Unlikely First-Place Hokies Putting Together Special Season

Two dates seem like a long time ago now: December 3rd, the day the Hokie
basketball team lost to GW 63-62 and fell to 4-3; and December 30th, the day
they dropped an uninspired, inexplicable 59-58 decision to Marshall. Those days
are fading quickly into the rear view mirror, as Virginia Tech takes a Monday
without basketball to admire itself in an unusual position: first place in the
ACC.

For
your enjoyment, we present the updated ACC standings. They will remain that way
for at least two more days, because none of the top five teams in the ACC (those
with just one or two losses) play until Wednesday night. On Wednesday, Miami
visits UNC and the Hokies host NC State, so things might change then, but until
Wednesday night, you can enjoy what you see.

I’m tempted to say that the basketball team we’re seeing now is the one we
expected to see before the season began — senior leaders, talent, and depth.
Had you told me before the season that the Hokies would have a 16-5 record after
21 games, I would have nodded and said, “Sounds about right. Good, but
about right.”

Although I foresaw a possible 16-5 team, I did not see a 6-1 ACC team at this
point, and I certainly didn’t see them arriving at 16-5 in this fashion. Bad
losses to Western Michigan and Marshall, combined with wins at Duke, over #1
UNC, and at Georgia Tech? That’s a head-shaker.

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