokies have held numerous opponents to season lows this season, including GW’s 36. They are giving up less than 60 PPG.

After a slow start I think the Hokies start rolling in the second half behind Vassallo and Washington. They may try to cough up their slim lead at the end of the game with some missed free throws but I believe maroon and orange gets the victory here.

Tech 65-61