Dickie V Premature When He Tells Virginia Tech They're Dancing

Maybe it was because he got caught up in the excitement Saturday night, but Dick Vitale emphatically told Virginia Tech's basketball coach Seth Greenberg to put on his dancing shoes.  The Hokies (19-9, 9-6) had just knocked off No. 1 ranked Duke in a thriller 64-60 in Blacksburg.

Greenberg knew better and explained that "we still have to play Boston College, Clemson and the ACC Tournament."

The Virginia Tech coach was right.  On Tuesday night his team got beat at home by Boston College, 76-61.  The Eagles were up by 20 at one point in the second half. 

Was it a letdown?  It doesn't really matter.

Now the Clemson game on March 5th could be a must win, and winning two games in the ACC Conference Tournament may be necessary.

Beating Clemson (19-9,8-6) on the road won't be easy.  They, too, are fighting for their NCAA Tournament life.

Vitale got emotional—even for Vitale.  He probably fed off the crowd.  The students stormed the court after the game in a wildly joyous scene.  He also knows how tough the Duke win was, and like many other analysts he believes that beating a No. 1 is huge.

It was a huge win for the Hokies, but it may not be huge enough to offset some bad losses earlier in the year and the fact that they have no other wins over anyone currently ranked.

Two things about Virginia Tech's win over Duke: The game was in Cassell Coliseum on  Saturday night, which always makes it difficult for the road team; and although Duke was ranked No. 1, it was never really clear as to who the best team in the country was when the two teams met.

With Ohio State (27-2), Kansas (27-2) and Pitt (25-4) in the picture, it's just too hard to say which team is the best.

Duke (26-3, 12-2) hasn't beaten a real elite team this season, and in their three losses they were solid favorites.

There's been a couple of games where Duke just didn't shoot well, and this game was one of them. 

St. John's blew them out in Madison Square Garden when the Dukies went 5-for-26 from the three-point line; FSU beat them when they went 19-for-61 on FG's; and they went 4-for-20 behind the three-point line against Virginia Tech.

The Hokies, as mentioned, don't have a win over a ranked team besides Duke.  Their biggest win is probably against FSU on January 8th(71-59). 

After that, it could be Penn State (15-13, 8-9) or fellow ACC member Maryland (18-11, 7-7).  It's hard to say.

No matter how you cut it, it's not really much with which to build a strong resume.

The Hokies went out and scheduled some good non-conference games, and they've also played ACC member North Carolina (22-6, No. 13),  but they haven't produced any wins against these schools.

They've lost to Kansas State, Purdue, UNLV and North Carolina. 

If there are such things as good losses, give Hokies credit for taking No. 6 Purdue into overtime and losing to North Carolina by three.

But the NCAA selection committee is also going to look at some bad losses in conference (Georgia Tech and Virginia).

Ordinarily, if you winning nine games in the ACC guarantess a spot in the tournament. 

Not this year! 

The ACC is having one of its weakest years in memory.  After Duke, North Carolina and probably FSU, there is no one else that doesn't have work to do.

There's a chance they could only put three teams in this year.

The Hokies probably have to win their last regular season game against Clemson and avoid a first round loss in the ACC Conference Tournament just to have a decent chance of qualifying. 

They may have to win at least two games in their tournament.