Tigers lose at home to Va. Tech

The OP Stat of the Game: Demontez Stitt, 14 points, 5 assists, 1 TO, 2 blk, 2 stl

Clemson Dejection: An Ode (from the Greenville News)

With the loss, the Tigers fall to 8-5 in the ACC. No longer are the Tigers in possession of second place, but are now in a tie for 3rd with FSU- who, wouldn't you know, they play next in Tallahassee. then comes the in-between game against UVA, and then the away game conclusion against Wake.

The standings as of the end of last night:

School	Conf.	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
North Carolina	10-3	.769	24-3	.889
Duke	9-4	.692	23-5	.821
Clemson	8-5	.615	22-5	.815
Florida State	8-5	.615	21-7	.750
Wake Forest	7-5	.583	20-5	.800
Boston College	8-6	.571	20-9	.690
Virginia Tech	7-6	.538	17-10	.630
Maryland	6-7	.462	17-10	.630
NC State	5-7	.417	15-10	.600
Miami	5-8	.385	16-10	.615
Virginia	3-9	.250	9-14	.391
Georgia Tech	1-12	.077	10-16	.385

Last night, save the first two minutes of the game, the Tigers looked drowsy, sluggish, lethargic. It was like the opening of the game took all of their in-game energy away. Yet, the Tigers were always in the game, within striking distance. Never once, however, did someone give us that extra boost we needed.

Booker looked to be the catalyst in the first half, but he couldn't get it to fall in the second half. KC played fairly efficiently, but didn't take the team on his shoulders, opting instead to play as a team player, rather than as a senior leader. Sykes was all but absent. Potter couldn't stay out of foul trouble. To be fair, the officials were calling some weak fouls- on both sides. However, this is the ACC, with ACC officials, the Tigers should be used to inconsistent, cheap foul calls. Maybe they were trying to keep the game in check- who knows.

TO tried to take the game over, as he tied the game with two threes and a FT. Still, it wasn't enough. The Tigers couldn't break through, as evidence in the last play of the game- TO gets the ball on the left side, but passes on the shot, passing to Stitt who vainly attempts to draw a foul. I don't know if it was a mistake, or miscommunication, but it was ugly.

Turnovers killed us last night. Vassallo killed us last night. Delaney killed us last night. We were unable to control the ball with 16 turnovers and 12 VT steals. The Hokies easily dribbled around, through, and over the press. Nothing we did really stopped them.

Again, when we came so close to attaining the goal moving up the ACC leaderboard, we slipped.

But now, we move on

Read what others have to say about last nights' game:

Tigers Stumble- Greenville News
Clemson edged by Virginia Tech in Heartbreak, 80-77- Clemson Tigers official recap
Tigers slip up, slide down standings- The State
Delaney helps Va. Tech upset Clemson, end losing streak- CBS Sports
Tigers throw away another opportunity: Virginia Tech 80, Clemson 77- Charleston.net
Gamestats: SCACCHoops

Go Tigers!