UVA Recap: Bad First Half Sends Hokies to Third Straight Defeat

Someone get Tyrod Taylor to talk to the mens basketball team because something needs to change. The Hokies lost their third straight game Sunday evening, falling to rival Virginia 57-54. Once ranked in the top 25, Tech now finds itself at 4-4 after eight games and 0-1 in ACC play. Not exactly what Hokie fans pictured with the amount of talent on the court. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Maybe this team can take a cue from the Hokie football team, who after losing two games within a week to start the season, one to a ranked team and one to an in-state school, ripped off 11 straight wins and an ACC Championship. The basketball squad has repeated the football program's stumble, blowing a late lead to the ranked team and coming out flat against the in-state school, leading to an eventual loss. The seniors on the football team took charge after the two losses and made sure they wouldn't go out on a sour note. Now it's time for the basketball seniors to step up and play like they were expected to.

While sitting stunned in my seat in the student section during the first half Sunday, I questioned whether or not anybody aside from Malcolm Delaney actually cared. It looked as if the other four players on the court were sleepwalking, while Delaney was making up for a horrendous game against Purdue on Wednesday. Delaney finished with 26, nearly half of Tech's 54 points.

Meanwhile, Jeff Allen was getting manhandled by UVA's Mike Scott. It seemed as though whatever Scott wanted to do, he did it with ease en route to a 21-point, 13-rebound effort, his fourth straight double-double for the surging Cavaliers.

The Hokies finally showed life in the second half, shrinking the lead to as little as two points at 51-49, but the 12-point halftime deficit was too much to handle for Seth Greenberg's club. Somehow, if Dorenzo Hudson's desperation three-pointer had gone in with less than five seconds to go the game probably would've headed to overtime. But instead, UVA celebrated their first victory in Cassell since January 2006. Meanwhile, Tech lost its second home game of the year after losing just one all of last regular season.

The Hokies now get a break for a week before facing Penn State (6-2) next Sunday in Cassell for the annual mid-exam week "study break." This week will be a critical one for Tech, as their season can go in two totally different directions. Hopefully for Hokie fans, it turns out to be a similar story to the football team.