Virginia plays Hokie Nopey - SCACCHoops.com

Virginia plays Hokie Nopey

by UniversityBall.org

Posted: 2/10/2016 5:58:30 PM


Game Central

Game Recap

I don’t know how much longer Virginia Tech will be an afterthought. Buzz Williams — at least, until he splits town for a more glamorous destination — is a good coach that is building something. On one level, that’s a good thing. I want to regularly get up for visits from Tech again, and that comes from spirited competition. I certainly took this meeting with Tech more seriously after the first meeting, and look at football: Tech fans sleep through the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year, and it’s because they think a victory over Virginia comes in the envelope with their ticket delivery. I think they like it though, and that’s where the other level kicks in: it has been fun to occupy a completely different space than Virginia Tech since Seth Greenberg departed in 2012, and I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.

The last 30 minutes of last night’s game were glorious. The Hokies were smothered — literally in some cases, as we blocked a season-high eight shots, led by Devon Hall’s three. They shot 35.6% from the field and — and this is vital when playing Tech — were kept off the foul line, taking only 17 free throws. Malcolm Brogdon saw his scorching run end on offense (12 points, 4-12 shooting), but part of that could be related to the energy he expended erasing Seth Allen. Brogdon banned Allen from his preferred left side of the court and limited his touches overall, holding the lead Hokie to six points on 3-9 shooting and keeping him not only out of the lane, but from having any impact on the game. Zach LeDay, the star of Tech’s January upset, was limited t0 seven points by foul trouble (four in 17 minutes) and interesting decisions (four threes in seven shot attempts, four turnovers). If you’re keeping score, we’ve now held four straight opponents to 50 points or less and an offensive efficiency rating under 100, which is great because our first eight ACC opponents crossed that mark. This team has turned a corner defensively. We’re going after offensive boards less (look at the percentages) in an effort to ensure that the defense is set, and are playing guys — Marial and Evan (yes, Evan, he’s used experience and effort to be wonderful on this end) off the bench, Isaiah over Tobey in the starting lineup — who bolster our efforts on that end and enable us to compete more with the smaller lineups we’re seeing night in and night out. The guards as a group have improved considerably at fighting through screens and denying penetration, which is key without an Akil or Darion waiting inside. Isaiah has been a big help there, too. Watch him: he’s always talking when we’re on D.

CTB might feel free to place less emphasis on offensive rebounds because he knows that we’re better at a.) finding high percentage looks inside or out and b.) making them. The offense was a highlight factory. There was an oop to Darius, layup-oops to Malcolm and Devon, dunks for Gill, and the always-popular fast break Tobey smash. Tech left the baseline so open that I could have possibly slipped in for a layup, even wearing khakis and Chucks. Anyone lurking around the “N” in Virginia on the baseline was guaranteed safe passage to the rim and the opportunity for a layup. The ball movement was assured and unselfish, as we opened the game with 14 assists on 16 baskets and finished with 18 on 24, or 75%. Eight players scored (led by AG with 16) and seven had assists (led by Devon with a career-high five). Isaiah Wilkins was the straw that stirred the drink. He kept balls alive on the backboard (grabbing three of our seven offensive rebounds), worked his midrange game to perfection, and successfully powered up to draw contact at the rim, which isn’t something that he always does well. Mike Tobey chipped in 10 points in 11 minutes off the bench, and Evan Nolte added a couple of deep twos to what has become his typical solid effort on D. London serves as the team’s selflessness spokesperson with how he lays out as a scorer except when needed, and it showed last night: he had six points (four coming on a three-plus-foul in the first half), and half of his four shots came with the shot clock expiring when things stagnated toward the middle of the second half. He did add four assists and a team-high tying (with Devon) five rebounds. Turnovers played a major role in our downfall in Cassell, and they were way down last night: just 10, or 16.4% of our possessions.

This wasn’t even our crispest of efforts — the offense had a few periods where things slowed to a crawl, and the weak side defense allowed Tech (Chris Clarke in particular, who is going to be scary) to motor to the rim for some dunks — but the team is dialed in to the extent that our B-game is enough to get us a big win at home. Duke — and a chance to get Tony over the hump at Cameron Indoor — is up next.

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