Buzzketball Gets Waxed 54-75 At Clemson

Boos cascaded down upon Buzz Williams as the Virginia Tech head coach called his last timeout with 45 seconds remaining against Clemson. In all honesty you couldn't really blame the crowd inside Littlejohn Coliseum for their unrest. The Hokies were down 19, which was actually an improvement on a deficit that had been over 30 for a portion of the second half.

The Tigers onslaught mercifully ended moments later, and the Hokies fell 54-75. To say that Tech's performance was disappointing would be a massive understatement. When we last checked in with Williams and company, they had just pulled off a comeback win over Georgia Tech and were riding high.

This game brought the youthful Hokies, or at least their fans, careening back down to earth. Clemson canned three pointers like they were layups right from the jump, as they nailed their first five attempts from distance and never looked back.

The fifth of those triples not only gave the home team a 19-4 lead in less than five minutes, but also signified what kind of day was in store for the visitors.

"I don't know that we didn't have good focus," Williams said. "I think that [Clemson] were just dominating in how they played, and we didn't respond.

"I don't know that it had anything to do with focus. When you're in last place, you won a game by two points, you've lost so many times, it's not like that lingers around very long."

The fact that the Tigers hit so many jumpers should be troubling for the Hokies, considering that Brad Brownell's squad is at the bottom of the conference in shooting. Don't let the numbers fool you, however. This performance was no fluke.

"I don't know if [Brownell] would say they took many bad shots," Williams explained. "I think they executed and took practice shots, and the shot that you practice are the ones that typically go in."

As many Buzzketball fans can attest, this season has been full of abnormal shooting performances for Tech opponents. Not only did the Tigers come screaming out of the gate on Saturday afternoon, but Florida State, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Louisville all bettered their three point percentages on the season.

Having a team or two shoot better from deep than they have the rest of the season is an outlier. When it happens in 50 percent of your conference games? That's no longer chance, it's a trend.

First off, I don't think that this is an effort thing. I know that seeing wide open jumpers may give off the impression of lazy defense, but considering that these guys play their hearts out every time they step on the court, can you really question their hustle?

To me, this is another example of Tech's size issue. It's simply tough for Adam Smith, Devin Wilson and other slim guards to consistently run through the picks of opposing big men. Against teams that also play small, the Hokies can switch on many of those screens. But when playing a few competent big men it's a lose-lose. Switch and you're likely to give up an offensive rebound, let your guards fight through them and you're vulnerable to giving up open looks.

The latter happened on Saturday. And while it's infuriating to watch the Hokies give up oodles of treys, there's not much that they can do about it. Opponents that play more than one capable front court player will consistently give them problems. Unfortunately for Buzz's bunch, that's the majority of the ACC.

Another interesting thing to take away from this train wreck of a contest is looking at who is getting consistent minutes. Williams has been upfront with everyone about this topic for his entire tenure thus far. He's going to play the guys who have been playing and practicing the best.

Apparently that means less Devin Wilson. Since the point guard played most of the game against Pittsburgh, his playing time has decreased dramatically. He's now been relegated to the bench, acting as a sixth man during the last two games.

I've covered the reasons as to why Wilson is an awkward fit in Blacksburg, so I'll be brief. His lack of a jump shot takes away from everything else his team is trying to do. Since Devin's defender knows that he is almost a non-factor from the outside, why guard him closely? Instead the opposing player can crowd the paint, run out on another shooter or sky for an uncontested rebound.

That's not to say that there's nothing Wilson can bring to the table. He's good when dominating the ball and attacking the hoop, drawing fouls and creating chances for others. It is telling, though, that Jalen Hudson has been competing for Wilson's minutes. It seems that as Hudson's minutes increase (like against Clemson or Syracuse) it comes at the expense of the sophomore point guard.

I'm not going to speculate what this means for future seasons, nor do I feel comfortable guessing what the coaching staff is thinking long term. But I do know that at least right now, Wilson is not one of the team's best five players.

If we were to learn anything from this game, it's that Virginia Tech basketball still has a very long way to go. Though there will be a handful of positive results, blowouts like this are also bound to happen.

This is the time of year that usually hits a young roster hard. It's nearing the end of a long season, and sometimes bad losses can pile up. If the Hokies can regroup after a game like this, it's a small victory in itself.

It will be interesting to see how Hokie Hoops can bounce back on Wednesday when they head to Coral Gables to play Miami. And if there's anything that this unit has shown, it's that they can come back after a tough game. I'd expect a mid-week grinder against the Hurricanes.