Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 9, 1991 TAG: 9103090216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Based on the early results of college basketball tournament week, anything could happen.
Top seeds Rutgers, Southern Mississippi, Syracuse and Mississippi State, were beaten in stunners. So was a No. 2, LSU.
And when Louisville scored with four seconds left Friday to eliminate Memphis State in the Metro Conference semifinals, a No. 8 seed had reached the final.
Earlier in the week, Old Dominion came from seventh place to the title game in the Sun Belt, and even led South Alabama until the last couple of minutes.
But the Monarchs lost, and Thursday so did coach Tom Young. He was fired for a routine reason - failure to win often enough.
Now Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine faces a similar problem, for his beleaguered coach, Frankie Allen, has no more games to play.
After winning their last two games of the regular season, including the shocker at Memphis State, the Hokies raised the hopes of some fans by upsetting Cincinnati in the tournament Thursday night.
No such luck Friday.
Not only was Tech out-athleted by Florida State, but it had to suffer the ignominy of losing to the school that seemingly now has everything.
Most of all, Tech has to begrudge Florida State's recent entry into the ACC, the league the Hokies desperately have wanted to belong to for so many years.
Not only does Florida State have Bobby Bowden's ferocious football program and a baseball team the envy of most, but now there will be an embarrassment of riches - ACC basketball.
Some guys have all the luck, being fortunate enough to be located in the Sunshine State.
What's more, Florida State seemingly has a basketball team that should compete at least in the middle of the ACC from the beginning.
What the Seminoles had Friday was an array of wide bodies, including, of all things, a football player.
Erstwhile quarterback Charlie Ward - at 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds - was simply too strong for Tech's point guard, Rod Wheeler.
Ward exposed Wheeler's defensive deficiencies, and that left senior Antony Moses as the Hokies' only offense.
In beating Cincinnati, Wheeler had 25 points and Moses 24. Nobody else was in double figures.
Against Florida State, now safely in the NCAA Tournament field, Moses scored 10 points in 10 minutes, then got his third foul on a charge with 9:51 left in the first half.
After he departed, the Hokies went nine minutes without a basket.
Tech made a quick spurt starting the second half, but coming from 20 points down was simply for to go against a much better team. The third time was no charm - 91-71.
So now the season is over with a 13-16 mark, the third straight losing campaign for Allen.
The fourth-year coach has another season left on his contract, but if Braine decides to keep him, the athletic director surely will have to add a couple more years.
The fact that the Tech fans have shown little interest in Allen's team remains a more critical problem than the won-lost record.
Tech will begin play in a new league - but the same old name - next season, and since only Louisville remains among the contenders, the Hokies actually will have a much better chance to win.
Winning definitely would solve some of the problems, but the new conference is going to be a tough sell.
Tech fans never have cared for the Metro, just Louisville and Memphis State when they were national powers.
Losing four conference games could create some scheduling problems, since it's unlikely any big names are going to come to Blacksburg unless they are required to do so.
What Florida State showed was how bare the talent cupboard is at Tech. Moses has made himself into a scorer through hard work, but there is nobody else to turn to when points are needed.
Braine faces a Catch-22 situation if he doesn't make a move soon. And he realizes - as amply demonstrated by the empty seats - that somebody has to recruit some big, strong inside people or the apathy will continue.
The thought here is that Allen has coached his last game for Tech.
by CNB