Last season, the Virginia Tech men?s basketball team won nine ACC games.
Two years ago, the Hokies won 10 conference games.
In fact, the Hokies have finished with a winning ACC mark in four of the past five seasons.
But the Hokies, who visit Maryland today, have hardly been a force to be reckoned with this season.
They have one of the worst league records (1-4) in the ACC. They have dropped five of their six games this month, including Wednesday?s 70-68 loss to nonleague foe BYU.
?We can?t let it beat us down because there is a reward and brightness and the end of this storm right now that?s exciting because this group is going to be together for awhile,? said coach Seth Greenberg, whose team is 12-8 overall. ?How do you learn to make good decisions? You make some bad ones.?
Tech misses last year?s senior stars. Malcolm Delaney scored 2,255 career points, while Jeff Allen had 1,702 points, 1,111 rebounds, 233 steals and 150 blocks.
?When you lose [a player who had almost] 2,500 points and one of the best blend players in the country, you?re not going to be as good,? Greenberg said.
?I?m really proud of where the program is. I?m disappointed of where we stand right now today, but I?m proud of what we?re working towards.?
The Hokies have been plagued by poor starts in three of their losses this month. They were 0-of-16 from the field Wednesday before finally making a basket with 10:17 left in the first half.
Tech took the lead in the second half. But BYU, which shot just 20.8 percent from 3-point range, took the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left.
With Tech trailing 70-68, Erick Green?s layup was blocked by Noah Hartsock with three seconds left. Robert Brown missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
?Right now we haven?t ? shown the resolve ? to finish the way we need to,? Greenberg said. ?Does that mean we?re a terrible team? No.
?We play at times a little young, and we?ve got to get better at that. ? We?ve been in this thing for awhile now. We?re not that young anymore.?
The Hokies hope freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith gets back in the scoring column against Maryland (12-7, 2-3). Finney-Smith, who was a USA Today third-team All-American in high school, is 0-of-18 from the field the past four games.
Greenberg figures the 6-foot-8, 192-pound Finney-Smith will do a better job of finishing his drives to the basket once he gets stronger.
?He?s got greatness in him,? Greenberg said. ?We?ve all got to be patient.
?What we?re working on with him right now is getting in the gym and shooting a little jump hook.
?All those drives, a year from now, he?ll be finishing and dunking.?
One of Tech?s biggest worries today will be trying to contain ACC scoring leader Terrell Stoglin. The sophomore guard is averaging 20.9 points, up from 11.4 points last year. He had 25 points in a loss at Virginia Tech last season.
?Stoglin is one of the elite guards in our league,? Greenberg said. ?When Stoglin?s making shots, they?re awfully hard to guard. You?ve just got to make it as hard as you can and contest as many of his shots as you can.?
Two years ago, the Hokies won 10 conference games.
In fact, the Hokies have finished with a winning ACC mark in four of the past five seasons.
But the Hokies, who visit Maryland today, have hardly been a force to be reckoned with this season.
They have one of the worst league records (1-4) in the ACC. They have dropped five of their six games this month, including Wednesday?s 70-68 loss to nonleague foe BYU.
?We can?t let it beat us down because there is a reward and brightness and the end of this storm right now that?s exciting because this group is going to be together for awhile,? said coach Seth Greenberg, whose team is 12-8 overall. ?How do you learn to make good decisions? You make some bad ones.?
Tech misses last year?s senior stars. Malcolm Delaney scored 2,255 career points, while Jeff Allen had 1,702 points, 1,111 rebounds, 233 steals and 150 blocks.
?When you lose [a player who had almost] 2,500 points and one of the best blend players in the country, you?re not going to be as good,? Greenberg said.
?I?m really proud of where the program is. I?m disappointed of where we stand right now today, but I?m proud of what we?re working towards.?
The Hokies have been plagued by poor starts in three of their losses this month. They were 0-of-16 from the field Wednesday before finally making a basket with 10:17 left in the first half.
Tech took the lead in the second half. But BYU, which shot just 20.8 percent from 3-point range, took the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left.
With Tech trailing 70-68, Erick Green?s layup was blocked by Noah Hartsock with three seconds left. Robert Brown missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
?Right now we haven?t ? shown the resolve ? to finish the way we need to,? Greenberg said. ?Does that mean we?re a terrible team? No.
?We play at times a little young, and we?ve got to get better at that. ? We?ve been in this thing for awhile now. We?re not that young anymore.?
The Hokies hope freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith gets back in the scoring column against Maryland (12-7, 2-3). Finney-Smith, who was a USA Today third-team All-American in high school, is 0-of-18 from the field the past four games.
Greenberg figures the 6-foot-8, 192-pound Finney-Smith will do a better job of finishing his drives to the basket once he gets stronger.
?He?s got greatness in him,? Greenberg said. ?We?ve all got to be patient.
?What we?re working on with him right now is getting in the gym and shooting a little jump hook.
?All those drives, a year from now, he?ll be finishing and dunking.?
One of Tech?s biggest worries today will be trying to contain ACC scoring leader Terrell Stoglin. The sophomore guard is averaging 20.9 points, up from 11.4 points last year. He had 25 points in a loss at Virginia Tech last season.
?Stoglin is one of the elite guards in our league,? Greenberg said. ?When Stoglin?s making shots, they?re awfully hard to guard. You?ve just got to make it as hard as you can and contest as many of his shots as you can.?
