Deron Washington AD Vassallo Coach Seth Greenberg - HokieSports

2006-2007 REVIEW
The 2006-07 Virginia Tech men’s
basketball season was set up to be
one of the most memorable and
successful in school history. In the
end, the season did not disappoint.
That doesn’t mean it was without its
ups-and-downs, but when the final
horn sounded; the outcome was one
that will be talked about around the
Commonwealth for years to come.
With a line-up that boasted five
2006-2007 REVIEW
78
seniors and all five returning starters,
the Hokies entered the season
optimistic and ready to put aside
the memories of the tragic 2005-06
season. A pair of home victories to
open the season sent the Hokies
to the Old Spice Classic at Disney
World, 2-0. Despite coming out of the
tournament with a 1-2 record, the
Hokies learned from the experience
and set the stage for a successful
non-conference slate.
Returning to Cassell Coliseum
3-2 on the season, the Hokies
notched their first big win with a
69-65 home victory over defending
Big Ten champ, Iowa, in the school’s
first home game in the ACC/Big Ten
Challenge. A tough Hokie defense
forced 19 turnovers and Zabian
Dowdell scored 18 points in the win.
A trip to Washington, D.C., for the
BB&T Classic saw the Hokies drop to
4-3 with a one-point loss to George
Washington in the Verizon Center
on a missed lay-up in the waning
seconds.
The next five games saw the
Hokies, 1) win five straight, 2) gain
their first ACC victory and 3) defeat
former BIG EAST foe Seton Hall in
Madison Square Garden. Now 9-3
overall, the Hokies had one final nonconference
road-trip to face. The bus
ride from Marshall was just as rough
as the first 20 minutes of action in
Huntington. Tech trailed by 17 at the
half and a strong second-half run fell
just short, as the Hokies lost 59-58. A
win in the Cassell against Richmond
was tougher than expected and the
Hokies got on the bus heading to
Durham to open the main section
of conference games with many
questions.
To win at Cameron Indoor
Stadium is one of the toughest
assignments in college basketball.
After the Hokies’ heart-breaking
loss to the Blue Devils the previous
season, this game took on stronger
ramifications. How would the Hokies
respond? By the end of the day, the
entire college basketball community
would know.
Zabian
Dowdell
2 0 0 7 - 2 0 0 8 V I R G I N I A T E C H M E N’ S B A S K E T B A L L