Ugh

Is there anything worse than getting swept by a garbage Virginia Tech team? A win tonight would have solidified the Terps' status as NCAA tournament participants, but instead they lost for the second time to the Hokies. Now with road games coming up against Miami and Wake Forest (two teams that just handed Duke its first two conference losses) and a home date with third place Clemson, the Terps might once again have a hill to climb just to make it to the field of 65.

I hate Virginia Tech more than Duke. That might sound wacky, but it's true. At least Coach K has earned some respect through his consistent winning over the past two decades. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, is led by Seth Greenberg, someone who I have no respect for. Greenberg seems particularly salty after losing prized recruit Gus Gilchrist to Maryland this fall making the teams' two dates frosty. After the win was sealed tonight, Greenberg turned to the crowd and pumped his fist while talking shit. The post game handshake between him and Gary Williams may or may not have actually included any contact.

The Terps had a 14 point first half lead, but dubious foul calls sent Greivis Vasquez, James Gist, and BOOM to the bench. With Cliff Tucker still sidelined by the flu, the Terps were missing four of their top six players at one point, forcing Gary Williams to reach deep into his bench. The starting corps was shaky even when they were in the game, with the exception of BOOM and Greivis. Eric Hayes was terrible again, getting routinely beaten off of the dribble on defense by Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney and throwing up several shots on offense that failed to even carom off of the rim.

The Terps only lost by four, but that's no consolation because this should have been an easy win at home over an inferior team. While the team started out with a torrid stretch to begin the game offensively, there was no consistent offense after that. BOOM put the ball in the basket a few times even while getting hacked, but James Gist was virtually nonexistent on the inside.

I haven't read Bill Simmons in ages, but I'm pretty sure this loss qualifies as a Stomach Punch Game. Even if not by the definition, every Terp fan probably feels like they've been punched in the gut right now. Ugh.