Tobacco Road Report

By Michael

The statistics in this game for each team actually look similar at first glance. Virginia Tech shot 19 of 46 from the field, 8 of 15 from the line, had 28 rebounds with 5 offensive, and only 11 turnovers. Southern Illinois was 19 of 43 from the floor, 13 of 23 from the line, had 29 rebounds with 6 offensive, and only 9 turnovers.

The difference was that the Salukis shot 12 of 21 from three point territory and had 11 assists. Virginia Tech, not known as a stellar outside shooting team, only managed 2 of 13 from three point land and recorded an absurdly low 3 assists. The 2 of 13 is not surprising, and the 3 assists are a reflection of the lock-down defense that the Salukis played. TRR has seen the Salukis several times this year and we think their defense today was as good as we've seen them play. Their stellar defense takes opponents out of any flow and degrades the opponent's offense to one on one moves as the shot clock winds down.

Southern advances to take on Kansas...and they'll need every break to prevail. Virginia Tech loses Dowdell and Gordon to graduation, but the Hokies managed to secure an excellent group of recruits. The team will look very different next year and Seth Greenberg's challenge will be to keep the momentum going.