Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503130071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Back home early after upset first-round losses in the Metro Conference tournament, the Virginia Tech men's and women's basketball teams will find out their postseason fate today.
Both teams, bounced by Southern Mississippi, will gather with their coaching staffs to view the NCAA Tournament selection shows oI think we definitely deserve to go.''
The Tech men do, too. But after their 16-point loss to Southern Miss and a rash of upsets in conference tournaments across the nation, Bill Foster's 20-10 club appears to be out of the NCAA picture.
``We might get lucky, but I'm not counting on it,'' said Foster, whose club will watch the men's selection show at 6 p.m. (WDBJ Channel 7). ``No matter what happens, we're going somewhere.''
Actually, the Hokies may not be going anywhere - at least not right away. They could end up as hosts for a first-round game in the National Invitation Tournament as soon as Wednesday or Thursday.
The NIT snubbed Tech (18-10) last year, so this time the Hokies started politicking early. Dave Braine, Tech's athletic director, already has met with NIT officials.
``They know about us,'' Foster said. ``Sure, we'd rather go to the NCAA, but we're not at the point where we can be real choosy.''
The Hokies' men last played in the NCAA Tournament in 1986. Their last NIT trip was in 1984, and they won the NIT in 1973.
METRO BOOK COMPLETE: The loss in their final Metro game left Tech's men with an overall record of 108-128 against league opponents in 17 seasons of competition.
Tech won the first Metro tournament it ever played, in 1979, and never took home the trophy again. The Hokies were 11-15 in 16 tournament appearances.
Tech finished 97-113 in Metro regular-season play. After posting a winning regular-season mark in six of its first eight Metro seasons, Tech failed to finish better than .500 in its final nine seasons. Tech's last winning season in the Metro was 1985-86, the last time it went to the NCAA Tournament.
Tech's albatross in the Metro was playing on the road, where it won only 32 times in 108 games. Tech was 65-37 at home.
VERBAL WARFARE: Tech's Ace Custis was voted the Metro's second-best ``trash-talker'' in a poll of league players taken by the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal.
Custis received seven votes, six fewer than Jerald Honeycutt of Tulane.
``I consider myself one of the best in that department,'' Custis said. ``In the heat of the battle, I just start talking. I say some harsh, I guess, profane things.
``When another player gets into a talking match with me, I tell them they're playing my game now. It makes me work harder. Then, I just absolutely want to shut them down and make them be quiet.''
TECH TIDBITS: The shooting eye of Foster's club continues to fade. After making better than half of their field-goal attempts in 12 of their first 21 games, the Hokies have cracked 50 percent only once in the past nine games. ... The combined 14 points by ironmen guards Shawn Good (eight) and Damon Watlington (six) against Southern Miss was their worst collective total in a game all season. In 29 games, the two juniors combined to score 20-plus points 19 times and 30-plus seven times. ... Friday's loss marked the first time all season the Tech men failed to have at least three scorers in double figures. ... Sixth-man David Jackson had eight points vs. Southern Miss. Usually, that guarantees a Tech victory. Before losing to the Golden Eagles, the Hokies had been 14-0 in games in which Jackson scored eight or more. ... Custis has 118 offensive rebounds this season. He's the first Hokie to grab 100 at least offensive rebounds in a season since Tech began keeping the stat in 1978-79.
by CNB