Things weren't looking good for the Virginia Tech men's basketball team as time wound down in their matchup with Georgia Tech.
A sloppy opening half had snowballed into 10 point deficit with just five minutes to go, and the Hokies' chance to win it second ACC game seemed bleak. Never ones to shy away from last minute action, the Hokies pried open the Yellow Jacket lead and took it away, winning 65-63 in Cassell Coliseum.
A Malik Müller corner three with 16 seconds left gave Tech their first lead since the 4:36 mark in the previous period. It capped a furious Hokie rally that saw them close the game on a 17-5 run.
The first twenty minutes, however, were so ugly and disjointed it was a bucket of confetti short of being a Washington Generals scrimmage. It was full of turnovers, airballs and mental mistakes for both teams, and even had Shane Henry accidentally score a bucket for the guys in gold.
As often happens with young groups, they found themselves swept up in the overall poor play at the beginning. The Hokies compounded their blips and errors while also not able to take advantage of the readily available Yellow Jacket miscues.
As has been the case all season, the Hokies struggled to grab rebounds. It was so bad for most of Monday night that the Jacket big men all but set up a blanket and had a picnic down low. Georgia Tech ended the night with 19 offensive boards, leading to a disastrous number of second possessions.
That being said, the team should get credit for the way they pulled themselves out of the depths of what looked like another disappointing loss. The Jackets posed a unique challenge for the Hokies, as they're best attribute (cleaning the glass) is also the Hokies' worst.
Brian Gregory's squad was also able to close out quickly on perimeter shots, limiting the effectiveness of the three pointer for the Hokies. Naturally, Buzz Williams and the rest of his coaches were able to turn the tide in their favor. They found mismatches that Müller, Adam Smith and others were able to take advantage of off the dribble.
Despite Georgia Tech's size, Buzz decided against playing Satchel Pierce many minutes. Instead, he elected to go with a rotation of Henry and Christian Beyer. Though it didn't help their rebounding numbers, which were going to be a struggle no matter who was on the floor, Beyer and Henry found success cutting to the basket and finishing close to the hoop.
The two combined to shoot 7-8 from the floor and gave the Hokies just enough of a big man presence to balance the rest of their attack. Both of them are going to have their own struggles defensively, Beyer will get overpowered by a stronger player and Henry's spunk doesn't make up for the fact that he has toothpicks for legs, but they are now both legitimate offensive threats.
I have noticed Henry's improved touch around the rim. In his last three appearances the former JUCO has gone 11-13, but not all of those buckets have come from open dunks. He doesn't necessarily have polished post moves, but he's not just throwing it at the basket hoping something happens anymore.
The player who I've been most impressed with over the most recent stretch was also the hero tonight. Since his move to power forward, Müller has been an integral part of the way this team plays. His biggest problem was his foot speed, especially when matched up against opposing guards.
When guarded by forwards, the speed thing isn't an issue. The Umlaut can put the ball on the deck and take it to the hole much easier than before, and it's showing up in his box scores. The television broadcast talked incessantly about Müller's willingness to take charges and do the dirty work, but that's just one facet of all the little things that the German does.
"I think he's our best low post defender," Williams said. "I know he doesn't look like he is, but I think he's eaten enough powdered doughnuts and Kit Kats that he can bang around down there and feel comfortable doing it.
"I think in a strange way that has given him confidence. I think that what is perceived, as a disadvantage at times for us, is an advantage. It's an advantage for us offensively because we utilize him as if he's a guard and make those big guys run out there and try to guard him."
Let's just say that I don't think it's odd that Tech's recent run of close games coincides with Müller's newfound role.
This was a good win for a squad that needed another one. Sure, it wasn't as neat and tidy as I'm sure the coaches would have hoped for, but it works. And more importantly, Buzz's bunch keeps showing that resilience that makes them lovable to anyone who will watch.
With just seven contests to go before the ACC Tournament, that lack of quit might help them find their way out of the cellar when they head to Greensboro.
Comments
Dude's basically MacGyver.
I find myself wondering which takes more time. Simply writing "Given what he's done with this roster, Buzz Williams would kick ass on Chopped" or finding the tweet, clicking the embed button, ctrl+c, back to TKP, ctrl+v
Or spelling it out in Lucky Charms cereal on the hood of a sedan, taking a Polaroid, scanning the Polaroid, uploading the photo to imgur, then coding in the location.
Sorry the embedded tweet bothered you.
lol...this is funny but I don't really think he (or anybody else, for that matter) was necessarily bothered by the tweet. You have to admit that there is some humor to the fact you embedded your own tweet...
noted.
this is correct. In fact, I legged the original post. I just thought it was humorous and agree with both the text in the post and the text in the tweet.
fernleyhokie is just jealous that he doesn't get to twitter in China.
dude I don't even get gmail anymore. Blocked it at start of new year. Basically rendering my android phone with gmail app, google maps, android market useless.... unless there is wifi somewhere and I log on to a vpn app.
China REALLY hates google
Doesn't help that they've been cracking down on VPNs recently as well.
Can I ask what you do in China? I end up over there rather frequently myself.
Edit: Just bothered to read your profile. Still interested though.
yeah lots of VPN's can't keep up with them. If you need a good one go with Astrill.
I own a design office with urban design, architecture and landscape architecture. Currently working on a cultural center in downtown Shanghai, among other things. I am starting to get into development and building materials as well.
what about you? what brings you over to China so often? If you get to Shanghai feel free to contact me for a free beer: nc@watershed.cn
That sweater is the stuff of legends
After the game, Buzz went to his second job as a jockey.
Nice win. Better sweater.
so do all the teams in the ACC get a spot in the ACC tournament? How does that work with Notre Shame?
Everybody gets a spot, with Cuse keeping themselves out we at least have an even number now.
and why is Cuse holding themselves out?
here ya go
The NCAA has been investigating for 8 years?
These people are fools. There are 2 generations of graduates since the start of the UNFINISHED investigation.
The kids now paying the price for the infraction were in k-5 when the investigation of the violations occurred. How is that justified?
Punish one set of students for the infractions of another.
(%#@%#@#!&** /rant
My theory: Due to them not being very good this year they probably won't make the big dance anyway so instead of embarassing themselves or Boeheim's legacy at tourny time, they just made up some self imposed a ban this year to hide the fact that they are bad and have a ready made excuse in the first year with the ACC.
But they are telling everyone it is due to an NCAA investigation, which maybe I am wrong, but I haven't heard much about how that is going.
Notre Dame is a member of the conference in all sports except football so they get their spot based solely on their record. All teams get a spot. There will only be 14 teams with Syracuse sitting out. They have not announced yet how they intend to modify the seeding based on Syracuse absence. As of right now, Tech should be the 13th seed, with GT and BC behind them. Tourney they would likely be the 12 seed.
I sat through 35 minutes of just flat out awful basketball. It was late and the Hokies had just gone down by 10+ points with less than 5 minutes left and I said that's it, I'm heading to bed, I can't take it anymore. I must say it was quite a surprise this morning when I found out the score. Great comeback, but this game should have never gotten this bad. A win is a win and we need all we can get.
Certainly understand your feelings, wife went to bed early, too. I personally think this team is too scrappy to give up on, though. Struggling, floundering, and fighting like hell, there's not going to be much pretty in them, but I'll take all the "ugly" they can muster if it makes them competetive. What we're seeing in them now is the basis for what is to come when Buzz gets a few more Jimmys and Joes on the court. I don't want to miss a minute of it!
Don't take that sweater off! We need karma!
nice.
I asked last night and still no answers...
Come on, Buzz, where did you get that sweater?
He talks about where he got it in the post game interview:
http://www.hokiesports.com/videos/#!/videos/all/YxZWI5czrIM9MXLAP-YFIZuytHTdJ4R6
They only made one?
Sometimes, they save you from yourself.
Yeah, but can you imagine a couple of thousand of them in the stands, hopping up and down with the music?
that my friend is a million dollar idea. i dont know about sweaters but tshirts? i'd be into that.
Argyle T shirts. Make it so
Maybe a sleeveless T would be the ticket. You could mix and match the sleeves to match white/black outs, then take it off, roll it up and stick it in your pocket before heading downtown to celebrate the win. Orrrr, some enterprising local establishment could offer a discount for wearing them in after the game. This could escalate!
sleeveless argyle tshirts, now we're cooking with gas folks!
If twitter taught me anything today, is that the pattern is harlequin, not argyle.
Harlequin:
Argyle:
And this is Harley Quinn
Completely random, but completely amazing.
If you'll permit me to embed a tweet:
I'll allow it.
Berman on the other hand...
We have just as many ACC wins now as we did last year... I'm really hoping we can close out games against Clemson and BC to double last years total
Aaaaaand still more than the number of fans at UVA's spring game.
That was true before our season even started.
Can we take a moment on this Tuesday morning to again reflect on the wonderment that is Buzz's sweater? Truly a mark of greatness. I feel like I would be better at all areas of my life if I were to wear one.
"The Umlaut" what a great nickname.
I like calling him Das Muel-train, but Umlaut works as wel.
The Hokies did jump out to a 14-2 lead in the 1st 6-7 minutes of the game. Even through the sloppiness. They would have been behind double digits at the half had they not started the game so strongly. More like a bad 14 minutes in the first half.
Dare I say, this team is improving... Yes they are.
After watching the first half, I couldn't take anymore so I instead watched Fury with my wife then went to bed.
I then wake up this morning and seeing that we won!
Then it hit me quickly that I missed another ACC win!
You should be able to watch a replay on watchespn.
Oh I am during my lunch break. I just enjoy watching it live without knowing the outcome.
Hudson's drive with a minute left ...... why is that not an and one for Hudson when VT was down three and he drove, he just got 2 free throws
It looked like a missed call to me, it's the only explanation I can come up with.
The refs said the foul was before he had started the shooting action. It was pretty close, but I thought it was correct.
I thought the refs had several missed calls for both teams last night. For example at the end of the first half where a VT player (can't remember who it was) tried to draw a charge and they didn't call anything. I think that in that situation you have to call something, either a block or a charge but they called nothing.
There were a number of over the back calls committed by GT that were ignored by the refs as well.
Which is surprising, given the ticky-tackiness of the rest of their calls between last night and the WF game. I hate basketball officials, I really do. There's just too much room for subjectivity and too little effort to be consistent call to call and game to game.
I think you're talking about the Devin Wilson one. I thought it was the right no-call, the GT player only clipped Wilson and then Wilson kinda flopped. There wasn't enough contact to actually call a charge.
I don't care much for sweaters, but I would wear that sweater.
I haven't seen anyone posting about this, but last night VT Drumline performed at halftime. They blew my mind because... they played Stick It In!
It made me so happy and gave me flashbacks to the good old days.
I really wish I could have heard it. Anyone got video or audio?
Buzz's sweater will be made available for sale, with all proceeds going to his Buzz's Bunch charity. For more info:
https://www.scottbarber.com/Buzz-Sweater.sbpx
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!! I don't even care if its a mans sweater, I'm going to
rock it.
Admirable-- budon'think he should never take it off. Ever. He should wear it to every game. And sleep in it.
Also relevant, Buzz is a beast:
He weighs maybe what... 200lbs? That's impressive.
So is he going to stay at DL or will the coaches be moving him to OL this spring?
Now I want to know how much Buzz can squat and deadlift.
The Good
1) Malik Mueller: The beating this kid took for the sake of drawing fouls, especially the last one, where I thought he might be down for the count. It looked like something out of a TEKKEN game. Somehow Sloefoot has also found the ability of magic on the offensive end, blowing by people as he is driving to the basket or draining critical three's from outside. 6 of 8 from the floor, three 3's and three charges taken, along with just manning up against some big bodies.
2) Henry/Beyer: Buzz' gameplan for the way GT wanted to guard the perimeter worked exactly as I thought it might. Henry only doesnt have a career game because of bad fouls. He finished the game 4 for 4 from the field and hit 2 of his 3 free throws. 10 points from what has been a black hole offensively. Beyer contributed much of the same when Henry had to sit, going 3 for 4 from the field, with 1 of 2 from the line. A combined 17 points from our "big men" made a huge difference in this game.
3) Finishing a Game: This is the final learning step that this team needed, now they have to show they can repeat it on a regular basis. They were facing a team that they appeared to be equals to on paper and so should have been able to be in the game with and even after falling behind by 10 with five minutes to go, they worked it, got solid baskets, didnt take a ton of panicked shots. I am not sure there is another stretch this season where Tech has scored eight possessions in a row like they finished last nights game. I dont mean as in the end of a game, I mean at all, period, eight straight baskets is a thing of beauty. Its like having a less than five turnovers in a game night kind of pretty.
The Bad
1) Offensive Rebounds: Even though GT wasnt much taller than our guys, their big bodies and a mysterious lack of whistles in this one aspect of the game allowed GT to benefit greatly on the offensive glass. 19 in all, leading to 19 points. Combine that with the points off turnovers and we allowed 33 total points for GT to come from these two sources. Kinda painful.
2) Justin Bibbs from the floor: Not only was he 3 for 9, but it was the form and function of many of his shots that were just ugly. I am not sure if its just rust or if there is still some lingering effect from the concussion. He appears to be a bit more gunshy about taking the ball all the way to the rim. He isnt taking the ball up strong with both hands, allowing a much shorter guard to easily block one of his shot attempts. The shots he made down the stretch were critcal in the win but hopefully he finds his stroke again soon.
3) The Ghosts of Ahmed Hill and Satchel Pierce: Pierce got a grand total of four minutes on the floor against one of the shortest teams we have played this season. I think Buzz realized that he could have Beyer and Henry actually man up without a huge size difference and that they are much more reliable on the offensive end. I do have to give him credit for getting two blocks in a four minute span but that was about all we saw of him. Ahmed on the other hand, goes from being the leading scorer last game to giving us zero points in thirty minutes of play last night. The inconsistency drives me a bit crazy. He was pretty active on defense but there werent any game changing plays really.
The UGLY
1) Georgia Tech shooting the ball: This might be considered a thing of beauty. We held Tech to under 38% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc. Great night keeping our opponent from having open looks and forcing bad shots. The only problem is that we shot 52% from the field and only managed to win this game by two. A win is a win, yes, but the underlying problems of turnovers and offensive rebounds absolutely allowed GT to stay in the game to the end, rather than being down double digits.
2) Another really tickytack night from officials: I am about done with the ACC officiating this season. A combined 37 personal fouls last night. Thats essentially one whistle a minute. A game cant get any kind of flow with that many stoppages. The minimal contact that was needed to get a whistle was unbelievable last night. Unfortunately it has also been fairly consistent that way this season in ACC play. I really hope in the off season they figure out a way to lessen the calls because it makes for some really really UGLY basketball.
We held [the other] Tech to under 38% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc.
FTFY
I'm really not even sure how good this team is. If you look at it, every game since the UVA game, regardless of how good the opponent is, has been a close game. I can't wait to see what will happen when Buzz brings in some recruits and Tech basketball really takes off.
I had thought the officiating in our last game was almost as bad as you could get until I listened to the George Mason @ Davidson tonight. 47 combined fouls. Mason had ten team fouls in the second half with almost 12 minutes left to play. You could hear fans over the broadcast that were googling most fouls in a game and then had a countdown going. They didnt make it but came damn close. Grass isnt always greener.