The Hokies men’s basketball team has finally gotten to where they need to be: on the coveted ESPN “Locks” list for the NCAA tournament.

After a great February turned in to disaster at the end of the month the Hokies rebounded to win two crucial games at the end of the regular season and earned themselves a bye in the ACC tournament (and any potential embarrassment in a first round collapse had they played a team such as a re-born UNC as a five-seed).

In years past the Hokies have always slipped off the back of the bubble come this time of year with too many blemishes on their resume, especially in out-of-conference play. I liked this year’s path to the big dance though… play easy out-of-conference and then hold tough in the middle of the ACC pack. The Hokies managed a 10-6 ACC record (note that no team has ever been denied a ticket to the tournament with such a record in the ACC) and lost only one home game all season in the double overtime take-a-shot-to-win heartbreaker against ACC Co-champion Maryland. Not bad Seth, not bad at all.

Still even as a “lock” in the bracket of 65 the Hokies can help bolster their arguments for inclusion and fight for a better seed and easier path to deeper play in the tournament with a strong showing at the ACC tournament. Tech will face either #5 Wake Forest or #12 Miami in their first game (Miami is much better than their last place finish would have you believe and Wake Forest is trying to build on their street credit for the tournament just like the Hokies).

As an individual accolade, Malcolm Delaney was a first-team selection on all 53  ballots cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Way to get even better and make up for that slob Jeff Allen, we love you, man.

In much the same fashion that Virginia Tech dismantled the Miami Hurricanes on the football field, Seth Greenberg and the Hokies men’s basketball team took a beating stick to the Miami basketball team on Wednesday night.

Helping to heal the pain from a collapse against UNC, the Hokies came out of the gates and lapped their second ACC opponent early on and shot 62 percent in the first half to extend their led to 50-23 at the break. Miami (ranked 23rd in the AP poll) had lost only one game before falling hard to the Hokies and may catapult the team in to a top 25 position come Monday.

Even with a 30+ point lead I still never felt truly comfortable. Miami came on strong in the second half but ultimately the lead was just too great for the Hurricanes to overcome and the Hokies saved the win, and kept my face from bashing itself in to the drywall.

Every year I like to put down my holiday wish list for the upcoming year as it relates to Virginia Tech athletics. This year the list looks pretty similar to years’ past… I guess some things are just worth the wait:

A Peach Bowl Win: Even without the assistance of Stephan Virgil I still have a decent amount of confidence heading in to our New Years Eve bowl game against Tennessee (but nothing is certain). The game is significant - mainly because the ACC needs to show some power against the dominant SEC and to keep our 10-win season streak going, but I also want a win for those die-hard Hokie fans that may be returning to Atlanta for a third time in four months after seeing the team lose on their first two attempts. Stocking stuffer: Finishing the season with a top 10 ranking.

A trip to the NCAA Tournament: Sitting 10-1 things are looking favorable for the Hokie Bball team. Strangely though this is something I ask for every year and never seem to get. Perhaps the price is low enough this year and I have been an extra special Hokie so I’ll finally get it under the tree. On the horizon are two tough games for the team: a game against a one-loss Seton Hall squad that shares a common loss with VT (Temple) on January 3rd, and the ACC opener against UNC in Chapel Hill one week later. Stocking stuffer: Delaney winning the 2010 Bob Cousy Award.

October 2, 2010: The date that the Hokies take on Boise State at FedExField can’t come soon enough. To anyone who attended the USC FedEx Game several years back you know just how incredible it is to go to a game in Washington DC’s backyard with 90K+ Hokies (sure there will be a few fans from Boise State - but don’t count on them making much of a dent on third downs). Stocking stuffer: Is it too soon to start beating the BCS Championship drum? Pa ra pa pa pum.

The Last Good Condo at “Legends”: So this may be my “Daddy I want a Pony!” gift but there is only one condo left on the top floor of the soon-to-be-built-but-probably-never-will condo complex located in the shadows of Lane Stadium. It features a balcony, one bedroom, and is a much better location than “The Colosseum” project down 460. In a world where money is no object I would love to rain foamy Natty Light shotgun spray down 4 stories before a game with my friends on a balcony. However, if the gameday attitude of Platinum-Diamond-Encrusted-Cock status Hokie Alum are any indication of how your neighbors would be, expect to have the cops called perpetually and banging on the walls if you cheer loudly, or even stand up, at any point while living in the condo. Stocking stuffer: Returning to Hunter’s Ridge (Phase I) for a semester.

The Hokies men’s basketball team got revenge on PSU tonight, avenging a “Big 10/ACC Challenge” loss back in 2007 which stuck out as one of the worst loses of the season, keeping the team out of the march tournament. I would also point out that the Hokies have beat two Big 10 opponents this year, something Duke should be envious of.

The Hokies have are 8-1 as they approach the in-conference schedule and the last 2/3rds of the season. Compared to previous seasons this is one of the best starts in recent memory for the team.

There is obviously much more basketball to play and the team will have to show up well against the stacked ACC to make it to the big dance, but one difference from years past is that the Hokies don’t have a tarnished early season resume and that should help push them in over the bubble if they can hang out with the rest of the conference and win against the weaker teams. And the team has been able to accomplish that for in-conference games since Greenberg took the team in to the tough ACC forest.

ACC opener: @UNC on 1/10/2010

… in their favor.

Sure, FSU mashed our hopes of a .500 regular season ACC record on Sunday, but do those Seminole cheaters remember one of the “most amazing” victories in the history of college basketball?

Incidentally,  the ACC history books will now show that the Seminoles haven’t been able to beat Duke in football in almost three years

Losing six of our last seven games hasn’t put the Hokies out of the tournament …and I am not insinuating that the team will win the ACC tournament and get an automatic bid either. #8 Virginia Tech takes on #9 Miami in the ACC Tournament opener on Thursday. A win over Miami wouldn’t impress anyone but it would set the Hokies up against #1 UNC , winners of the past two tournaments, and give one final long ball to convince the voters that VT belongs.

ESPN and CBS still have VT on the bubble radar, mainly because most of our end-of-the-season loses came against decent RPI ranked teams that are considered locks for the tournament. With a (major) upset the Hokies can steal back in to the tournament with a resume touting UNC along with road wins against Wake and Clemson.

What are the chances? Not good, even for round one. Betting sites give the Hokies a 41.37% chance of surviving against Miami, and a 5.72% chance of following that up with a win over UNC (and if you are curious a 2.03% chance of making it to the final round with 0.57% of winning it all) – of course these odds would change with every game and team elimination as well. If the 94.28% situation does occur I refuse to make any posts regarding the NIT seeding, games, or results.

Saturday’s Duke game was a let down - there was a definite sense that the team was pulling together in the second half and once the score was tied at 58 there was even a small glimmer of hope for some Hokie magic. But then, of course, ABC couldn’t help themselves from showing the ever increasing montage reel of our last-second basketball losses and depressing close game winning percentages and sure enough before you knew it Duke was at the free throw line sealing their win. I think I feel most bad for the Hokie sitting next to me at the bar who put money on Virginia Tech to win (they were given 6 points).

So then what can we expect this Wednesday when Virginia Tech hosts conference leader UNC?

I feel as though we have had a two-face offense all season that can go from efficient and productive to cold and poorly timed for no apparent reason. Its not that our team becomes explosive at times and is just lackluster at others, it simply falls apart. The moment our timing is switched buckets begin to fall off, we take silly shots, and have embarrassing turnovers. At that point I start screaming “slow down!” (or sometimes “hurry up!”) but I think on Wednesday I am going to scream for a time out instead. Seth should look to stop the team WHENEVER this ugly timing problem creeps in. I’d rather blow a preemptive time out and have a breather when things look like they are turning sour. Like when Clemson pulled off the press in the second half of the crushing defeat on January 29th — we waited too long to stop the game and regroup over what wasn’t working when Clemson had changed its pace.

Joe Lunardi was on ESPN Radio this afternoon fielding questions about the NCAA tournament and all the bubble teams out there. Joe rightfully predicts there is no place in the NCAA tournament for a sub .500 ACC team and the Hokies can only lock up a spot in March with a win over UNC this Wednesday (unless I suppose there is a great VT showing in the ACC tournament combined with a win over FSU). So we are down to this… the typical Disney movie climax pitting the little guy up against Goliath for all the glory. The Duke game (I hope) showed the team and home crowd that we can play to win and since it is the last home game of the season (ignoring any trip to NIT crapville) it should bring plenty of emotion from ALL of Cassell.

One big benefit that I believe contributed to our win over Wake Forest once again exists for VT this week: UNC’s final game of the year, the game following VT, is against Duke. First, UNC is coming off a gloating win over bottom feeding Georgia Tech. Second, its f’ing UNC vs. Duke - with all the rivalry implications, emotion, media coverage, and a battle over the top seed in the ACC (and bragging rights) on the line, those Tarheels might just being looking too far ahead and end up with a nasty little surprise from VT… It just depends which team plays for all those 40 minutes.

Though there is still a stinging pain from our Men’s basketball team losing three straight, this video helps put a smile on my face and remember that things could always be worse… at least we beat Duke in football.

NCAA Basketball: Tonight the Hokies face UVA for their last meeting before the ACC tournament — interestingly if the tournament started today VT would play UVA in the first round as a #6 seed versus #11. VT will be without sophomore Jeff Allen after a one-game suspension was levied by Virginia Tech athletic officials in response to Allen’s middle finger gesture to Maryland fans in the Valentine’s day loss. This also adds Allen to the Vick Brothers as a fan of the one-finger salute. I expect that the Hokies can still sweep the Cavaliers following up on their victory in Blacksburg back in January. In that game Allen contributed only 3 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes of playing time. EDIT: Allen, we needed you. However, representing my biggest fear tonight: Virginia Tech was up by 15 points with just under six minutes to go in that first meeting between the teams and then the Cavaliers went on a tear cutting the lead back to just one point with a few seconds to go. Because of that incident (and the several other times we have seen such occurrences this season) I will not be comfortable with any lead unless its after the game is over. Incidentally, I will be in the stands trying to get under UVA’s skin - insulting the wine pairing decisions of the student section and racist Country Club membership practices of the alumni. EDIT: Those fans are horrible, old, and have stupid wives.

NFL Football: Michael Vick’s lawyers said they expected him to be out of the prison at any moment … and that was over a week-and-a-half ago. I am guessing Vick has already been quietly transferred out of general population as he awaits travel to a Newport News halfway house for the remainder of his sentance. As his release grows closer, Vick’s name has been tossed around by plenty of fans — but few team owners are willing to admit they will consider his services (keeping in mind there’s no guarantee NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will even reinstate Vick).  On the other hand, the new upstart UFL league has open arms, and has been on the record as seeing Vick as a great opportunity for both the new league and number 7. Though the UFL may be a epic flop after its six-game schedule starts in October, nothing Vick can do (except elloctructe dogs in his touchdown celebration) could be any worse damage than what was done in the opening XFL game sideline interview with HeHateMe. And why not cut the guy a break? The federal sentencing guidelines for Vick’s crime had recommend 12 to 18 months. Well, as we know, he got 23 months instead, and he lost all his money, and finally what was left of his public image was completely destroyed. I personally think he has learned his lesson and suffered enough, but if the cat abuser scandal of this weekend has taught us anything, public outcry favors animal life much more than human life (unless you are an ape).

MLB Baseball: Is screwed. First off Alex Rodriguez is a lying sack of shit. According to A-Shit he shot up with a needle of P.E.D.s at least 36 tims over three seasons. That sounds like plausable and fair admission, but then he went on to say the drugs were provided to him by his cousin Snuffalopogus and claims to not have known what was in said needles while injecting himself and that all of it was a big naive mistake brought on because he missed out on college… or some shit like that. Okay, fine, maybe Lip Gloss is telling the truth and a 25 million dollar a year player with a private jet he relied basically on his little sister’s boyfriend who has a fake ID for things he injected in to his body three dozen times. However on a 60 Minutes special a couple years back he told Katie Couric “I’ve never been tempted to use performance-enhancing drugs” and claimed he never tried steroids. Now THAT royally pisses me off because it wasn’t like it was a grand jury forcing him to testify under penalty of law nor was it something that the media demanded he do… no… A-Dick* did that show on his own voluntary decision and lied horribly the entire time,all-the-while admiring Katie’s purse. But then again, did all these drugs even help his numbers and turn him in to the Launchpad McQuack he is now? His average homeruns-per-at-bat in 2007 was just as good as what he did during his “juiced years” and that was when he was 5 years younger… however he did lead the AL in homers those three years. As a Sox fan I don’t like the guy, but I think we are talking about a handful of homeruns and not eye-popping Brady Anderson or Sammy Sosa jumps in the power numbers. In other news, the Nationals smuggle Dominicans in to the country using corrupt Baltimore shipping docks.

Well, that was nerve racking. I have quickly learned that watching a Hokies basketball game is far more difficult to one’s stress levels than a Hokies football game… there are just too many opportunities to get upset and freak out in a basketball contest.

Truth be told, I thought we were defiantly losing the game against NC State this afternoon when the teams headed in for halftime.  And by the time we were six minutes into the second half, down 17 points, all hopes of a NCAA tournament berth were gone and I concocted this on Photoshop. However, a half hour later, when the shot clock was off and “Enter Sandman” was shaking Cassell Coliseum I had done a complete 180.

My emotions echoed something that Seth Greenberg apparently said (this according to the horrific and polarizing television game announcers and further butchered by my poor memory): “Its frustrating and hard to understand how we can go from being such a good team to such a bad team, but that’s not game-to-game, that’s what happens within a single game.” Fortunately, Virginia Tech forgot how to be a “bad team” at some point in the second half and performed well in to the overtime. The Tech win snapped a 6-game losing streak against the Wolfpack and keeps Virginia Tech in the hunt, but the Hokies have to perform well and come away with wins against the lackluster opponents in our next four ACC games (GT, UVA, Maryland, FSU). I’m keeping my fingers crossed the “good team” shows up for those.