Buzzketball Gives One Away at Syracuse 68-60

Initial inklings of promise in the Buzz Williams era at Virginia Tech came twice against Syracuse early in 2015.

At the very beginning of the year, an overmatched, scrappy unit came back from 20 down (sound familiar?) and had a chance to win at the buzzer in Cassell Coliseum. A month later, the same loss-stricken Hokie team rolled into the Carrier Dome and fell on a last second shot.

Two different settings, two narrow defeats, both which seemed to foreshadow bigger things to come. And in Tech's only 2016 trip to upstate New York, it looked like their fortunes would finally turn.

Up seven with just over 90 seconds to go, Williams' squad looked to put the finishing touches on a game they controlled from the jump. Expertly killing clock, the five maroon-clad players had a bit of swagger and the slight curl of a winner's grin on their faces. Junior guard Seth Allen beat a trap, drove straight to the basket with confidence, and watched a layup spin around and out.

And after that, everything happened in a matter of hazy body blows:

Orange guard Malachi Richardson hit a subsequent fast break three pointer (Tech's lead cut to four).

Allen clanked another close one, and 'Cuse answered with a dunk (the Hokies' once-impregnable advantage now down to a flimsy two points).

Justin Bibbs split at the line after a foul (his team just up three).

Senior Michael Gbinije drills a tying triple from somewhere out by the popcorn line (tied up with 26 seconds to go).

Bibbs missed a potential dagger, and the rest lead down an almost predictable path of a devastating fall. The Hokies couldn't keep up in the extra period, and lost another tight one 68-60.

But unlike any of the other games dropped down the stretch, this one will hurt the most. Not only did Williams' team have a steady hand for the majority of the contest, their opponent did all they could to give everything away early. Syracuse shot a dreadful 29% in the first half, saw a handful of starters pick up quick fouls and struggled to contain Tech's ability to attack their infamous 2-3 zone.

But despite all which went their way, the Hokies found themselves in a fight throughout. Turnovers haunted them, and a small lineup couldn't consistently stay on the glass and the offensive rebounds they gave up helped the Orange find their streak from outside. By the final whistle, every Virginia Tech player looked the opposite of what they had just minutes prior, their assuredness crumbled as Syracuse padded to their OT lead. An elusive road win was in their hands, and the youngsters still couldn't quite grab hold until the horn.

"I thought they made some great shots," Williams said. "We could have handled it slightly better than we did. We missed some layups that you probably have to make on the road. I thought we handled it much better than we did last year in the same situation. But there's still room for improvement, for sure."

A balanced stat sheet saw Bibbs end with 16 and 11 boards, Zach LeDay with 13 and 8, and Allen with 11, four rebounds and four assists. But it wasn't enough to overcome the mistakes down the stretch or the Orange's newfound deadliness from behind the arc in overtime.

"I thought some of the things that we did defensively were good," Williams said. "Maybe some of the shots that they typically make, they missed in the first half. I thought they made some really great shots to close the game out. They made winning plays in overtime."

Buzz and company head back to Blacksburg winless in their last five, two of which were decided in the closing moments. They'll host 14-win Clemson on Saturday, and look to show more than an inkling of their prior success back at the Cassell.

A few quick thoughts

This was always going to be one of the tougher turnarounds of the season. A NBA-like road swing of two games in three days across a pair of states is destined to be a disaster for even the best in the conference. With no time to lick wounds post-Pittsburgh, the team had to do their best to regroup in an adverse situation. There was no time to head back to Blacksburg and correct things in the comforts of their cushy practice facility, it was simply on to the next one.

One of two things often happen in situations like this. Bad habits are either compounded off the blowout, which means a larger and more depressing bash-fest, or there is an eagerness to wipe the bad taste of a loss out of their mouths and causes a renewed focus.

On Tuesday night, Buzz's bunch came out firing. They were prepared, energized and looked like the better team for much of the game, a testament to everyone involved regardless of the final score.

But here's the thing. There's a reason this one hurts more than a slip up in the last few minutes a year ago, or even last month. As results like this start to pile up, the narratives changes. They're no longer a scrappy, young squad of outclassed guys who can keep things close in every third or fourth game, but instead a group who can go into nearly any environment and potentially pull out a win.

Now, it may seem ridiculous to insinuate the expectation of competitiveness night in and night out, but haven't they shown us the ability already? The majority of 2016 has been littered with close calls going one way or the other, and watching a game that should've been over mutate into another cardiac event turns the stomach.

They're not good enough yet, as Tuesday exemplified, but there are enough players in the lineup and enough good coaches on the sideline to provide the presumption of a tight one whenever the team hits the floor. And that, my friends, will come with its own share of pain.

This should have been a different article, one talking about Williams' win in Syracuse and another benchmark in the progress of this reborn program. Instead, it's just another post both written and read before. The Hokies fell in another heartbreaker, let's see if this time they can bounce back.