ACC Rivals Clash in College Park: Virginia Tech at Maryland

Virginia Tech Hokies at Maryland Terrapins, Comcast Center, College Park, MD
Thursday, Janaury 20, 2011, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Maryland -5
Current Line: Maryland -5 1/2
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 137 1/2
Money Line: Maryland -240 / VT +200

Virginia Tech is led by the dynamic duo of Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen. The Hokies are 5 1/2 point underdogs at Maryland Thursday night.

The Virginia Tech Hokies are 11-5 overall and 2-2 in ACC play. They travel to Maryland who has an 11-6 record overall and are 1-2 in conference. This is a crucial game for both teams as they both have 2 losses in conference and 4 teams have only one loss in conference. Duke is ranked #5 but no other ACC team is ranked in the top 25 which is strange for a conference that is usually one of the strongest in the country. Virginia Tech has losses to Kansas St, UNLV, Purdue, Virginia, and North Carolina on the season. The Hokies have wins over Oklahoma St, Penn St, Mississippi St, Florida St and Wake Forest. The Hokies beat Wake Forest at home last Saturday in Blacksburg 94-65. Maryland has losses to Pitt, Illinois, Temple, Boston College, Duke and Villanova. All except Boston College have been or are currently ranked in the top 25. All the Terps’ points are by 9 points or less. They have quality wins over Penn St and Wake Forest. Maryland lost 74-66 at Villanova last Saturday. Maryland leads the overall series between the two teams 27-8, including 16-3 at home. Maryland has won and covered the last two meetings in the series, and both games have gone over. Maryland is 15-5 ATS the last three seasons versus conference foes. Virginia Tech is 13-5 ATS after a conference game in the last 3 seasons.

Virginia Tech has 5 players who either left the team or are out for the season with injuries. Four of the 5 either played sparingly or not at all. The only significant loss is senior guard Dorenzo Hudson who was the teams third leading score with 10.4 points a game. The Hokies are lead by senior guard Malcolm Delaney. He averages 18.6 points to lead the team, 3.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists to lead the team, and 1.6 steals a game. He is making 43.3% of his three pointers. Forward Jeff Allen averages 12.6 points, 9.3 rebounds to lead the team, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks a game. Guard Erick Green is averaging 9.4 points, 2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2 steals a game to lead the team. Victor Davila and Terrell Bell are tied for the team lead in blocks with 1.3 a game. Both also pull down more than 5 rebounds a game. Virginia Tech is outscoring opponents 72-60 on the season. The Hokies shoot 47.1% from the field and 34% from 3-point range. Hokie opponents are shooting 39.8% from the field. The Hokies are shooting 70.6% from the free throw line. Tech averages 34.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.8. They average 13.8 assists and 13.6 turnovers a game. The Hokies force 16.5 turnovers a game on defense. Virginia Tech averages 7.4 steals and 4.6 blocks a game.

Maryland has no significant injuries. They are led by sophomore forward Jordan Williams who is averaging a double double. He is averaging 18.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks a game. He leads the team in both points and rebounds. Guard/forward Cliff Tucker averages 11.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.2 steals a game to lead the team. Adrien Bowie leads the team in assists with 3.8 a game. Dino Gregory leads the team in blocks with 1.8 a game. Maryland is outscoring opponents 78-63 on the season. The Terps are shooting 48.2% from the field and 32.6% from 3-point range. Maryland is holding opponents to 37% shooting from the field. Maryland struggles at the free throw line converting only 62.8% form the charity stripe. Maryland is averaging 41.9 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +6.5. Maryland is 5th in the country in rebounding. They average 17.5 assists and 14.5 turnovers a game. The Terps force 16.9 turnovers a game on defense. They average 7.5 steals and 6 blocks a game.

Though Virginia Tech is missing a lot of players, mostly at the end of their bench, the injuries affect their depth. The Hokies use an 8 man rotation in most games. Maryland uses a ten man rotation. If Virginia Tech gets into foul trouble or has injuries they could be in trouble. Maryland has a significant edge in rebounding. Both teams are good defensively, and I could see this game being played in the mid 60’s to low 70’s.