Buzzketball Gets Dominated in Pittsburgh 90-71

Hokies drop a dud to Pitt, fall to 12-10 (4-5 ACC).

[Mark Umansky]

Things got dark in the second half of Virginia Tech's 90-71 loss to Pittsburgh in the Petersen Events Center.

At one point, in what was a perfect microcosm for the Hokies' debacle, Zach LeDay had a corner three blocked by a sprinting Panther, who then turned the subsequent possession into a wide open triple of their own. Tech couldn't close out on shooters all night, and in a 30-second cycle had the detriment thrown in their faces on both ends of the floor.

It was a puzzling game to say the least. Buzz Williams' squad came out as flat as they've been since the Duke loss three weeks ago. Pitt hit jumper after jumper, capitalizing on loose defense and a bevy of Hokie turnovers. The home team controlled things the moment they got on the floor, and never let go until the final whistle sounded.

It was a total defensive collapse, and when the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Mike Barber asked what went wrong Williams didn't mince words.

"Whatever you want to write would probably suffice," the head Hokie said. "They shredded us in every way. I think Louisville had nine guys scoring against us, [Pitt] had 10. So the tenth one was the guy that came in at the end; good for him."

Tech's performance wasted what was possibly the best showing of Seth Allen's tenure in Blacksburg. The junior guard did his best to keep his team afloat, as he hit 14 of his 28 before intermission, and sank everything he could get his hands on (5-5 from three, 9-12 from the line). Unfortunately for the Maryland transfer, the other players in orange didn't have the same success around the basket or behind the arc.

"It's not satisfying because we have to win," Allen lamented. "Who cares if you score and you lose by 20? It's not fun. I'd rather not score and win by 20."

LeDay, often the one to share the scoring burden with Allen, finished with 12 points on an inefficient 5-13 from the field. The forward battled foul trouble and was eventually disqualified, which lead to cameo appearances by Shane Henry, Satchel Pierce and Johnny Hamilton. The trio did their best to highlight LeDay's importance to Tech's overall success, as the time without him was an amorphous blob of below average.

It's not possible, however, to pin this loss on one specific shortcoming. The Hokies gave the ball away 21 times to Pittsburgh's nine, Panthers guard James Robinson racked up 11 of his team's 30 (that's right, 30) assists as Jamie Dixon's guys put on a clinic of ball movement. There seemed to be an open man in white with each pass, just waiting for his chance to hit a 12-foot midrange shot.

Tech trailed by double digits throughout the second half, as those Panther buckets buried the Hokies in an eventually insurmountable deficit. It marks their fourth consecutive conference loss after a surprisingly successful start in January. Is the skid, one in which the deficits have grown with each result, concerning to the coaching staff?

"I just think it's part of playing in the ACC," Williams said. "Half of them will be at home and half of them will be on the road. It's hard to win on the road. Real teams win on the road. Typically that's the separator in any league but I think for sure it will end up being in our league."

And there's no time for Buzz and company to lick wounds. Tuesday brings another road trip and another hostile environment, this time in Syracuse. It's another challenging test, and it's vital for Williams' crew to turn things around in order to avoid slipping into a spiral of further losing.

A few quick thoughts

It's difficult to understate both LeDay's impact each time out, and how poor a game he had on Sunday.

From the jump, LeDay looked like he slogged through each step. His legs didn't have their familiar pep, and the quirky inside game we've grown to love was nowhere to be found. He ended with 12 (but lucked into a few wild makes), only attempted a pair of free throws and visibly wore down as time moved on (he picked up all five fouls after the half).

It makes sense to see a bit of fatigue from the South Florida transfer. He averages 30 minutes a game in ACC play and makes up for his lack of size by exerting extra effort. His role as Tech's most important front court player brings a challenging defensive matchup, and often one of an opponent's best defenders.

But the players opposite him won't get any worse as the season progresses, and it's clear the team can't survive when he's a non-factor like in the last 20 minutes against Pitt.

Tech's lack of shooters came into full effect when it became clear the Panthers planned to pack the paint and stop penetration. Outside of a single LeTrey and two Jalen Hudson triples in garbage time, a threat from the perimeter didn't exist.

This is where Justin Bibbs needs to grow out of his passivity. He's a team guy, and the perfect man to catch looks after an Allen drive. But he passed up a number of tries as they kept forcing things down low.

A few sunk threes could unclog the paint, and he's the only person with the constant ability to concern defenses from out there. Yes, he went 2-6 on the night, but five of those came in the first 22 minutes of action. He needs to be assertive throughout the whole game, and when he was not it showed.

It's shortsighted to write this off as something that simply happens to young teams. Yes, going on the road in western Pennsylvania was going to be a challenge, but there has to be a raised level of expectations surrounding this group.

Though it seems unfair, they're better than many of us thought heading into conference play, and they showed their ability in seven out of their first eight ACC contests. We need to now hold them to the standard they set for themselves. A loss in which the youngsters came out flat footed and overwhelmed is one where they didn't play up to their ability. Pittsburgh is a good team, but they're nowhere near as dominant as they seemed to be.

Buzz's bunch had a stinker. It was what it was, but to simply accept it as part of some mythical growing process is an insult to the season they've already cobbled together. It's a short turnaround to play Syracuse, and I think we all (players, coaches and fans) should expect more in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday.

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I just sit on my couch and b*tch. - HokieChemE2016

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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"...sticks and stones may break my bones but I'm gonna kick you repeatedly in the balls Gardoki!"

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"It might be dark outside, but it's LeDay in here." - Jay Bilas