Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 8, 1992 TAG: 9203080161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
The Hokies fell behind early, then were outscored 13-0 to start the second half as Louisville ripped Tech 79-59 in a Metro Conference regular-season basketball finale before a crowd of 19,386.
Tech finished 10-17 overall and 3-9 in the Metro in coach Bill Foster's first year. The Hokies enter this week's seven-team conference tournament seeded No. 7 and will play UNC Charlotte in the first round Friday in Freedom Hall.
Because Tulane beat Southern Mississippi, the Green Wave clinched the No. 1 seeding and a bye in the first round.
This year, because of its membership turnover last year, the Metro has no automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That's normally the salvation for a team like Tech. Now, the Hokies have to reach for motivation.
"The teams in this conference are funny," Tech's John Rivers said. "You could be in the top spot and lose. Anything goes.
"It kind of hurts us [not having the bid]. It'll look pretty good for us if we can come out with three wins. It'd give us something under our belt, give Coach Foster and the new players [next year] something to look up to."
On Saturday, Louisville (18-9, 7-5) looked down on Tech. The Hokies had just one serious rally, cutting a 27-10 deficit to 34-27 in the last seven minutes of the first half.
Thomas Elliott, who had averaged 6.6 points per game in Tech's previous six outings, had nine points in that run. Those included a fast-break layup on an assist from Jay Purcell after Louisville tried to take the last shot of the half and missed.
Tech was missing in action as the second half began, however. In the first 4 1/2 minutes, Tech had nine possessions and was 0-for-3 from the field, made four turnovers (two against Louisville's press), had one shot blocked and surrendered two steals.
"They were out of sync, for whatever reason," Louisville coach Denny Crum said.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, scored 13 points to pull away. Included were Dwayne Morton's dunk on a lob pass over a snoozing Tech defense, and seven free throws, four of those coming after Tech fouls on Cardinals fast breaks.
"It's just so hard to defend them, period," said Rivers, who finished his career as the first player in 31 years to have led Tech in rebounding four straight years. "For one, they're a big team. Their guards are so quick - when they penetrated, it hurt us down low. Early in the game, their big men were kind of beating us downcourt. That put them on a high."
The Hokies' offense surfaced only for those few minutes in the first half. A physical man-to-man defense and a 2-2-1 press flustered Tech.
"They switch constantly," Rivers said. "It just kind of messes things up for us."
Foster pointed out a telling statistic. Against East Carolina on Monday, perimeter players Purcell, Steve Hall and Corey Jackson had 51 points; Saturday, they were a combined 4-for-21 from the field and had 10 points.
Louisville's effort, too, could have been better, its coach said.
"I think we can play better than that," Crum said. "We played about 32 minutes of really good basketball."
Tech, uncommonly, didn't play any zone defense. Foster said the Hokies' use of the zone may have hurt them Saturday.
"As a result of that our man-to-man wasn't nearly as good as it might have been," Foster said. "We've lost a little something on the defensive side of the ball."
Tech ended its season 1-10 on opposing teams' home courts and 2-13 away from Cassell Coliseum. Tech has lost 13 of the past 15 games to the Cardinals; the two wins came last season.
Last year, Louisville was struggling in last place in the Metro. This season, the Cardinals have a chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, having won 18 games against what the NCAA rated the second-toughest schedule in the country.
"This was like a playoff game for Louisville," Foster said, referring to Louisville's NCAA hopes. "They can't afford to lose this game." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB