ACC Roundup

There's no question that Virginia Tech has a considerable advantage now in
Cassell Coliseum, but it hasn't helped them very much in their sophomore season
in the ACC, as they have lost to UNC and now Virginia to fall to 0-4 in the
conference. Their next home game is against Duke, but things may be a bit
different: Tech has had significant problems with depth, and Duke should
have DeMarcus Nelson in the lineup by then.

the Virginia game, depth wasn't really an issue since UVa doesn't have any
either. What was worth noting was that, as is so often the case between
these two, they put on an intense and entertaining game.

After a wild stretch which saw Coleman Collins throw down a dunk which caught
the net and then popped maybe 25 feet off the floor, Seth Greenberg got teed
up. Later, the fans were warned about throwing things on the floor, with
Greenberg taking the mic and urging them to cheer for the Hokies instead, an act
which should have earned him a technical. It's good to tell them to
behave, but it's not right to take to the mic to rouse the rabble. Dave
Leitao was not impressed - consider it your official welcome to the conference,
Dave. He does have a way with words at time, saying "It was a
well-timed, great speech by Coach Greenberg." Don't take that
literally.

Sean Singletary, who is pretty banged up, took over in the last 5:27 and hit
a free throw, then two two point baskets, then a three, then two more free
throws, to keep Virginia in position to win. Then Adrian Joseph hit a
three pointer to seal the deal, and to send Tech to 10-7 and 0-4 overall.

Virginia, by contrast, is a surprising 8-6 and 2-2 in the conference,
which not many people thought was possible. Actually, we remember reading
a few people who thought Virginia wouldn't win an ACC game this season.

In the Wake-Maryland game, you could sort of break it down into three
distinct parts. In the first part, the game was pretty competitive.
In the second part, Maryland built a 15 point lead and held it for awhile.
In the third part, Wake Forest made an impressive comeback, and had the chance
to cut it to a one point lead with 26.9 left, when Eric Williams missed an open
shot, and the officials blew the call, with the ball clearly going out of bounds
off Nic Caner-Medley.

That's not to say Wake lost the game on the call,
but they should have gotten the ball back and could have tied. Instead,
Maryland got two free throws and went up five, and then Justin Gray launched a
30 footer with his foot next to the M of Comcast Court, and the Deacs went down
seven. Eric Strickland hit a three to cut it back to four with 8.9 left,
with his foot a bit closer, on the Comcast A.

Maryland defended Eric Williams well throughout, which may have been a big
key to the game. At the end, the guys the Deacs turned to were Gray and
Strickland, but their freshmen guards played as well as we have seen them
play. Those guys were pretty much tossed to the wolves, and they've at
times played like it, but they were better in this game. Justin Gray hit
another late three to rack up 38, and shot 7/11 from behind the line. Not
bad!!

Wake is likely somewhat deflated to be 0-4, but they're starting to come
around, and they have 12 games left in conference. If their freshmen get
up to speed, they'll be fine.

When we look around the conference at players we admire, certainly Sean
Singletary and D.J. Strawberry are at the top of the list. He's struggled
to become a point guard, but how can you not love what he brings to the
game? He's tough, he's a great defender, he seems like a great kid.
It's hard not to pull for him.

Same for Singletary. We admred him last year for his effort and
loyalty, and we admire him this year for pretty much willing his team to be
better than it should be.

• Maryland
  Keeps Wake Forest Winless in ACC
• Williams:
  Heels' youth no excuse
• A
  Step Back: TarHeels eyeing recovery
• Making
  the Right Move: Paul's decision to leave Wake Forest for the NBA is paying
  big dividends
• Strong
  finish for Cavs
• If
  duo is dynamic, Cavaliers can win
• Close
  still isn't good enough for Hokies
• Doherty
  successful in return to Tar Heel state
• No.
  23 Terps fend off Deacons
• Cavaliers
  outlast Hokies on Joseph's 3-point shot
• Hokies
  'wounded' by another close loss
• BLACKSBURG
  -- The Virginia Tech men's basketball team could use a pep talk
• Basket
  small to the Hokies
• Cavaliers,
  the fortunate ones
• Wake
  still looking for first ACC win