This is going to be a short write up as the game is starting now. Don't expect a miracle, expect hard fought, but overpowered again, not quite as badly as the Louisville game early on but about the same result at the end. Marcus Little Paige will pick up his game against a lower opponent and come out and do work against the Hokies tonight. Expect him to be joined by Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson as the big men down low that benefit from our size differential. UNC will probably dominate the rebounding and have quite a few secondary offensive chances. The only hope here is that coming off the scare from NC State they might let down a little but I cant see Roy Williams letting that happen for the entire game.
Game is on ESPNU
Final Score VT 55 - UNC 71
Comments
I hope this game gives us something positive to talk about today, but with Bibbs out I'll have to lower my expectations more than usual.
We can't seem to get a damn thing to fall. Is Will Johnston going to survive this game? When is the last time we made it through a season with the entire roster intact?
We haven't been lacking for open looks either. Hopefully Johnston doesn't bleed out on the floor. Buzz looked really happy with his effort out there though.
Offense is completely stalled and we are getting killed on the glass.
Outrebounded 27 to 12, ouch.
Did Bibbs get concussed at Louisville? I somehow missed this one.
I don't remember him coming out of that game. No details on how he got concussed have been released from what I've read.
Said before the game that the concussion happened at practice this week.
Watching the game without sound with the playoffs on in the background. I just couldn't find anything in the news when I searched. Thanks!
Wilson was trying to get Buzz involved in the game on that pass.
Do we have any good big man prospects on the radar? ESPN shows a couple, but they seem to be higher rated than I should expect to come to VT.
4 star PF Kerry Blackshear.
I was looking into 2016, I did not specify. Not sure if there is much going on recruiting wise for that class yet.
Great, Beyer is limping now too.
I know I should not expect much from this team, but 40 total points with 5 min to go? Eeesh.
It's justifiable with Bibbs out, especially against UNC.
Yeah, I know we are thin, but there have been more than a dozen points left on the floor from really good looks. Kudos to the defensive effort for a team that is incredibly overmatched in size.
They did a good job tightening up around the rim in the second half. We were getting punked out there in the paint early. UNC could just as well be leading by 25-30.
I. LOVE. THIS. TEAM.
Good tough press D there. Couldn't continue to close once we got the lead to single digits. Got a little too frantic with the clock running down and made it easy for UNC.
This tweet gives me hope.
Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein 4m4 minutes ago
Give Buzz Williams Seth Allen, an improved Zach LeDay, plus three capable freshmen and VT will be a nuisance a year from now. Fact of life.
As for this assessment, I think that Allen is going to need to be much improved to be the starter and Zach Leday will have to be greatly improved to make us a nuisance. That said, give Buzz his freshmen and sophomores and they can be better than a nuisance especially if there is room for and a commitment from Levi Cook.
And some Kentucky-style gellin'.
I gotta say, I am liking what I'm seeing out of the program. There is a LOT of fight in this dog, and at some points tonight good shots just refused to fall. But Buzz's guys played for two full halves, buzzer to buzzer. We're witnessing a program being built.
This game came out about exactly as I figured and that was without knowing Bibbs was out. This team doesnt quit and they manage open looks on a majority of their possessions. Size is the death of us though. Just can't beat it in the ACC.
I see that Henry and Smith (both bench) were the only players to score into double digits. Question: if Smith (in particular) is one of our leading scorers, what exactly is he doing on the bench?
Because he doesn't embrace the concept of defense as a positive as much as needed by Buzz, nor other factors of the game that don't show up in the box score. As Buzz explained earlier in the season in an interview, Smith provides more effective offense (by far his positive trait) and overall energy to the team with less minutes played, and by sitting at the start of a game so that he can gather a feel for the game.