Buzzketball Annihilated by Duke 82-58

The Virginia Tech men's basketball team walked into Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium off the most impressive week of the Buzz Williams tenure. Seven days ago the Hokies kicked off ACC play with a win over NC State, and then turned in a program-defining win over number four Virginia.

It took about three minutes against the Blue Devils to realize those good vibes would come to an end, as Tech plummeted to an 82-58 throttling at the hands of Mike Krzyzewski's squad.

Duke came out quickly and hit four consecutive shots from behind the arc, immediately setting a pace the Hokies couldn't keep up with. It wasn't for a lack of trying, however. Williams' group upped the tempo and attacked quickly. Unfortunately, it played into their opponent's hands, as they rushed into bad shots, turnovers and poor transition defense.

Not a single player in maroon could find their way against an equally small and quick lineup. Starting guards Seth Allen and Jalen Hudson, Tech's two most dangerous weapons, shot a combined 2-18 from the floor. Their performance paced the rest of the roster for an abysmal first half in which they dug a hole so deep it was impossible to climb out.

"We did nothing in the first half, offensively or defensively," Williams said in the post-game press conference. "I think that's why the score was what it was. We were overwhelmed, they were way better, they were way tougher. They executed. I'm not coaching their team, but I thought they executed very well and we did diametrically opposed to that."

Down big man Amile Jefferson (who's out indefinitely with a foot injury), the Blue Devils ran the floor with athletic wings who seem genetically designed to win one-on-one matchups. Add to the fact that the Hokies are without their two best perimeter defenders in Chris Clarke and Ahmed Hill, it was a recipe for destruction.

Guard Grayson Allen finished with 16, freshman phenom Brandon Ingram had 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks and center Marshall Plumlee poured in a double-double with 21 and 10. (Yes, there's still a Plumlee in Durham. And yes, it feels like he's been there for a decade.)

And though the talent and the tempo were two things the Hokies simply couldn't keep up with, they fought for the entire forty minutes. Zach LeDay scored 16 of his 18 after halftime, and the team saw solid showings from Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Justin Robinson, it just wasn't remotely enough.

Tech has four days to move on from this debacle and get ready to play Wake Forest back in Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday at nine. The concurrently rebuilding Demon Deacons will be an interesting test for the Hokies, should they be able to shake off this defeat. But remember, the last time Buzz and company had four days to come back from an embarrassing loss they beat NC State.

"I think you just have to take all of this as an individual round," Williams said. "It's too much of a marathon to get too excited or get too down. I think that's the ground part of it, none of it is a sprint.

"If we hang onto this too long, then we'll get beat on Wednesday. If we can learn from this and try to get back to being who we have to be in order to give ourselves a chance to win, then maybe it will be a game on Wednesday. I think Wake [Forest] is really good."

The Hokies are a squad that takes on the resiliency of their coach, and they'll have to do so again after this one.

A few quick thoughts

One of the most improved places in the Hokies' game this year has been ball handlers who can create off the dribble. Allen did his best to put NC State and UVA in tough positions with his ability to blow by the initial defender and cause an open shot for him or a teammate. Tony Bennett even went out of his way to credit how tough the junior was to guard.

It makes everything else Tech wants to do easier. Justin Bibbs and Hudson are more likely to get open shots on the wing, Blackshear and LeDay find looks under the basket and the entire halfcourt offense flows more fluidly.

The drawback to this, however, is when they play someone with similar strengths. Duke is small and fast, and will suck you in with their press. They can get athletic ball handlers in trouble by speeding them up, rushing their decisions and turning a full possession into five seconds of dribbling and wild shots.

It's something Tech fans will have to deal with all year, especially against opponents with superior athleticism. We've already seen it before, against West Virginia and Iowa State, which means it'll be a problem versus North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame and Miami.

Though it's frustrating to some who watch, the flip side is so beneficial (see, ACC wins) it's something to be tolerated.

This loss goes beyond the old "not showing up" cliche I've seen thrown around, which is insulting to both Buzz and his coaching staff. The team had five days to get rested and prepare to play this game, they just came out and got smoked. It's too flippant to think a group as young and as ready to prove themselves as this one lost because they didn't bring their best effort.

Overwhelmed by the stage? Probably. Out-talented and out-played? Definitely. The Hokies showed up. They simply got handled because they were up against a very good foe in one of the most impressive venues in all of sports.

It seems as if Buzz has settled on his best lineup being Allen, Bibbs, Leday and Blackshear, with a rotation of Devin Wilson, Robinson and Hudson as the fifth guy. Though the Clarke and Hill injuries hurt the long term ceiling of the program, is it weird to wonder if it helps to have a rotation so pared down?

My biggest critique of Buzz over the last year and a half has been his substitution patterns and the impossibility of figuring out who he plays on a given night. I know it's all about effort and culture and whatever other buzz words (pun totally intended) you want to use, but it impacts a player's ability to get in the groove of a game.

With the two injuries, he's had his rotation of useable guys shrunk down to eight (sorry Satchel Pierce and Johnny Hamilton) and it lets people like Robinson and Blackshear grow despite mistakes. When Williams has his full armada at hand (be it in February/March or next season) he'll now have a seasoned cast of characters who all have chops developed from minutes in big moments.

Even in a contest as one-sided as this, it gives a chance for those youngsters to develop. And as the season goes along, playing time on stages like this will prove to be worth it.