Allen brings his A+ game

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.

Allen, a sophomore forward, scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Tech's 79-71 win, eclipsing his previous career high of 22 points when he muscled up a layup with 7:21 left in the game.

In the four-minute span that followed, he showed why he is the Hokies' best all-around player, a guy who "has a lot of toys," Greenberg said. He drove down the lane and, at the last moment, dumped a no-look pass to Lewis Witcher for a dunk. He snatched an offensive rebound and converted it into a layup. He blocked a shot. And in one graceful sequence, he glided toward the basket, caught a bounce pass from point guard Malcolm Delaney and dunked the ball with one hand.

"Whenever Jeff comes to work, he's a totally different player than if he's being lazy," Delaney said. "And he knows that. We've been staying on him lately about how we need him to play good. Because last year, when we did good in the ACC, Jeff was killing everybody. And today he showed that nobody can really guard Jeff one-on-one in the post."

The Hokies (2-1 ACC, 12-5) are riding a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at Wake Forest which, thanks to No. 1 Pittsburgh's loss yesterday, should be the nation's top-ranked team. They are doing so because Allen exploited a mismatch with Josh Southern, Boston College's 6-10 center. Within the game's first few minutes, Allen sensed that Southern couldn't keep up with him.

"Basically, I was quicker than their big man," Allen said.

He attributed some of that advantage to working harder in offseason conditioning, which allowed him to cut his weight from 260 to 230 pounds. Also, by his own admission, he simply tried harder in practice over the past two weeks. He said he's not sure what sparked him to do this. Greenberg offered his own theory.

"I think the realization that he couldn't get away with it," Greenberg said. "I'm asking less and getting more. He's allowing himself to be coached every play. I think he understands that this college basketball thing is not that easy."

Allen's increased effort is why Greenberg didn't panic when Allen shot a combined 1-of-11 from the floor and scored 12 points in back-to-back games earlier this month against Duke and Virginia. Allen said that "at certain times" recently he doubted himself. But he gained confidence from frequent meetings with Greenberg, and from the resolution of a family problem that bothered him.

"I think he's made a conscious decision that he wants to be the player he was tonight and not the player that he was two weeks ago," Greenberg said.

Greenberg often tells Allen in their meetings that he needs to finish layups. As Allen walked off the court at halftime yesterday, he glanced up at the scoreboard and saw he had 13 points -- an auspicious start. His next thought reflected not only the matter-of-fact demeanor he's always shown, but also the recent changes in his work ethic.

"I was like, 'I might as well finish it,'" he said.

BOSTON COLLEGE (1-3 ACC, 13-6)

3-point goals -- Boston College (7-24): Trapani 3-8, Rice 3-8, Sanders 1-6, Jackson 0-2. Virginia Tech (7-17): Delaney 2-4, Vassallo 2-6, Allen 1-2, Thorns 1-2, Hudson 1-3,

Turnovers -- Boston College (9): Trapani 2, Southern 2, Sanders 2, Raji, Jackson, Ravenel. Virginia Tech (10): Davila 3, Allen 2, Thompson, Vassallo, Delaney, Bell, Hudson.

Blocked shots -- Boston College (3): Trapani, Southern, Dunn. Virginia Tech (8): Allen 3, Davila, Vassallo, Delaney, Hudson, Witcher.

Steals -- Boston College (5): Raji 2, Rice, Sanders, Jackson. Virginia Tech (6): Allen 3, Thompson, Hudson, Witcher.

A -- 9,847.