First come nonconference games before the new year, a mix of quality opponents that could polish an NCAA tournament résumé and overmatched squads that visit your home court, take their beating, collect a paycheck and hop on the bus. Then January brings the conference games that determine who is happiest come March - a furious stretch of winter that leaves coaches asking for raises or handing out résumés.

BLACKSBURG—A few weeks before the season began, Jeff Allen was talking about all the promise the coming months could hold for him and his Virginia Tech teammates. He knew most observers had the Hokies—with all but one starter returning from a team that went 9-7 in the ACC—pegged as an NCAA tournament team. And he acknowledged that if they didn’t make the tournament, the season would qualify as nothing short of a disappointment.

If Jeff Allen has to sit out tonight’s game against the University of Virginia, he should not be alone. He should be joined by the fans who disregard civility when they enter an arena. Allen should have the company of coaches who express their displeasure with players and referees by spewing profanity-laced diatribes. Allen, a forward for Virginia Tech’s basketball team, fouled out Saturday at the University of Maryland. He flashed an obscene gesture at the Maryland fans as he headed to the bench.

For the second time in Jeff Allen’s two seasons at Virginia Tech, his unsportsmanlike behavior has earned him a suspension.

BLACKSBURG – For the second time in Jeff Allen’s two seasons at Virginia Tech, his unsportsmanlike behavior has earned him a suspension.

BLACKSBURG—Ever since he was young, Jeff Allen has played basketball games while showing the facial expression of a man mowing his lawn. Not a smile nor a scowl. Just an emotionless wall that prevents observers from determining whether he’s happy or frustrated, intense or lazy. Seth Greenberg, Allen’s coach at Virginia Tech, usually watches him during the first few possessions to decide whether he is engaged in the action. It quickly became apparent to Greenberg and everyone else at Cassell Coliseum yesterday that Allen was not only engaged in the game against Boston College, but was also as versatile and dominant as he’s been since he arrived at Tech last season.

BLACKSBURG—The ball had barely left Jeff Allen’s hand, as Allen slammed it through the hoop, when Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg began raving on the sideline. He bent his knees and stomped his right foot. He scrunched his face and waved his arms maniacally. “Let’s go!“ he screamed. Through a narrow view, it would be difficult to decipher whether Greenberg was furious or happy. This season already has given him plenty of reasons to vent his frustrations.