ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701200126
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Bill Foster said his team hopefully learned a lesson Saturday.
The Virginia Tech basketball coach, however, wasn't referring to the history lesson Rhode Island delivered at Cassell Coliseum.
In 444 games in the 36 seasons the Hokies' home has stood, the Rams' 73-52 torching of Tech matched the largest victory margin by a Cassell visitor.
While Rhode Island probably is the best club in the Atlantic 10, the Hokies helped the Rams remain the only unbeaten club in conference play.
Tech was lethargic, couldn't shoot, was baffled offensively and was absent inside defensively. The Hokies got the tempo they wanted and needed - then didn't do anything with it.
While the 21-point loss matches an 81-60 drubbing by Tennessee in Cassell's third season (1963-64), it also matched the worst home loss since a 107-59 smashing by Virginia at War Memorial Gym in February 1955.
What disturbed Foster the most were the Hokies' knee-buckling ways inside against the taller Rams (11-4, 5-0). What should also bother him is that midway through the season, a team of veterans couldn't find its go-to guy.
The Hokies didn't look for him, either. Ace Custis is one of the more remarkable players to play for Tech. He's reached 1,000 in points and rebounds, only the third Hokie in history to do that.
The Rams were collapsing their spread-out 2-3 zone around Custis, and he wasn't having the greatest game, either. However, Foster's club - with no true or reliable two-guard - has no other viable offensive option when the Jackson twins are a combined 1-for-9.
Custis went almost 15 minutes of the second half without taking a shot. He was moving well without the ball, but the Hokies (8-7, 2-3) couldn't find him. They didn't look too long, either.
The crowd of 6,424 again was a pitiful turnout in a building where the Hokies have won 82 percent of their games. Of course, Tech supporters really don't care about the A-10, and if the Hokies are going to play as they did against the Rams, why should the fans pay to watch?
A week ago today, the Hokies were giddy about a huge win at Massachusetts, although clearly the Minutemen aren't close to what they have been. Their best win besides Saturday's upset of No.19 Boston College was a victory over Davidson. That's not such a big deal.
The truth is that the Hokies aren't as good as they played at UMass and not as bad as they performed against the Rams, who with Temple and Xavier are the top A-10 clubs. Rhode Island also has played one of the nation's top 20 schedules, the Ratings Percentage Index says.
Still, reaching the NIT isn't going to be easy for Foster's last Tech club, which after Monday night's visit by LaSalle, plays eight of its final 13 away from the usually friendly campus confines.
With Custis as Tech's only double-figure scorer, the Hokies must win with defense. When they're as passive inside as they were against the Rams, it will be tough to succeed.
Last year's NCAA team allowed only 62.9 points per game. This Hokie club is permitting 64.3 points per game. Those are the lowest scoring defense totals for Tech since the 60.2 in 1949-50 and 56.8 in '48-49.
It was a different game then, in more ways than the absence of the 3-point goal. However, that's how good Foster's team can be defensively. That's how good it must be defensively, because these Hokies can't be more than adequate with the ball.
The first six players in Foster's rotation include five seniors. So, when assistant coaches Bobby Hussey and Chris Ferguson go recruiting and tell prospects they can start immediately, they're not lying.
``Hopefully, this will be a team that plays its best basketball in February,'' Foster said.
If not, the shortest month of the year could be very long.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB