Men's Basketball: Virginia Tech routs UMD-Eastern Shore 71-46

Led in scoring by Justin Bibbs and Malik Mueller with 15 points a piece the Hokies controlled the game from the beginning and led 30-20 at the half. Ahmed Hill came on late in the second half to contribute 11 points as the Hokies extended their lead. The team had very balanced scoring with points from 10 players as Buzz got everyone involved except for Greg Donlon. The team ran quite a few four guard sets, especially since Joey Van Zegeren and Satchel Pierce both were in foul trouble early and each eventually fouled out of the game. I was surprised to not see more of Shane Henry with this going on but his weight appears to be a real issue in playing down low. He still managed to contribute 3 blocks and 8 rebounds in limited time so I would like to see him get more time down low.

There were quite a few impressive things to take away from this game. The Hokies did not have a turnover until there were less than eight minutes left in the game which really helped in building the lead as they also scored 20 points off turnovers for the night. They also took good quality shots, shooting over 52% for the night, which will be important later in the season. The team also shot well from behind the arc, going 6 for 14 (42%), hitting several key threes from the corner. This seems to be the role that Mueller and Smith will play predominantly.

A couple of negatives, starting with dreadful free throw shooting again, shooting less than 60% from the stripe. Devin did well in creating opportunities with six assists and got to the line a bit but went 1 for 5 once he got there. He was dealing with a black eye from practice but I am not sure that played a role.

The other big negative was the bigs being in foul trouble. They will have to learn quickly to be able to stay on the court or we will be in serious trouble come the ACC schedule. Van Zegeren especially had some ticky tacky calls that he should never have been in position to be called on. Proper positioning and ball control would have kept him on the court more.

All in all it was about the game I expected to see tonight, and was glad to see that we were about where I thought we were as that should bode well for the OOC schedule and possibly a few special nights in the ACC. Long season left to play but 1-0 is the best way to start it.