Wednesday's Game: VTech at Clemson

Feb 24, 2009, 9:39 AM

Who: Virginia Tech (16-10, 6-6 ACC, No. 66 RPI) at Clemson (22-4, 8-4 ACC, No. 12 AP)
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. in Littlejohn
Is it on TV? ESPN-2
What's the spread? Not out yet. Pomeroy likes Clemson by 14, RPI says Clemson by 12
Common foes: VTech 6-5, Clemson 6-3.
When last we met: A scary game as the Hokies shredded Clemson's press in the first half. OP switched to an aggressive half-court trap and the Tigers pulled away to an 86-82 win in Blacksburg.

I guess you head to the exits, losers!

Oohhh! I remember! Their dreaded "blackout" game, right? Yep, and for a while it seemed the Hokies would knock our lights out. Remember Dana Delany's 83-foot swish at halftime? Thankfully by the end of the game, the Three Amigos had dissovlved into the Three Stooges, bickering among themselves on the bench as Clemson nailed down the game.
How have things gone for VTech since then? Not too good. The Hokies are 2-4 in ACC action since, beating GTech and NC State in overtime. But their last game was a heartbreaker vs. FSU, so VTech is a team to be wary of.

Any time is a good time for a Dana Delaney shot!
The Hokies still ride the backs of their Three Amigos, theough they don't seem quite as chummy when things are down. Delaney (18.5 ppg, 4 reb, 3 ast, 37 points last game vs. Clemson) has taken over leading scoring duties from A.D. Vassallo (18 ppg, 6 reb, 2 ast, 10 points last game vs. Clemson) but folks who remember the last game know they are a potent 1-2 punch.

Since our contest, people have followed our lead in defending the Hokies. Depending on personnel, they key on stopping one or the other and letting fatigue do the rest. In each game since ours, either Vassallo or Delaney has scored at least 20 points, but the other has been held below his average. Since we seem to match up better vs. Vassallo, I'd imagine Delaney will have another big night.

The third Amigo, Jeff Allen (14 ppg, 9 reb, 1 blk, 13 points and a foulout our last game) continues to be the Hokies' inside presence ... and continues to foul. He's been tossed in four of the Hokies' last 6 games. And didn't play at all vs. Virginia after his special salute to Maryland's fans.

The VTech bench during the Clemson game
Those three still dominate minutes player (averaging 33 each per game ... and it would be more if Allen didn't foul out so much) points, assists and alercations with their head coach. In our last game, they scored 60 of the 82 points scored against Clemson, with some quality minutes from Victor Davila (6 points, 4 reb). It was also a nice game for point guard Hank Thorns (5 assists vs. 1 TO) J.T. Thompson (4 ppg, 3 reb) had been playing well, but disappeared in their last loss to FSU.

In all, it's exactly the same three-ring circus we faced in Blacksburg, minus the black-shirt goon squad. Thorn's job is to feed the Big Three who take 80 percent of the team's shots. They play the whole game and, as Vassallo showed late against FSU, are getting leg weary at the end if pushed.

VTech scores about 72 points a game and gives up 69. They don't worry about getting steals, and can be riddled by good 3-point shooting. If a team is hitting from the outside, they'll tend to shift to a man, leaving Allen on an island inside ... one of the reasons he ends up in foul trouble.

Can Seth Greenberg stop Clemson's outside game?

In short, the Hokies have the talent to win if an opponent isn't playing well. But they don't have the depth to slug it out with a balanced competitor.

Is Clemson balanced enough to beat them? On paper it sure looks that way. We score more, allow fewer points, rebound more, foul less, have more assists and more blocks. Clemson also has 7 players averaging 5 or more points per game, to 3 for VTech.

Oooooh! Blackout! I'm sooooo scared!

If KC Rivers (15 ppg, 6 reb, 2 ast, 29 last time vs. VTech) isn't hitting from the outside, odds are Terrence Oglesby (13 ppg, 2 ast, 5 points vs. VTech last time) will be. And it neither of them are, look to Andre Young (12 points vs. Gtech, all 3's) or David Potter (3 3's vs. GTech) for outside help. In all, 7 of the 9 players Clemson regularly uses are hitting at least 33 percent from 3-point land. We hit nearly 60 percent of our 3s against Tech last time. The Hokie defense simply cannot cover the inside and defend against the 3.

Inside, Jeff Allen was abused by Trevor Booker (14 ppg, 9 reb, 2 blk, 21 points and 13 reb vs. VTech) and Ray Sykes (8 ppg, 6 reb, 8 points last time vs. VTech) had a decent game as well. Demontez Stitt (9 ppg, 4 reb, 4 ast) had a nice game slicing inside, and David Potter gave up his offense to play a sticky D against Vassallo. He and Tanner Smith will be called on to clamp down VTech's guards again.

The biggest problem vs. VTech was their ability to shred the press in the first half. They had a lot more trouble against the halfcourt trap.

So, we'll trap them all game? I doubt it. First of all, I imagine VTech has been preparing for that. So look for us to play them exactly like we did last time ... just with a little more attention on Delaney. Clemson will push the tempo, wearing down VTech in the second half. It may mean the Hokies, as last time, take an early lead. That's fine as long as Clemson isn't sleep-walking like we were against GTech and Virginia.

If we come out hitting outside, I imagine we'll keep doing it until VTech can stop it ... and as Duke and Maryland and our first game showed, they can't. With TO bouncing back from the flu and KC having career games against the Hokies, it could get ugly.

Diagram of the Hokie perimeter defense

If VTech sells out to stop the outside, Booker and Sykes will have Allen riding the pine with foul trouble in the second half. That will give Stitt, TO and Rivers open access for slashing drives.

All Clemson has to do is show up early, weather VTech's opening punches and reap the reward they know is coming. The Hokies won't roll over, since this may well be their best shot for any lingering NCAA hopes.

However, if we want an ACC bye this is a game we MUST have. Lose this and we'll just about be sure of playing on Thursday. Let's let someone else have that honor.

I see tacos and a Tiger win.