THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602170515
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
It's the closest thing to a hysterical basketball happening that Blacksburg has seen in years. And it arrives today, when unbeaten and top-ranked Massachusetts swaggers into Cassell Coliseum for a noon date (ESPN) with 10th-ranked Virginia Tech.
``People have been talking about this game basically the whole semester,'' Tech's senior center Travis Jackson said. ``It's hard to stay focused when every time somebody wants to talk basketball they want to talk about UMass.''
Hard, too, when any recent stroll past Cassell required navigating a tent city of students camped out to get tickets for this showdown.
A visit from coach John Calipari's Minutemen was one of the selling points of the Atlantic 10 as Tech searched for a new conference last year following the Metro's demise.
The Hokies are guaranteed an annual game with UMass, though only one visit every two years because Tech plays in the opposite A-10 division.
``That's not the first thing I thought about. We played a lot of good teams in the Metro,'' Jackson said. ``But I definitely think we have a little better package and better TV markets in the Atlantic 10.''
Gazing ahead, Virginia Tech was nearly clotheslined last Tuesday by Liberty before eking out a 56-53 victory. Still, the Hokies are 19-2, albeit against a soft schedule, to UMass' hard-edged 24-0 and eager to show well before the national cable audience.
A repeat of the school's last meeting with a top-ranked team at Cassell would suit the Hokies fine. On Jan. 10, 1983, No. 1 Memphis State was thumped by Tech, 69-56.
``It's a true test of whether or not we're deserving of our ranking, whether we can walk the walk,'' Jackson said. ``If we go out and play our game, we can.''
Naturally, most defensive game plans against UMass fixate on junior center Marcus Camby, a player-of-the-year candidate who averages 20.6 points and seven rebounds. Too much attention inside, however, releases guards Carmelo Travieso (11.8) and Edgar Padilla (10.2) to do big damage. Particularly Travieso, who has made 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Because Tech plays man-to-man ``99.9 percent of the time,'' according to Jackson, it needs a nearly spotless defensive effort to pull the upset.
Fortunately, Jackson said, the Hokies specialize in just that kind of team play.
Tech also could get a boost from its return to underdog status for a day. The Hokies climbed uphill all last season en route to winning the National Invitation Tournament.
Not so this year, which has the Hokies running with the biggest boys in college basketball. They just hope to avoid being run down by the biggest of them.
``A while back I remember thinking this game was a long way off,'' Jackson said. ``Now it's finally here. And we have to deal with it.'' by CNB