Specifically the ones that inhabit this board, and if that is an accurate sample then you can extrapolate. As a University we have, overall, horrible basketball fans that really appear to have no idea what they are watching or the intricacies of the sport in general. We can talk football all day and properly analyze to the most minute of details every facet of every win. Unfortunately our aggregate basketball acumen appears to be below the mean.

I get it. We are a football school and probably always will be. Football has been my favorite sport since I have any memories at all. We live and die every Saturday of every fall. Basketball? Most Hokies that even bother to pay attention don't tune in until the ACC schedule starts. They watch a couple games then tune back out until UNC/UVa/Duke roll up on the schedule. If we are winning those games they'll keep watching and if we lose it's peace out.

I know a lot of folks on this board watch every game and are here through thick and thin. But that doesn't describe everyone here, does it? We won those UNC/UVA/Duke type games this year so Hokies started paying attention. We went 10-8 vs. the hardest ACC schedule and Joey Brackets has us as a lock, so now even the lukewarm fans are starting to buy in. Then we go up to ACC tourney and spend the first 25 minutes kicking ND's ass. Fans are hyped, Buzz is a god and players are wonderful student athletes who represent VT so well. Then TV Teddy decided to call a foul on JRob from 30 feet away that was clearly all ball, JRob turned to the closer official who blew by him without making eye contact. A game that had been evenly officiated turned on that dime. For the duration of the contest Tech players drove to the hoop and no fouls were called, save the open layup that Bibbs had later that a touch foul was issued that occurred conveniently before the shot negating the easy layup.

But this post isn't about the refs, it's about us. Our boys just competed in a game that should ostensibly be administered by our league officials in a way that doesn't recognize the monetary impact of a ND victory. This is apparently asking too much. So now when our guys do attack the basket they are getting hacked and no fouls are called. So they adjust, and try to avoid contact because they know it's not going to be called anyway, in an effort to at least make the basket. Our fans come on here and criticize "circus shots" and "avoiding contact", well excuse my language, but no shit they are avoiding contact because they are desperately trying to score knowing the refs won't call anything. According the refs JRob wasn't fouled one single time on a drive to the basket last night. Just try to imagine a Duke PG with JRob's skill and how that would be called vs. us.

Credit to ND that once they felt this shift, they took advantage knocking down 3's, even deep ones, left and right. How was it the same team that we were kicking their ass for 25 minutes all of a sudden starts killing us. Momentum and flow. These are concepts apparently wholly alien to the VTech TSL basketball board fanbase. The reffing situation fed directly into ND's momentum and with ND surging and refs arrayed against them our team's confidence sank and even open 3's stopped falling.

In short, all of these things are tied together. The reason ND took fire, the reason we went in the tank all go back to the turn in officiating with that TV teddy foul call (which was not the only 30 foot foul call against VT last night). It's easy for JoeBob vt fan to pound his fist and demand the Tech players be more mentally tough and who cares if it's 8 vs. 5 just stop taking 3's blackshear! Just drive to the hoop 5! Make some adjustments Buzz! Just someone, anyone make me feel better!

We are recruiting better than we EVER have. We are at a level in the ACC most "experts" thought would be impossible for us to achieve let alone sustain. We are going to back to back NCAA's for the first time in decades. Buzz has done ALL of this. Don't laud his successes vs. the top 15 programs he beats and then act like he doesn't know what he's doing last night. That betrays a fundamental lack of knowledge about how the game of basketball works. This loss will be used to great effect by Buzz. It may well end up helping us in the tournament to come, you know the one that actually matters.

If you are a fan that posts >80% negative whiny make me feel good posts (typical of American's these days), then please logout and delete password. If you are a fan that posts constructive criticism at times, praise when warranted and is here to learn and grow with the program then you are the type of person who adds value. We need fewer of the former and more of the latter around here.