IT'S GAMEDAY!🏀 #BeatSLU📍 Madison Square Garden🕖 7 PM EST📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/PNvuFuxcvE— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 16, 2017
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 16, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: Saint Louis
Site: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN2/ESPN app
Talent: Jon Sciambi & Sean Farnham
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Tomorrow..#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/OOGLqoofPa— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 16, 2017
The World's Most Famous Arena
Buzzketball has come out scoring at a record pace, with 245 points in two games so far. A quick 32 point win over Detroit Mercy, followed by a 39 point thrashing of The Citadel to start things off. Now they should see the first solid defense of the season in the Billikens. This opponent is the opposite of the run n' gun offense we have seen the last two games. There are very assigned roles and a methodology to everything they do
The Billikens comes in to Madison Square Garden with a 2-0 record. They beat Seattle and Rockhurst in their warm ups for this tournament. The scoring differential right now between the Hokies and Billikens is almost 2 to 1, with the Hokies averaging 122.5 to the Billikens 68 per game so far. The Hokies are 7-0 all time with the series, with all seven meetings between 1978 and 1981.
The Billikens are coached by Travis Ford, who took over the program in 2016. Prior to St Louis, Ford was at Oklahoma State for eight seasons. He is 357-258 as a head coach, with a tough learning curve in his first season at St Louis, going 12-21. This is three straight years that St Louis has been in a downward trend, after making the NCAA tournament three years in a row prior to that.
Defensively, the Billikens employ what Travis Ford refers to as Transition Defense with a focus on shutting down screens and passing lanes in the interior. The critical aspect of this defense is a different assignment strategy than most defenses. Ford assigns his players three roles, the first is Stoppers which is his best full court on-ball defender, he then also has Protectors which is a slower player who is least likely to get an offensive rebound, and finally he has Sprinters, which are three players who always crash the boards, then hustle back to stop specific shots. The players role varies based on how the offense chooses to bring the ball up the court. Most of this action is designed to slow the offenses approach, taking time away from running the offense in the half court. Once in the half court, defenders will look to force their opponent away from the basket and towards a baseline or sideline to create trap opportunities. This helps the Billikens cut down on easy transition baskets and drives into the paint.
Offensively, Ford's system is aggressive use of a 2-1-2 set. Picture an X on the floor, with the center at the free throw line. It requires a big man that has good floor vision and excellent passing touch, while also being a threat to turn and take the ball to the basket. The Billikens are able to run a multitude of set plays from this look. Ideally they look to create an overload on defense to identify an open shooter.
What does that mean for the Hokies?
The Hokies will have to be more careful with the basketball especially in transition passes to prevent setting St Louis up for easy baskets. This is a defense that will look to stop the dribble so ensuring that teammates are moving without the ball will also be important to finding open opportunities on offense.
This game could prove challenging for the Tech big's because they will play a major role defensively, ultimately controlling how St Louis approaches the basket. If they can prevent the dribble drive by the Billikens bigs, then St Louis will be forced to jump shots much more, which will reduce their scoring.
The Hokies and Billikens are fairly similar size wise although the Billikens have a deeper bench in terms of guys 6'8 or 6'9. Crisp passes and getting open looks will be critical for both sides but Tech needs to find a way to beat the Billikens down the court and score in transition.
This is a team that relies heavily upon its starters so if the Hokies can get the Billikens in foul trouble they greatly increase their chances of coming out with a win. Right now, three St Louis starters are averaging over 33 minutes a game, with all five starters playing more than 25 minutes. That was against far inferior opponents and they still couldn't afford to play deep into their bench.
Billikens Backcourt
This team will seem the antithesis of Tech's last two opponents, as they rarely shoot from the perimeter. So far they are 11 of 32 from outside. That said, things could greatly change with how the Hokies allow perimeter shots.
Senior Davell Roby, #5, 6', 200 lbs is the Billikens floor general, even off the ball, he is averaging 9.5 PPG, 4 RPG, 3 APG and 1 SPG. His shooting definitely leaves something to desire though, currently shooting 33% from the field and 50% from the line but he has been averaging 35 MPG.
Junior Javon Bess, #3, 6'6, 220 lbs, a Michigan State transfer is leading the Billikens in scoring at 13.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3 APG and 1 SPG. He is shooting 58% so far, primarily because he uses his big body to get to the rim.
Freshman Jordan Goodwin, #0, 6'3, 215 lbs is the new point guard for the Billikens. He is putting up 7 PPG, 8 RPG, 6 APG, 4 SPG, and 2 BPG so far. A bit of do everything, especially defensively which is critical in Travis Ford's defensive scheme.
Senior Aaron Hines, #24, 6', 180 lbs rounds out the main rotation of guards while putting up 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal per game. Hines seems to be the mover on offense, constantly looking to find space to get an open shot.
Billikens Frontcourt
Freshman Forward Hasahn French, #22, 6'7, 235 lbs is the Billikens new big man down low. He is averaging 28 minutes per game so far, while putting up 9.5 PPG, 7 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.5 SPG and 1.5 BPG. He is not the typical big for a Ford offense, so expect to see Bess operate at the free throw line quite a bit.
Sophomore Forward Jalen Johnson, #20, 6'7, 210 lbs will spell French down low. He is averaging 9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1 SPG and 1 BPG.
What to expect from St Louis?
The Billikens play defense the whole length of the floor while not necessarily a press but more a stalling technique with attempts to turn the ball over, while employing double team traps, and other pressure plays to try to force turnovers.
This team embraces strong defense with a steady offense. Not quite the slowdown of a UVA squad but the pace of the game could be frustrating. The depth of this team though is in question so should the Billikens get in foul trouble it could change the entire face of the game.
The Hokies
In the rebounding game, the Hokies need to be ready to score transition baskets on defensive rebounds, as St Louis focuses hard on getting offensive rebounds with their three Sprinters looking to extend possessions. If the Hokies can get out ahead of the Sprinters than they will find a much easier time scoring rather than allowing St Louis to get into their half court game.
This is a game where Buzz needs to make sure the team plays with energy regardless of the pace of play. Several times last season, the Hokies allowed the pace of play to bog down their performance and it cost them. Facing this kind of game after the last two free flowing contests will be a difficult transition.
Clean crisp passes, limiting turnovers, and hitting open shots are the keys to success for this team. The Billikens break opponents by turning them over and limiting easy buckets. Get in behind them or beat them down the court and things get much easier against this opponent.
Highlight of the Citadel Game
✅ @TheReal_NAW1 to @5Alive_ to @MED_XIII✅ @HokiesWBB freshmen dominate against WagnerMoments of the Week ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/oWDsGthpAS— HokieSports (@hokiesports) November 14, 2017
Nickiel Alexander Walker....he very easily could have pursued 40 points in this second game if Buzz hadn't pulled him off the floor so early on. He makes things look way easier than they should be.
In Closing
Very similar rosters, although the Hokies have better size in the starting five. The groupings on the floor though should look the same with a ton of guards and one "big man" down low. The key to this game will be controlling the defensive rebounding and not playing into turnovers.
The Hokies will need to stay out of foul trouble early on. This could be challenging with how the Billikens guards like to get to the basket. Fouls could determine this game on both sides of the court.
Hokies win but get a dose of needed reality after the last two fantasy games. Buzz has them fired up to play at Madison Square Garden and the Hokies win by double digits as fouls and team depth become the turning factor late in this game. Alexander Walker still manages to go for 20 points and Blackshear will be the turning factor against the Billikens Bigs.
Be defined by the obstacles you have overcome, NOT by the obstacles that have defeated you...— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 16, 2017
Comments
LET'S GO
HOKIES
#BuzzTheProcess
Yeah, I said it
Hokies vs Bilikens. Battle of the funkyass mascots, baby!
Can't find game on XM anyone give me a hand?
Nothing on their website unfortunately.
7:00 PM ET Texas Southern Ohio State SIRI 157 (Internet 958)
7:00 PM ET Florida A&M Miami (FL) SIRI 119 (Internet 955)
7:00 PM ET Chicago State Notre Dame SIRI 134 (Internet 961)
7:00 PM ET North Florida Florida SIRI 132
8:00 PM ET Missouri Utah SIRI 93 (Internet 93)
8:30 PM ET Xavier Wisconsin SIRI 138 (Internet 957)
9:00 PM ET Providence Washington SIRI 134 (Internet 961)
10:00 PM ET Cal State Bakersfield Arizona SIRI 93 (Internet 93)
So Miami playing FAMU gets the ACC XM channel, Hokies nothing.
Miami is ranked
They have two ACC channels one is dead tonight.
Red five, standing by. As always, thanks for the outstanding write up. This'll be my first game watching the good guys on national television and in the game thread with you all. I've got a Port City Wit ready to go. Let's do this.
Got a strangeways woodbooger here in rva
Four Roses Single Barrel checking in
And we cut to Pete trying to get this thread posted before tipoff
Is the game on after the Clemson game?
I wonder if Buzz lost a bet and now he has to not shave or cut his hair for a year.
Robinson now headed to bench two minutes in with two fouls. Sloppy play we can't have.
Yikes. JRob with two early.
Blackshear should not be using a ten footer or be given the ball to dribble
A defensive minded team will get after ya.
These guys getting worked on the inside on both ends. St Louis looking way more polished a team so far
This game is going to be extremely frustrating.
As long a Blackshear doesn't get in foul trouble we should be fine.
We have 3 guards who can start and play decent minutes
Anybody hear anything about Bibbs?
Good lord we look like we haven't practiced in 6 months. Terrible effort so far and idiotic 2nd foul by Robinson.
Bibbs INNN
Bibbs sighting
Bibbs!!!
Med right there when we needed him!
Hill on fireee
Med is on 🔥🔥🔥
HE'S ON FIRE
Really pleasantly surprised by Wilson's minutes and impact in games this season. Dude's came to ball every game.
They are pressuring the hell out of us. We aren't handling it well.
Our defense is gonna be poor this year, but I think we can win a lot of shootouts.
There is no sense of urgency with the team tonight. They are getting out efforted early on, and I know Buzz can't be happy.
Sloppyyyyyy tonight
What the hell are we doing so far... we look effing awful
Ugh another unbelievably lazy ass pass. Has to be the 4th such event already
Didn't expect St Louis to have better athletes than us.
They don't. That's the sad thing
We have some pretty good individual defenders but we play very poor team defense. Also Blackshear looks lost.
We are all over the place tonight. I dont think NAW has even scored so far. Everything looks discombobulated.
SLU is controlling the pace of this game, which was one of my big fears tonight.
So is it just me or is it obvious that this teams NEEDS to control game tempo or we will struggle?
Unbelievably lazy offensive play. they're just getting picked left and right
Hope buzz is telling to blackshear to avoid fouls as a help defender, because if he's trying it's as terrible as it gets.
We can't guard against simple screens. Just terrible, terrible defense so far. Offense isn't any better.
Sloppy all around. Forced shots missed assignments. Growing pains I guess
It's like the whole team was told to get every rebound and are fighting each other for rebounds instead of playing like a team and boxing out.
I don't think buzz teaches to box out.
Ughhhhh, I don't need this frustration on top of football.
Good lord this is the worst half of play I've seen under Buzz since maybe his first year. This is absolutely embarassing
Tired of the terrible three point shots with no one underneath. That and playing right into the traps to turn it over. Also a lack of communication underneath has cost us the ball at least five times so far
They're getting punked on both ends of the court by a bunch of transfers and freshmen.
Unacceptable
28 vs 10 for points in the paint. Wish we had another big
Bigs aren't the problem in this game. They are getting straight line drives to the basket off of poor perimeter defense and our rotations are very very slow.
Why do these announcers keep harping on the bad teams St. Louis has played but act like we played good teams so far?
We're lucky this isn't a 20 point game right now
Jeesh. Lucky to be down only 7. Let's regroup and go get this.
I thought we played much more aggressively in the last couple minutes of that half. Need that for 20 minutes in the second half.
Just terrible all around. Nothing good to say about that half. Zombie squad out there with butter hands
One and ones are the worst.
Unless you make them
We missed the front half of both our chances.. missed out on 4 easy points there
Are we sure that we're the team in the ACC? Looked like a middle of the pack A-10 team playing tonight. Awful first half
New drinking gam. Ugly forced shot? Drink.
Be dead by 18:00
And here comes the shitty reffing
Thats a charge every day of the week
That was terrible and the call on blackshear right before was bad as well
Horrible call against Wilson.
This team is so much more aggressive with Robinson on the floor. Night and Day.
I dont know if we want to play Providence or not tomorrow
This is tough to watch.
How many times can u mishandle an uncontested rebound in one game.
No way we win this nothing going right, right now we have no tempo or rythm
This is the most frustrating Tech game I've watched in a while. So many dumbass mistakes
Bad rhythm, horrible passing, can't hit a free throw, and relatively one sided refs do not a good game make.
16 of 19 of their makes are layups lol pathetic
Couldn't make a terrible team look any better
That's some fucking terrible officiating. We have a guy down for a good 30 seconds before anyone cares to pay enough attention to stop play.
Well Robinson is done for the year, probably
There's a good chance this loss keeps us out of the tournament.
There goes the season. Jrob hurts knee.
One thing is clear, this team has absolutely no interest in playing defense.
Thats horrible reffing. How do you not notice the freaking trainer attending to him.
Disgusting
Not that obvious. Happened at referees back and you don't stop when other team has possession unless something crazy happens.
But the trainers should not have to yell at the refs to get their attention for injuries.
Usually the ref at least looks over when someone falls into where the media seat to make sure they are getting up. That one ref just started running down the court. They still hadn't called anything until we got to half court with the ball.
And if this game couldn't get worse ohhhhhh boy
Worth mentioning we were favored by 17
We need KJ to just keep banging down low. Foul em all out
If we had made the free throws we would be ahead...
Atrocious free throw shooting. Should be the advantage for a smaller lineup.
That's likely 3 ACL tears for this team in the calendar year. Why is it always us?
Edit: Holy shit he's back
Don't want to jump to conclusions, but jrob mouthed "i tore my acl". Please don't let that be the case.
He's done. It was that bad
He's playing though
... no it wasn't.
I hate this dude. How the hell do we have another season ending injury.. Robinson is definitely done. God damnit
What is this black magic? JRob is back?
Jrob is playing. Just wow. But we need somebody to step up. Still playing like Crap.
Man, JRob sure does move well on that torn ACL
Honestly I'll take the loss over jrob tearing his acl. We have 10 minutes and they are in foul trouble. Time to make some shots and make a push.
I'll take a couple of made free throws.
Ok please make the damn free throws
If we win this game, its going to be because of the free throws we make down the stretch.
Based on what I've seen so far that's not happening
Can't remember the last time we've shot this poorly from the free throw line
The last two games.
Just when we have a chance the refs put them in the bonus as well. This should not have been a close game. No content foul film was clear.
Can't believe we continue to let players from St. Louis put their heads down and drive right by us for easy layups or easily called fouls. Just shouldn't happen this consistently. We have some major major major problems on defense.
The inability to hit from the line is Greenbergesque tonight
I looked and its 15-25. Not good but it seems soooo much worse than that.
Frustrating.
Good to know nothing changes with Buzz's teams though.
-Cant play defense. This is probably because he doesn't want anybody to foul.
-Have games where we shoot about 50% from free throws.
-Have no depth at the center position. So blackshear can't help effectively on defense.
All that said I wouldn't be surprised if we win this game with a run at the end.
Another HORRIBLE CALL
Nice decision on how to run a 3-1 fast break. Pressing hard now. Should have been effort from the beginning.
The only thing keeping us in this game is sheet heart and guts. The effort is much better this half, but the finishing just isn't there. And yet, down 4
Game isn't over yet, but has been incredibly painful to watch. We should have a good lead but horrible charity stripe percentage.
Do not like to see Blackshear get his 5th on a lazy reach in
Blackheads takes a charge for his fifth foul.
NAW has been shoved out of the way both the last 2 possessions and nothing
Billikens can push for no fouls.
Sure as hell haven't missed college basketball officiating
Horrible horrible officiating.
These referees are dog shit
This game is going to bother NAW for a very long time
This is the kind of game that prevents 1 and done status
lol wat? first j-rob is done, now this? yes he had a bad game but whether this decides if he is one and done or not is a bit ridiculous
Foul shooting determined this game.
Yup. That and poor shooting from 3.
The refs didn't cost us this game at all
Our terrible effort at the line did us in
Refs didn't help the were pushing a lot for no calls.
Bad loss. This one will hurt come bubble time.
Controlled by a very mediocre St. Louis team. Missed what felt like 20 free throws. Very bad loss.
They need to spend a lot of time shooting free throws this week. Way too many misses.
Also way too passive defensively
The announcers have said Buzz made a point to change up the defensive style this year. It's not working
Wow. Not a good look.
Team just can't handle going slow. Methodically eliminated in this one which was one of my big concerns pregame. Scoring came too easy in the first two. Missed layups and missed free throws account for 30 points in this one.
Yup. Ton of points from bad last ups and missed free throws.
Welp my opinion that FT shooting wasn't going to be a problem for this team is now on lifesupport... we'll see how they do tomorrow.
Why are fouling? Down five.
So apparently Buzz has implemented a new more passive defense with an emphasis on not fouling. It's showing this year, the team just looks scared and timid on defense
Terrible defense... Terrible from the line...
Seth Greenberg would be proud.
Um Seth's teams played defense - really really well at times. It was offense that was always the problem.
I thinks the free throw problem is from the tight rims is college they play with loose rims and have gotten used to having the extra "help" from those, but in the NBA they use very tight rims and they don't practice or play with those and that's what they have at MSG
So what you're saying is...
Also, lest we forget the UNC game last year, both teams played with the same rims (though we did get to the line a lot more and sucked it up).
That Clarke possession just now epitomizes this game.
He has had a lot of those misses tonight. Also isn't he supposed to be restricted to fifteen minutes a game?
Chris Clarke has to pass that ball out Ahmed in the corner. He's pushing a little too hard.
Chris Clarke is not ready yet.
Very clearly not. He's off, way off, and it hurt the team a lot tonight.
I'm more disappointed in NAW. He was downright Lonzo Ballian tonight
NAW is just not quick enough to get his own shot against a good defender. He's very good in the open court and he can shoot it but he's not a guy like Seth Allen who could create shots for himself and others when the offense wasn't clicking. I don't think we have that guy this year. Closest thing is J-Rob and he rarely kicks it when he attacks the basket.
Chris Clarke has missed several opportunities that he usually converts. Just a brutal brutal loss.
Ten seconds to go, it has been an eternity.
once again an opposing player has a career night
I guess everyone can stop talking about looking forward to playing Providence so we can get a gauge on the team.
We fouled out three of theirs and are going to lose big, pretty ridiculous
This is the kind of loss that keeps you out of the tournament
Granted, this is the first time I've watched the team, but I don't get the impression this team is going to be anywhere near the tournament come March.
Saint Louis will probably lose by 20 to whoever they play next and finish the year below .500. That's just how it goes.
On the bright side, Justin Robinson is okay. I thought his ACL was torn.
That is the only good coming from this farce. Even now reviewing the three.
All I can is fuck buzz. Thought we were past these kinds of losses. He got out-coached (at least Ford is a decent coach I guess.)
Not a good take.
Why not? There's no excuse for this team to be so bad at defense at the guard and wings. (Wasn't just this game either). There's a ton of athleticism and nobody can stay in front of their man. Thats on the coach.
Know who single handedly changes this game to an easy 10 point win. A player like Sy - and he would have only had to be on the floor for 15-20 mins. Who chased him out of the program? I know it's easy to say he's not here anymore so just get over it - but hes chased away every big man except blackshear (who's not a good defender). Just doesn't make sense to me.
Free throws have been an issue in first 3 games too.
I don't want o hear any bullshit about Villanova and small ball. There's no comparison at this point.
Considering how Blackshear wasn't good enough tonight to change this game I can guarantee you Sy wasn't going to change anything.
Sy is a better on ball defender, better help defender, better screener, and better rebounder. The only thing that's worse is his offense which shouldn't be an issue with the 4 players that can surround him.
Because you said fuck Buzz? Are you a new Tech basketball fan? Or have you already forgotten how bad it was before he saved our entire program?
/name is HokieHonor
/says "fuck Buzz"
I don't disagree, but it would appear it needs a little more saving.
We still don't win that game with Sy
Im not saying having him instead of blackshear. But having him as an option so blackshear doesn't have to play afraid to not get fouls because he has no backup is the point. How many drives did we give up because blackshear couldn't/wouldn't get there?
You're right but that goes for the whole team. How many times did we fail to rotate on drives to the basket? Sy would have provided depth but the larger issue is team defense. Pathetic on-ball defense and horribly slow rotations aren't changed by one depth player.
You have an argument for all but "fuck Buzz." I think you know that too. We're not WVU fans.
Go home, HokieHonor. You drunk.
Anyone else notice that on more than one occasion our guards were spotting up and taking 3's from behind the NBA 3 point line? Unsurprisingly they missed most of those those...
Maybe the multiple lines confused them in the heart of the moment. Bad ugly loss. Take it out on the next team.
The offensive execution tonight was poor. Plenty of times they took low percentage attempts from 3 with no rebound help allowing a quick possession. Then, for way too many possessions we went very Greenberg with the perimeter passing only to settle on a desperate jumper. No real effort to force the ball low, which we need to do nightly.
From an execution point of view, the effort tonight was poor. They still gutted it out to keep it close til the end, but still ended in a bad loss.
Yeah I thought the same thing. We only took a couple threes that weren't well behind the college line
Another thing, these commentators have been complete ass.
12 missed layups and thirteen missed free throws account for 37 missed points.
Half of either of those and we win.
Not only that but I think they missed the front end of four 1 and 1s, so basically left 17 points at the stripe.
and LOL Buzz is not letting this one go. Squeezing every last drop out of this game
Down by 6 with half a second left and Buzz takes a timeout? That's embarrassing.
got to get the other guys in for experience /s
That's a send a message to the team in the huddle moment
Should've sent a message to the team long before that. At that point the message can wait until you get into the locker room. Take the loss and go shake hands.
Night all.
Poor effort all around. Didn't show up to play. Out of sync on offense with missed shots and a general lackadaisical approach. No communication or resistance on defense. Even with all that, the game was within reach and that's where we really missed LeDay or Allen. The last 2 years we've had games like this and one of those guys would say "We suck tonight, but we ain't losing" and put the team on their back with a late run. With it still being early in the season, no one has stepped up into that role. Let's hope someone does.
I wish Hill had taken over more... Clarke was really pressing in that last 2 or so minutes with the game in question and it really hurt us. I guess they were trying to draw fouls which they were calling so inconsistently.
So now we have to fire Buzz and Fuente? /s
Man, VT sports hasn't been much fun to watch the last couple of weeks.
And it's brought out the worst in our fans. We've been a grumpy bunch for the past 12 days
I've been pretty numb to it all
Saturday watched my Hokies lose
Sunday watched my Cowboys get eviscerated
Today get off work and see this.
Also, I'm an Orlando magic fan
Haha, so dead inside. *plskillme*
Amen. I was hoping for a mini healing effect tonight. It keeps getting postponed.
The funny thing I was looking forward to the healing effect vs Providence tomorrow night to see what we had... Definitely didn't expect a loss tonight. This will really hurt our RPI
This is a good tweet.
Just got off work. ...I guess I'm glad I missed this one. Lol
For those wondering why Buzz took that timeout: he did it to practice a scenario where a bucket with that much time left actually matters. No better time to practice than during the game.
Well let's scratch that play off the list then
Yep, they need a lot more practice on that play though.EDIT: Nate beat me to the punch
We're a...wrestling school now?
That's our worst loss since Alabama State a few years ago right? All around embarassing. Piss poor effort from everyone, especially Blackshear. We had 4 of our starters combine to make 4 FG's.. Devin Wilson didn't even attempt a FG. Pretty obvious that this new defensive philosophy of "not fouling" isn't working, because it's just causing us to give up easy baskets and we're still fouling anyway. Losses like this piss me off. Guarantee this bites us in the ass come tournament time.
Get some wins in the meat of the ACC and we'll be ok. This loss only hurts if it's combined with a couple more stinkers. At worst, this might cost us a seeding level if we don't offset it with a quality win.
Regarding the defense, it's definitely worrisome early. They've lost their scrappiness, and it certainly seems like this new philosophy is a culprit. Might need to change it back.
Bad loss. NAW was forcing it too much. Same with Clarke. The refs were terrible both ways. Empty MSG probably has a Carrier Dome on crack feel to it. I still think we have too much talent not to recover from this
St Louis is a pretty good squad. They have a couple of JUCO's who showed out tonight that our boys didn't have much film on.
Still though. Hokies are playing way too soft. That cushy new locker room might be a problem,. Hard tack and gruel should be the order this week. I like my Bballers coming out with lead pipes behind the junkyard.
And the beat goes on>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Worst game I have seen them play in a long time. The missed free throws, the endless strings of turnovers, missed rebounds, and the complete lack of defense in the paint, I had it recorded and cut it off with 7 minutes to go. SLU got to the rim anytime they wanted, they had to have made 20 lay ups. Absolutely terrible play tonight.
We didn't look great and looked like shit from the line, but DAMN PEOPLE reading the comments you'd think we just lost to Southwest Missouri State by 25. Y'all need some perspective and a few minutes away from your keyboards.
Last night's performance and effort by the team
We fans of VT Sports needed a great effort last night. Football disappointments could have been lessened with a good team win. It is unfortunately obvious that we miss Allen and LeDay from a leadership standpoint. Looking at our teams personality, I just don't see anyone that has that look.
He didn't show it last night, but I think Ahmed Hill may fill that role.
We have a lot of new guys still learning how to play with each other. It won't happen overnight. The big difference this year is we also have a ton of talent. I was really disappointed with the effort last night, but I'm still encouraged by this team... as long as they figure out how to guard the ball.
We're fine.