Looking Back (FEB. 13) | Virginia Tech 81, North Carolina 80 (OT)
It was d?©j? vu all over again in Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.
Having already stopped a 13-game North Carolina winning streak in January, No. 25 Virginia Tech completed the season sweep of the fourth-ranked Tar Heels in an 81-80 overtime thriller on Tuesday night. The Hokies rallied from seven points down with under seven minutes to play in regulation, to take a brief 72-71 lead with under three minutes to play. Nigel Munson converted one of two free throws to even the score at 73 in the final minute, sending the contest to overtime.
Zabian Dowdell, who scored a career-high 33 points in the upset, converted all four of his free throw attempts and was 17-of-19 from the charity stripe on the game. North Carolina phenom Tyler Hansbrough, who scored 22 points thanks largely to sinking 14-of-18 free throws, had an opportunity to tie the game at the line with 12 seconds to play, but only downed one freebie.
The win propelled the Hokies into a three-way tie for second place in the ACC with Carolina and Virginia at 8-3. The Tar Heels travel to Chestnut Hill to take on first-place Boston College on Saturday night in a contest that will most likely decide the ACC regular season title.
Looking Ahead (FEB. 17) | Nescac Basketball Tournament First Round
It's that time of year ... February Madness!
That's right, friends -- the brackets on the back page were no mirage. Saturday marks the first round of the NESCAC men's and women's basketball tournaments. So sharpen your pencils, pull up your Div. III power rankings, and start rooting for those Cinderella stories ... at least on the men's side.
On the women's side, there's at least one favorite to get out the pom-poms for: the second-seeded Jumbos. Tufts hosts Middlebury on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Cousens Gym and is hoping to Xerox its 61-50 triumph over the Panthers on Feb. 2. In the win, senior Valerie Krah scored 21 points and broke the Tufts All-time three-point record. The Jumbos held Middlebury to 27.9 percent field goal shooting in the win.
Expect favorites Bowdoin and Williams to pick up victories, but sixth-seed Amherst, who thumped Bates, 65-51, in January, has an opportunity to hand the third-ranked Bobcats an early exit on their home court.
The 3 vs. 6 matchup is ripe for an upset on the men's side as well, as the No. 6 Jumbos travel to Williams, a team they defeated, 82-65, just two weeks ago. Don't expect top-seeded 23-1 Amherst to lose its second- straight game this weekend, but seventh-seeded Bowdoin is hungry for another win over No. 2 Trinity after defeating the Bantams, 75-69, in January.
