The best rivalry game of the marathon features a pair of schools more known for their gridiron prowess, but with a solid history on the hardwood as well.
College hoops tip-off marathon: West Virginia at Virginia Tech live blog
West Virginia enters the game coming off a 77-62 trouncing of Mount St. Mary’s, while the Hokies are looking to bounce back from an embarrassing season-opening loss to USC Upstate.
We’re making the move from the deuce to ESPN for this one.
1:25 - Woman outside my window has been yelling at her dog, “Copper” for a solid five minutes now.
It started in the Lassie voice (“Copppeeeerrr...Copppeerrrrrrr”). Then transitioned to a conversation with a cat (“hello, kitty, have you seen Copper?). For the last minute it’s been EXTREMELY aggressive (COPPER! SHE RAN AWAY, COPPER, GET OVER HERE!? SHE’S GONE, COPPER. COPPER!!!).
I am terrified.
1:29 - In less exciting news, West Virginia is hammering Tech, 26-10 early. The Hokies might be really, really bad.
1:36 - Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver announces that he’s stepping down because of health concerns. The basketball team isn’t doing anything to make the day better, training WVU by 16 with 7:40 left in the first half.
1:41 - We are now airballing free-throws in Blacksburg.
1:50 - Hokies knock down a couple of shots and the crowd is right back in it. West Virginia still leading, 40-31 with a little less than two minutes to go in the opening half.
1:54 - It’s quarter after pizza rolls.
Straight killing it right now.
1:57 - Huge mistake by West Virginia as they try to hold for the last shot but pull the trigger with six seconds to play. The result is a Hokie buzzer-beater to trim the lead to five (41-36) at halftime. Virginia Tech ended the half on a 12-1 run.
2:16 - And just like that we’re tied in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech now in the midst of a 17-1 run.
2:20 - I’ve heard “Jump on It” more times in the last 16 hours than in the last 15 years or so of wedding-attending.
It’s now a 20-1 Tech run, and the Hokies are suddenly ahead by three.
2:29 - It’s now a 55-45 lead for Virginia Tech. Pretty incredible run by the Hokies and an equally impressive collapse from West Virginia.
2:36 - It’d be a good one, I guess.
Virginia Tech is on a 45-16 run right now. There's a chance that this could be the highlight of their season.
— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) November 12, 2013
2:50 - Now it’s West Virginia on the big run. The Mountaineers have cut VT’s lead to 61-60 with 9 minutes to go. This has become more fun than I ever thought possible.
3:03 - Got something in my left eye.
3:11 - Both teams have gone a little cold, but it’s Virginia Tech on top, 76-74 with 2:48 to play. Should be a much better finish than it looked like it’d be for most of the first half.
3:17 - Poor decision to try and take a charge leads to a three-point play for the Hokies. Tech leads it by four with 30 seconds left. Would be a huge bounce back win after the USC Upstate embarrassment to open the season.
3:26 - It’s a final: Virginia Tech 87, West Virginia 82. Not a good sign for the Mountaineers.
| West Virginia Mountaineers | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Kevin Noreen, F | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Nathan Adrian, F | 3-8 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | ||
| Devin Williams, F | 1-8 | 0-0 | 4-8 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Juwan Staten, G | 3-12 | 0-0 | 4-7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Eron Harris, G | 4-17 | 1-3 | 7-9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | ||
| BENCH | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Brandon Watkins, F | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Remi Dibo, F | 5-10 | 5-9 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 17 | ||
| Gary Browne, G | 5-8 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 15 | ||
| Terry Henderson, G | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| 25-70 | 11-24 | 21-33 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 28 | 82 | |||
| 35.7% | 45.8% | 63.6% | ||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech Hokies | ||||||||||||||
| STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Cadarian Raines, F | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Marshall Wood, F | 1-5 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Devin Wilson, G | 4-7 | 0-1 | 8-8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Jarell Eddie, G | 3-8 | 0-1 | 4-5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | ||
| Adam Smith, G | 7-12 | 2-5 | 3-3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 19 | ||
| BENCH | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Christian Beyer, F | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Joey Van Zegeren, F | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
| Trevor Thompson, F | 2-4 | 0-0 | 3-8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Ben Emelogu, G | 7-16 | 3-6 | 5-6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | ||
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| 26-57 | 5-15 | 30-38 | 10 | 34 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 16 | 25 | 87 | |||
| 45.6% | 33.3% | 78.9% | ||||||||||||
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