Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 13, 1992 TAG: 9203130078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster probably has a bad back from trying to pick up the pieces of the Hokies' broken season.
The teams meet at noon today in the first round of the Metro tournament at Freedom Hall (televised by cable's Home Team Sports, where available). Mullins hopes Foster's seventh-seeded Hokies (10-17) are a step to UNCC's bid for an NCAA Tournament berth; Foster hopes the Hokies can repeat their Feb. 29 upset of the 49ers (20-8).
"We've had two very competitive games," Mullins said. "We know they'll be ready to play."
Second-seeded UNCC, which at one point this year was 11-1 and ranked 17th by the Associated Press, is in its first Metro tournament. Tech enters its 13th and hopes to avoid its seventh first-round exit. The Hokies have advanced to the second round once since 1984.
Tech is 107-109 all-time against Metro opponents in league and tournament games.
Tech isn't on friendly ground. The Hokies are 4-16 all-time in Freedom Hall and 1-5 in tournament play at the 18,865-capacity arena. As of Thursday, 4,500 tickets remained unsold for today's first-round games, and 6,000 tickets were left for Saturday's semifinals.
Foster will be coaching in his first league tournament game in eight years. His last year at Clemson was 1984; Miami, which he coached from 1985-1990, was an independent.
Foster is 3-1 all-time against the 49ers, whom he coached from 1970-75. To improve that record, he says, the Hokies need two things: Better rebounding and good defensive balance.
The 49ers outrebounded Tech 77-51 in the teams' two meetings this year. UNCC isn't a huge team, but does feature 6-11 Rodney Odom and 6-9 Daryl DeVaull. Tech has outrebounded its opponent in nine of its past 15 games.
"Secondly, we need to try to neutralize their guards while not letting Odom and those other guys have career games," Foster said.
UNCC guards Henry Williams, the school's all-time scoring leader, James Terrell and Delano Johnson have outscored opposing guards in all but one game this year. Terrell slumped near the end of the year but had 15 points in the season-ending game against Virginia Commonwealth. Johnson recently returned after missing three games because of a reaction to asthma medicine. Williams had 38 points against Tech this year.
Foster said he'll use a three-guard lineup only grudgingly because of the rebounding disadvantage, but said Tech will change defenses. "I don't think we can play 40 minutes of straight man," Foster said. "They've got more in their offensive package than anybody in the league."
UNCC, however, was one of two Metro teams that Tech held under 40 percent from the field in a game. Nevertheless, it's Tech's offense that has to be effective today.
A couple of bright spots for Tech: guard Steve Hall has been a consistent double-figure scorer (11.9 ppg) since becoming a starter 17 games ago; and John Rivers' two highest point totals (13 and 17) in Metro games have come against UNC Charlotte.
"If our kids happen to shoot the ball pretty well, and we play good defense, we've got a shot," Foster said.
by CNB