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I've read some pretty upsetting analysis of the Jackets as well as pre-games that just completely bash the team on other websites. As most of you know after reading many of my posts, I am a hopeful that hasn't given up yet. As I say that, I am still not giving up on this team........ Until tonight. Tonight will be the deciding factor as to whether or not I will "close the book" on Tech's Cinderella story in making March Madness.
I say this because Tech has nine games left in the season. I break this up into three categories of team that they have to play..
Good: UNC, Miami, NC State
Competitive: Virginia, Maryland, Clemson
Bad: Virginia Tech, Wake, BC
Our current record is 12-9 overall as well as 2-7 in the ACC. My guess, and this is a REAL stretch, is that in order for us to be in consideration for March Madness, we need to be AT LEAST .500 in the ACC and well over it in season play. In order to do that, we have to go 7-2 in the last 9 ACC games to be in contention. Lets break that down:
VT- Win, Only because it is a road game I call this a "concern"
Clemson- Win, We're at home. This is a win.
Wake Forest- Win, away, but they aren't good.
UNC- THIS IS A MUST WIN!!, We're at home. We need one win against the "stronger three" left. We have to win this game if we want to see some extra games.
VA- Win. This is 5 days after UNC. Preparation time and determination.
EDIT: THIS UVA GAME IS GOING TO BE MUCH TOUGHER THAN I THOUGH. THIS IS ANOTHER WIN WE MUST HAVE!
Maryland- Win.
NC State- I thought we could have beaten them the first time. We can win this game.. If we lost to UNC, we better scramble here for a win.
Miami- 3 days out of NCS... Do we have momentum?? Can we upset a likely frontrunner for top team in the nation??
Boston College- Hopefully we are finishing out a great season with a win... We will see!
So by now, half of the readers have probably called me crazy and exited this site. The ones who are still here, the good part about writing for free is that I can say whatever I want and you don't have to agree..
The thing is though, this isn't a stretch. We could easily go 6-3, with some effort go 7-2, and if luck turns for the better we could see this team finish the season 8-1. We could also see a 5-4 or 4-5 end. This is such a young team that making any serious projections is tough to do. This team plays game by game.
As for Virginia Tech, they are looking to break a 5 game losing streak. The most recent loss was MARYLAND by 15. While Maryland has a good defense, they dont have much else. This makes me think that Tech can make VT fans even more upset after this game. A loss to rival UVA, and this VT team could see a 14 game losing streak to finish the year. They have the hardest end of the season schedule I think than anyone, playing Duke twice in a three week span, as well as NC State, Miami, Virginia, and Florida State sprinkled in there. They beat us in OT, where we should have won, and beak Wake by 1!!!! This team should be on a 11 game losing streak right now had it not been for those two win.
Basically, Tech needs a win today. They need a lot of wins, but this is the beginning. They have learned a lot. Lost a lot of close games. It is our time to win these close games. Hopefully these freshmen can pick it up and finish the drill!!!1
Let me know what y'all think. Hopefully I don't embarrass myself by the end of the season and become the overly hopeful writer on this site.