Washington D.C. Area Sports Update 01/06/2012

Washington D.C. Area Sports Update 01/07/2012

Key Stretch Awaits Hokie Basketball by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com, Virginia Tech has a great opportunity ahead of them in basketball. Right now the Hokies are 11-3 on the season, and ranked in the top 40 of the RPI. They have three very winnable games coming up, and the chance to move to 14-3 and into the top 30 of the RPI is staring them right in the face. So far this year, it appears the ACC is probably a four-bid league when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies can't afford to lose games they shouldn't lose, and thus far they've done a good job of avoiding that. Here's a look at their next three games, which are all winnable. Virginia Tech's Next Three Games Date Opp. RPI Record Location Jan. 7 Wake Forest 111 9-5 Winston-Salem Jan. 10 Florida State 66 9-5 Blacksburg Jan. 14 Boston College 262 5-9 Chestnut Hill In today's preview of the Wake Forest game, we noted that Virginia Tech is better than the Demon Deacons in almost every statistical category, including strength of schedule. That's a game the Hokies should win, though everyone knows that upsets happen in basketball every day. So far, Boston College is the worst team in the ACC, and they are rivaling 2010-11 Wake Forest as the worst team in ACC history. They have losses to Holy Cross, UMass, Saint Louis, New Mexico, Penn State, Boston U, Providence, Harvard and Rhode Island, and their computer numbers are as bad as it gets for a power conference team. The Eagles are breaking in almost an entirely new roster from last season, and they don’t resemble the team that upset the Hokies last season, just a game after Tech beat Duke. The game between Wake and Boston College, at home against Florida State, is interesting. The Noles were expected to make the NCAA Tournament again this year, but they are off to a very disappointing start, with losses to Harvard and Princeton. FSU should probably get away from scheduling the Ivy League for awhile. That said, the Noles are still a talented team. They have a lot of height, and they play good defense, but they are offensively challenged. That makes them about the same as every other Florida State team under Leonard Hamilton. Here's a look at the current ACC standings, based on RPI rank. ACC Standings Team Record RPI Duke 12-2 2 UNC 13-2 18 Virginia Tech 11-3 39 Virginia 13-1 52 NC State 11-4 53 FSU 9-5 66 Miami 9-4 75 Maryland 10-3 110 Wake Forest 9-5 111 Georgia Tech 7-7 156 Clemson 7-7 234 BC 5-9 262 Virginia Tech has played a good non-conference schedule, and as a result they have the third best RPI of all the ACC schools. Right now, it's fair to say that Duke and UNC are NCAA Tournament locks, while Virginia Tech, Virginia and NC State are the next three in line. Florida State and Miami are not out of it, because they've played a tough enough schedule to keep their RPI in the ballpark. However, they are going to have to go on big winning streaks. As far as Virginia Tech goes, they've got a chance for a decent road win tomorrow, and then they can beat a team who might end up in the top 50 in the following game. Their objective when they go to Chestnut Hill next weekend is simply to avoid what would be an embarrassing loss. TURNER LEADS BOWIE STATE TO ITS FIRST WIN (BOWIE, Md. – January 5, 2012) Juliette Turner led all players with career-highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds as Bowie State University opened its CIAA season with a 69-49 victory over Fayetteville State University. The win is the first this season for the Lady Bulldogs (1-8, 1-0) while the Lady Broncos (6-4, 0-1) dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season. When first year head coach Renard was asked what made the difference tonight, he simply responded, “They wanted it … Every last one of them wanted to win at home!” Kimberly Jones added 16 points, tying her career-high while Brooke Miles chipped in 12 for the Lady Bulldogs. Je’Lena Robertson led Fayetteville State with nine points while Akysia Resper and SheQuitia Manning had eight apiece. Manning led the Lady Broncos with 12 rebounds. The Lady Broncos struggled mightily in their first game in 17 days, showing considerable rust while being foul prone in the first half. Fayetteville State made just one of its first 12 field goal attempts, and finished the half shooting just 24 percent from the field. Turner had a lot to do with Bowie State’s quick start, scoring her team’s first 10 points and 14 of its first 18. She had a double-double by the break, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, leading the previously winless Lady Bulldogs to a 30-19 lead at the half. Bowie State continued to pour it on after the break, scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the period to stretch out a 20-6 scoring run that spanned halftime. That gave the Lady Bulldogs their largest lead to that point, 40-21, with 16:50 left in the game. The Lady Bulldogs will hit the road for a week long southern swing to Winston-Salem State University (January 9th), Shaw University (January 12th) and Saint Augustine’s College (January 14th).  Bowie State returns home Monday, January 16th, hosting Livingstone College at 5:30 pm in the A.C. Jordan Arena. 15th-RANKED BULLDOGS ROLL TO 97-85 VICTORY OVER FAYETTEVILLE STATE (BOWIE, Md. – January 5, 2012) The 15th ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University had a tough first half, but pulled away in the final period and rolled to a 97-85 win over the Fayetteville State University. Fayetteville State gave Bowie State all they could handle for a half.  But a brilliant 6-minute stretch spanning the halftime break was enough for the Bulldogs to prevail 97-85 in the CIAA opener for both teams on Thursday night. In a matchup of the CIAA’s top two scoring teams, Bowie State was able to overcome a sterling shooting performance by Fayetteville State’s Jarmel Baxter.  Baxter finished with a game-high 18 points, setting a new career-high for 3-point field goals made in a single game with six. Paced by Baxter’s four triples and 12 points, Fayetteville State (2-6, 0-1 CIAA) trailed just 45-42 at the half. The teams traded the lead several times, with the Broncos recovering from an early seven-point deficit to take a 40-36 edge with 2:41 to go in the half after Tyrrel Tate’s jumper. But Bowie State (9-1, 1-0 CIAA) was only getting started. The game was tied entering the final seconds of the half before senior Jay Gavin buried a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to give Bowie State the 3-point advantage, closing the first half on a 9-2 spurt. Gavin added another 3 in the opening minute of the second period while senior Darren Clark put together a three-point play, stretching the Bulldogs’ run to 14-2 and the lead to 51-42 just 67 seconds into the half. In all, the Bulldogs scored 14 unanswered points to open the period, stretching the scoring run to 23-2 for a 59-42 lead just over three minutes into the second half. Fayetteville State managed to recover midway through the period, and on Baxter’s sixth 3-ponter, the Broncos trailed 79-67 with 7:59 remaining. But the Bulldogs, who shot 53 percent from the field for the game, quickly pushed the lead back to 16 to regain control. “A string of second half stops in the second half really helped us pull away”, said third year coach Darrell Brooks.  “When asked about the Bulldogs balance this season, Brooks responded, “We do everything by committee and hopefully that will be the strength for us this year … We have the depth, especially inside.” Gavin and senior Travis Hyman led five Bowie State players in double figures with 16 points apiece. Sophomore Julian Williams and junior Byron Westmorland added 12 points each while junior Dameatric Scott chipped in 11. Tim Plummer added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Broncos while Tate chipped in 13 points and a game-high three steals. Bowie State will take their six-game winning streak on the road, making stops at Winston-Salem State (January 9th), Shaw (January 12th) and Saint Augustine’s (January 14th).  The Bulldogs’ next home contest will take place Monday, January 16th versus Livingstone College.  Game time is set for 7:30 pm in BSU’s A.C. Jordan Arena.