Game 19: Men at Virginia Tech

The men's team visits Blacksburg, VA to face Virginia Tech (4-3) at Cassell Coliseum this afternoon. GW (3-3) is coming off of a 78-39 home win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday night. In that one, Maureece Rice had 18 points and five rebounds, while Wynton Witherspoon had 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

The Hokies, who were picked to finish 10th out of 12 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 22-12 and lost to Southern Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech has three players who are averaging double figures in scoring: 6-6 junior gurard/forward A.D. Vassallo (14.9 points per game this season), 6-7 freshman forward Jeff Allen (13.4 points, eight rebounds), and 6-7 senior guard/forward Deron Washington (12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds). Coach Seth Greenberg is 71-59 in his fifth season in Blacksburg; he is 284-229 in 18 seasons as a head coach. Greenberg is 1-3 in his career against GW, having gone 1-2 against the Colonials while at South Florida.

On Tuesday, the Hokies used 16 points and 12 rebounds from Allen to beat UNC-Greensboro 67-39 at home. Two of Virginia Tech's three losses came to ranked teams, as Greenberg's squad fell to both #22 Gonzaga and #14 Butler (in overtime) in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. Since falling at Penn State by five points in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 28, the Hokies have won two in a row.

This is the 71st-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 32-31. The last meeting came on December 3 of last year in the BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center, which the Colonials won 63-62. In that one, Carl Elliott had 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, including two clutch free throws 1.7 seconds remaining to give GW the lead and an eventual victory. Rob Diggs had 13 points and four rebounds in that contest, while Rice (11 points) and Regis Koundjia (10 points and 11 rebounds) also reached double figures in scoring. Vassallo (16 points) led the Hokies. The last meeting in Blackburg came on January 15, 2000, which Virginia Tech won 82-72. The Colonials are 9-23 all-time at Cassell Coliseum.

This is a tough matchup for GW, as Blacksburg is a tough place to play, especially against this young and talented ACC squad. While Witherspoon will certainly be fired up to play his former team, I expect the Hokies to be too much in the end.

David Earl and I have the call for WRGW with Chris Avallone and Ben Sugarman handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 5.10 p.m. Our own Paul Marmaro will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 5.20 p.m. Ron Thulin, Dan Bonner, and Debbie Antonelli have the call on FSN. You can watch live starting at 5.30 p.m.

Game notes: GW is 11-11 in its last 22 games away from the Smith Center...Witherspoon played in 44 games for the Hokies, averaging a little fewer than five points per game...These two programs first met in 1921 as members of the Southern Conference...Virginia Tech was in the Atlantic 10 from 1995 to 2000...GW is 144-152 all-time against ACC schools...Hobbs is 3-6 against ACC teams...GW has lost eight-straight games at squads from BCS conferences...Hobbs is 1-9 at BCS teams...The lone win came at Providence in his first season...Rice needs three points to pass Mark Clark for 38th place in program history in scoring...Rice needs 17 points to pass Haviland Harper for 37th place...Rice needs 23 points to pass Joe Adamitis for 36th place...The Colonials are 0-2 in televised games this season...GW is 1-2 in its last three games played on Sundays...The Hokies have won six of their last seven home games.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the WRGW studios and the Cassell Coliseum once we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 7.49 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Virginia Tech
G - Hank Thomas (5-9 freshman from Las Vegas, NV)
F - A.D. Vassallo (6-6 junior from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico)
F - Deron Washington (6-7 senior from New Orleans, LA)
F - Jeff Allen (6-7 freshman from Washington, DC)
F - Cheick Diakite (6-9 junior from Bamako, Mali)

In the postgame press conference, Hobbs said his team was beaten in every aspect of the game. At the end of the media session, Andrew Alberg of The Hatchet asked Hobbs if that included being outcoached, to which Hobbs replied, "You can say that if you want." He wouldn't speak any further when Alberg clarified the question.

After the postgame press conference, Alberg was summoned into the hallway (I thought it was standard operating procedure for postgames, but I was told later that Hobbs specifically requested his presence). Hobbs was still angry, and he had to be pulled away by Athletic Director Jack Kvancz.

I won't step on anyone's toes by disclosing the content of the conversation, but I have a feeling some in the GW basketball community will be in up in arms when it gets out; it's in the mold of the comment about no one expecting him to win a national championship while in Foggy Bottom. I think it's safe to say you'll be able to read about it in tomorrow's edition of The Hatchet.

Update, 1.34 a.m. - I'll upload the postgame audio at some point during the afternoon. It was a long trip to and from Blacksburg, so I'd like to get some rest. It's going to be interesting to see what changes are made because the strategy Hobbs is throwing out there clearly isn't working. GW's 36 points are the fewest in the Hobbs era.

It's going to be interesting to see what fallout there is from Hobbs' postgame confrontation. Check out this except from Adam Kilgore's recap in The Washington Post:

"Afterward, Hobbs became heated during a verbal altercation with a student reporter and was pulled away by Athletic Director Jack Kvancz."

We'll be back in action on Thursday as the men visit Binghamton. Thanks for stopping by.

Update, 5.43 p.m. - Sorry for the delay, but here is the postgame audio from Blacksburg:

Hobbs


Greenberg