THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603170193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DALLAS LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Getting waxed 84-60 by Kentucky on Saturday was no disgrace for Virginia Tech, because the Hokies had no chance. These Wildcats roam a different plain than Tech and most everyone else, where bigger, stronger athletes press full-court, soar above the rim and unmercifully exploit weakness.
In the second round of the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional at Reunion Arena, it was Tech's turn to get the treatment that perhaps only Kentucky can give.
Powered by 21 points from 6-foot-8 forward Antoine Walker and 19 from 6-10 Walter McCarty, top-seeded Kentucky (30-3) romped its way to the tournament's round of 16 for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
The Wildcats bumped up their season average margin of victory to 22.8 points in different fashion than usual, however. A feared 3-point shooting club, Kentucky only launched 10 from behind the arc, making five, because bullying the smaller Hokies on both ends of the floor was so easy.
Kentucky's press disrupted the Hokies, forcing them into a faster-paced game than they prefer early and wearing them out late. But for the most part Tech handled the pressure, turning the ball over 15 times, three more than average.
What the Hokies had no answer for was the steady wave of big men Kentucky coach Rick Pitino threw at them and the stifling man-to-man defense that made running offensive sets an exhausting, frustrating, chore.
``We lost the game in the paint,'' said Hokies coach Bill Foster after Tech's finest season in a decade ended at 23-6. ``You get caught up with watching them shoot 3s, but I'm gonna tell you, in the halfcourt offense, they really execute. They put a clinic on us.
``I remember the dunks and I remember the transition buckets, but that's not why we got beat. We got beat because we couldn't stop their halfcourt game.''
It was this simple: Walker made 8 of 15 field-goal attempts. McCarty was 7 for 9. Mark Pope, a 6-10 senior substitute, was 4 for 6 for nine points. And 6-7 freshman Ron Mercer was 4 for 7 for eight points, including a pair of thunderous alley-oop slams.
Those came during an acrobatic four-minute stretch in the middle of the second half in which Kentucky went from nine to 18 points up. With Kentucky ahead 47-38, Mercer's two alley-oops made it 51-40 with 12:25 left.
McCarty followed with a flying dunk off a steal, then sank a 3-pointer on the next possession for a 56-40 lead. Walker was next with his own alley-oop slam and a rebound basket, then Pope hit a jumper.
That made it 62-44, and thereafter the lead was as large as 25 and no lower than 16.
In the second half, which Kentucky entered with a 38-30 lead, the official shot chart had the Wildcats making 17 of their 20 field goals from inside the foul line - 14 for dunks or layups.
``I was really pleased because this was a halfcourt game except for the few spurts,'' Pitino said. ``We didn't get out on the break as much as possible, but we did a spectacular job of executing our halfcourt offense and defense. And the press took its toll. We wanted to play a different team in the second half, physically.''
On defense, Kentucky double-teamed 6-7 Ace Custis (eight points) and 6-8 Travis Jackson (5) whenever they touched the ball, though 6-6 Shawn Smith managed to maneuver inside for 13 points.
In the backcourt, reserve point guard Troy Manns had the best game, with eight points and eight assists in 28 minutes. All of shooting guard Damon Watlington's 11 points came in the first half, and point guard Shawn Good had his two-game run of torrid offense clank to a halt.
Good, who scored 46 points in his previous two outings, shot only 2 for 9, missed both 3-pointers he took, and scored five points.
``They're a lot better defensive team than people give them credit for,'' Travis Jackson said. ``They do a lot of gambling and stuff, but they make it really hard to find the open man.''
The Hokies were just the latest team to discover this firsthand. Along Kentucky's anticipated journey to the Final Four in New Jersey, they probably will not be the last. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech's Shawn Smith is hemmed in by Kentucky's Antoine
Walker, left and Ron Mercer. The Hokies didn't fall prey to the
press and trailed 38-30 at the half, but couldn't stop the Wildcats
inside.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kentucky players congratulate each other after their 84-60 win and
fourth round-of-16 berth in five years. Big men like 6-foot-10
Walter McCarty, far left, did the big share of the damage against
Virginia Tech.
by CNB