IT'S GAMEDAY!🏀 #BeatND 📍 @barclayscenter | #ACCTourney🕖 7 PM📺 ACC Network pic.twitter.com/U84vbqkqj9— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 7, 2018
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: March 7, 2018 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: University of Notre Dame
Site: Brooklyn, New York (Barclays Center)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN2/ESPN app
Talent: Mike Couzens, LaPhonso Ellis & Allison Williams
TV: The ACC Network
Talent: Wes Durham & Dan Bonner
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
SIRI 80 (Internet 80)
#ACCTourney pic.twitter.com/iyuIp1p4Ji— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 7, 2018
A Totally Different Opponent
Buzzketball hosts Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn, NY tonight. The Hokies have to hope this trip to New York turns out better than their recent holiday tournament at Madison Square Garden did. Notre Dame essentially is a totally different team than the ones the Hokies beat 80-75 earlier in the ACC slate. The Fighting Irish have Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell back from injury but is still missing DJ Harvey. Notre Dame comes in winners of six of their last nine contests after suffering a seven game losing streak during the injuries to key players. Their only hope of a NCAA tournament bid is to go deep into the ACC Tournament and a favorable review by the selection committee.
This will be the tenth meeting between the Hokies and Fighting Irish. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 7-2. The one win is historic though, as it was an overtime victory to give Virginia Tech the 1973 NIT championship. The series against Notre Dame started back in 1972. The Hokies lost to the Irish last January 76-71. Colson and Farrell combined for 35 points in the Irish first ACC tournament matchup against Pitt to escape the Panthers 67-64.
The Fighting Irish are coached by Mike Brey, in his eighteenth year at the helm of Notre Dame.. In eighteen years, his team has won 20+ games thirteen times. He has led them to the NCAA Tournament twelve times, with two elite eight appearances. Notre Dame has been to the post season in all but one season under Brey.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish have gone from a steady man to man pressure defense up until a couple seasons ago to being a very situationally based defensive team. This means against Tech we may see man to man and probably some high perimeter zone with defensive players switching off over or under screens to prevent quick penetration by the Hokies guards. The other aspect that we may see a lot of is to double team Blackshear in the post to prevent him easy access and force him to make a good perimeter pass. If this team begins trying to utilize this double team, expect to see Clarke take the interior pass at the free throw line and then force Notre Dame to decide how to approach him.
Offensively, Notre Dame runs a four out, one in motion offense very similar to the Hokies. They don't rely on significant size on the floor to accomplish what they intend to but having Colson back in the lane makes a dramatic difference over the team we saw only a month ago. Blackshear is going to have to be very smart to avoid foul trouble. There is a good chance that PJ Horne is called upon to cover Colson for critical moments in this contest. The Irish shoot almost 22 three point attempts per game, hitting on 8 of them. This means the Irish find almost 24 points a game from behind the perimeter. The Hokies will have to be able to close out on the perimeter to keep the Irish from hitting their usual 37% from outside. That said, they still manage 50 more points per game between the line and inside the arc. 14 of those points come from the line where as a team they are shooting 76% on the season.
Expect the Irish to go after the basket with whatever the Hokies give them in terms of openings and available looks. The last time these two faced each other it was John Mooney driving across the lane to score easy layups time and again, putting up 15 points for someone that averages 6 a game. Gibbs and Pflueger hurt the Hokies from deep, combining to go 9 for 20 from the perimeter. Gibbs had 27 on the night and Pflueger 15 as well.
What does that mean for the Hokies?
The Hokies need to force the issue inside. Using Clarke at the high post and forcing Notre Dame to account for Blackshear on the blocks will consolidate the Irish defense, allowing good open looks outside. Driving to the basket or finding Blackshear down low so he can work inside will be critical to this contest. Blackshear and Clarke combined for 21 points in the last game.
Fouls become even more critical in this contest than they were in the last game now that Colson and Farrell have returned. The Hokies need to cause problems for the Notre Dame starters in terms of spacing and forcing fouls. Notre Dame relies on four players to play over 30 minutes per contest and then spread the rest of the minutes to the bench across four others. The more minutes forced on the end of the bench, the easier the Hokies will find getting to the basket or hitting open shots.
The opposite of this will also be true. The Hokies, especially Blackshear, Clarke and Horne must avoid foul trouble or the game could spin badly out of hand. Tech cannot afford to let Colson have a big night inside while also letting the Irish hit perimeter shots on a steady basis.
The Hokies are going to need to hit their perimeter shots as well considering how well the Irish shoot from outside. They should be able to get open looks as the Irish allow 22 attempts per contest and opponents in the ACC are shooting 38%. The one exception here is Blackshear, who should be banned from shooting the perimeter shot. Blackshear is shooting 32% from outside on the season but was 11 for 37 (29%) in ACC play and was 2 for 19 (11%) in the last ten games.
One other area of concern here is that the last time out the Hokies got 9 points from Ahmed Hill on 3 for 6 from the perimeter. Hill has only scored 9 points twice since that contest, against Boston College and Louisville. Across that ten game stretch he is averaging 3.7 points per game, including those two nine point outbursts. He did manage 7 in the Miami game on 2 for 3 shooting from outside so maybe there is a glimmer of hope.
The Irish with Colson and Farrell back will likely look to slow the pace of this game and the Hokies have to find a way to avoid that trap. They must force the pace and get baskets in transition.
Fighting Irish Backcourt
Matt Farrell (#5) 6', 173 lbs Senior returned from an ankle injury and hasn't missed a beat. He is averaging 16.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.1 SPG. The biggest factor here is his floor vision and ability to create the open shot for teammates. That was missing the last time out so the Hokies will have to be more vigilant on guarding the perimeter in this game because of Farrell returning. Farrell shoots 41% from outside and 80% from the line.
Temple Gibbs, (#2), 6'3, 200 Lbs Sophomore Guard returns to more his natural role as the shooting guard with his teammates back from injury. He went almost ten games averaging right at 40 minutes a game but has had a few games to recover and will likely bring fresh legs to this contest. He is averaging 15.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 3 APG. He is knocking down the outside shot at 40% and 83% from the line.
Rex Pflueger (#0), 6'6, 202 Lbs Junior Guard is averaging 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.1 APG. Pflueger comes in averaging 20 MPG but has struggled to produce with the increased minutes he is seeing due to injuries. He is considered Notre Dames best all-around shooter, and his numbers have drastically improved since the last game, hitting 33% now instead of the 20% he had been making from outside and still is hitting 78% from the line. Pflueger went 4 for 10 from outside against the Hokies last time out.
Nikola Djogo (#13) 6'7, 203 Lbs Sophomore Guard has seen his time dramatically increase from about 11 minutes per contest to almost 25 minutes, and has doubled his production as well, but only managed 3 points against the Hokies. He is averaging 2.7 PPG and 2 RPG now that he has returned to his normal role of 7 to 14 minutes a contest.
Fighting Irish Frontcourt
Bonzie Colson, (#35) 6'5, 226 lbs senior is the man I thought the Hokies had been blessed to bypass but now comes into focus tonight. He changes the whole dynamic of this team. He is the best little big man in the ACC. He is averaging 20.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 2.4 BPG. Wrecking ball on defense and a 57% shot inside this season. He also hits 80% of his free throws, so sending him to the line isn't a reliable option either. The only area Colson doesn't contribute much is perimeter shooting but with everything else he does it makes it that much easier for his teammates to contribute there.
Martinas Geben, (#23), 6'9, 255 Lbs Senior Forward is averaging 10.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.2 APG and 1 BPG. Fortunately the Hokies have Blackshear down low to contend with this Irish big. Clarke and Horne will also rotate here defensively if Blackshear is working against Colson.
John Mooney, (#33), 6'9, 245 Lbs Sophomore Forward is now playing a major role for the Irish. He is playing more than 20 minutes a game after averaging around 10 prior to the injuries. His production has grown from 3 PPG to almost 8.2 PPG. He is also grabbing 5-6 rebounds per contest now. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the last game against the Hokies.
What to expect from Notre Dame?
The Irish will come out with the majority of their arsenal ready to bear down on the Hokies. Notre Dame is literally playing for their NCAA tournament lives. They will be focused on shooting from outside while Farrell will find Colson down low to keep the Hokies off balance.
They don't really have the size to dominate Tech like most of the other ACC programs and with their bench using fewer players than even Buzz has going out there, expect to see a slower paced game plan from the Irish. This will be even more true as they work Colson back in because it allows them the advantage of scoring on high percentage shots to slowly stretch the game out to a big lead.
2-3 High Zone defense for most of the game and Tech may even see some Diamond and One to keep Farrell guarding Robinson while the others extend to prevent perimeter shooting from the Hokies. Mike Brey has already discussed with the press that he intends to focus on the Hokies outside shooters because that is where Tech hurt them earlier this year. They will attempt to disrupt passing lanes at the top of the key but will collapse into clog the lane with penetration. With this they are hoping to make Tech make mistakes with the ball as they deal with a lot of bodies inside.
The starters are not terrible from the free throw line but almost everyone else on the roster is. The depth of their perimeter shooting is also limited to the starters. Beyond those five or six players it is a significant drop off with the rest of their roster.
The Hokies
Tech needs to keep a high paced tempo for as long as they can to start the game. Even with Colson and Farrell returning the majority of the Irish players have played a majority minutes of their last 12 contests so fatigue could drift in at some point. Scoring in transition would be the best way for Tech to separate themselves in this contest. The last time the Hokies faced Notre Dame, Coach Brey only used seven players.
The Irish zone will only help them slow the game, which allows their players time to recover. Tech needs to be ready to break the zone quickly. Getting the ball down low to Blackshear and letting him work their bigs for fouls could turn this game dramatically in the Hokies favor.
Hopefully Clarke and Blackshear can continue to grab rebounds like they have in recent contests. Notre Dame excels at rebounding even with the recent injuries.
Hitting perimeter shots will be another key factor. Buzz needs Hill to reappear from his disappearing act and really help the Hokies put some distance between themselves and the Irish. Bibbs and Nickiel Walker Alexander can ill afford to take the night off either.
One critical area the Hokies must improve as it could as it continues to haunt in losses. They have to not turn a great defensive play immediately into a poor offensive play. They cannot go from getting a stop or creating a turnover to throwing the ball away. The Hokies committed 15 turnovers against Miami. In the recent string of wins, all turnover totals were below 10.
Highlight of the Miami Game
9 of 20 shooting from outside. Even Hill got in on the act. Otherwise forgettable.
In Closing
Expect to see a faster paced game than the Irish would like but maybe not as fast as Buzz would prefer this evening. Hopefully the Barclays Center isn't the tomb that Madison Square Garden was during the holiday tournament. This team has continuously shown that they need a lively crowd to stay awake in games. No Concrete Feet.
Game will get a little chippy. Clarke and Colson are likely to be chirping at each other all night. The closer they get to the finish, especially if the Irish are down, the uglier this could get as Notre Dame gets desperate for their season being on the verge of NITdom. The Irish are not a program used to struggling and so this has all the makings of an ugly finish to a game. Hopefully it doesn't devolve into a whistlefest with multiple technical fouls to mar the end of the game.
Tech wins 69-64, by steadily pulling away with the outside shot and then making critical free throws down the stretch. Robinson will likely be the key to a successful finish in this one.
BRING ON DUKE!!
Believe in each other... It's the greatest gift one can receive.#MondayMotivation #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/0tkIiiQqFa— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) March 5, 2018
Comments
Let's Go!!!!!
HOKIES!!!
...score more than them!
I'm ready for this shite
My biggest concern is Matt Farrell accounting for like 12 threes by himself against us. He shoots over 40% from behind the arc on the season, and we all know by now Buzz's philosophy to give up the open 3 before the open layup. JRob also happens to be our worst backcourt defender, except maybe Ahmed Hill, on the team. Farrell hits a few threes, JRob starts closing out harder, gets blown by like he did at the end of the Miami game, and Farrell kicks it out to an open shooter when someone helps. As stated above, his court vision is pretty good.
I'm headed to BWW in Blacksburg if any fellow members are interested in coming out! Would love to see some of yall
Have they moved yet?
I would go but im anti social
Dude, go have a beer
?? No still on prices fork
Okay now it's possible I dreamed this whole thing cause I can't find it online, but I swear I heard while back they were moving into the place right across the parking lot into what used to be the Boston Beanery (it was something else more recent but I forgot what).
After consulting other people, I may need to lay off the Peyote. Ignore me.
The girl and her dude across the bar from me just asked for their check after several pointed looks at me. Fuck them and fuck Notre Dame.
I'm posted up like KJ in the paint under the tv at a Brewery in Roanoke getting hammered drunk.
Starr Hill?
Nah his brother is there. He's somewhere else /s
Big Lick Brewery
My brother's taking a midterm like a loser.
Rudy was offsides.
oops wrong sport
FUD checking in. Let's blow these guys out. We are fresh, more talented, and can ruin their year. Nice to be on this side for once.
IT'S HOKIE TIME! LET'S DO IT!
Everyone's acting like ND already won let's end their tourney hopes
First blood.
Wilson's arms were up.
to state why getting them in foul trouble is a big factor the Notre Dame bench only scored two points against Pitt
Need to rebound under basket
Way to draw it JRob!
Farrell - talk about punchable faces.
Lmao Pflueger tried to act like Robinson kicked his feet out causing the full wrap up and tackle of Robinson on that 3.
Oh, great. TV Teddy.
I won't say anything about the officiating this early, I won't say anything about the officiating this early, I won't say anything about the officiating this early...
Ditto
This is gonna be a close one boys. Hopefully the good guys can continue to shoot well cause I have a feeling ND is gonna hit a lot of 3's against us
I hope we run then into the floor
Woah Woah, where's the patented ESPN Trae Young Tracker?
Did you miss PTI?
To many open look threes
Why do we always give up an impossible shot at the light?
If Colson tries to keep up with Bibbs the whole game he will be exhausted by half.
That was a charge
Looked like the ball got hit with a boxing glove. Literally Horne was just standing there
How many moving screens on one play before the fucker gets called???
Minimum 10
The big white guy got to at least 3 on the sequence I was referring to. Looked more like a tight end downfield blocking a corner than a basketball play.
They keep knocking us down in the paint for no calls
That's either a block or a charge (it was a charge) but it's not a no call
Walker bucket was a beauty. Also loving his hustle on D and trying for boards.
Noticed that too. He's the one guy who's intensity is showing on screen
Great job by jrob getting a foul on coulson
Too bad JRob is a good dude. If he flops, we mighta gotten the flagrant on Colson.
Love the defensive intensity so far.
Colson walked like a motherfucker.
But he is the media darling, is he allowed to make mistakes?
If he keeps playing like he is, I don't care. The walk led to a miss, and it took this long to even get him on the board. He can walk all night if he keeps bricking it.
Do motherfuckers walk a lot? But yes, yes he did
Love the confidence of hill to take and make that one! Let's go
Looks like the hokies are starting to get into rhythm.
I've spent a lot of time since Med got benched watching his rotations off the ball defensively. They've been much better tonight than what they usually are. Might be the key to this run. Wilson is a good defender but can't stretch the floor or hit 3s like Med.
Meds first three was a clunker, but the second was a beauty.
Even if he isn't making them, teams know they have to guard him because he will bang open 3s. Every team plays off of Wilson.
This defense is stifling! Completely neutralizing Colson.
Love the pace we're playing with so far. We're forcing ND to take bad shots and play much faster than they want to. They've already had a few bad fouls in transition because of it. Hopefully we run them off the court with our pace. JRob has been a beast so far!
Loving this defense!!
Love the announcers talking about how his feet stink...
Everyone has said it, but the D is solid so far tonight!
Are we actually seeing end of game Clarke at the beginning of a game?
CC putting on a clinic tonight
I said against Miami that if you give a team open looks from 3 to start the game and let them get a rhythm, even the contested ones later in the game will seem contested. The opposite is true as well. The defense at the beginning of the game was stifling behind the 3 point line not allowing Notre Dame to get into a rhythm. Now the open ones seem contested for them.
This is easily the best we've played all year. Keep this shit up.
They really are playing well
And as soon as I post this, we go straight to the monkey-fucking-a-football offense.
Bonzie is wheezing
5 straight empty possessions. We have got to convert.
Hah! Colson is done
Keep running till he quits.
Gotta kill their will bear the half and not let them back in it.
Dammit! So many missed opportunities for that last one.
Tyrie Jackson making way too many bad decisions right now
Bonzie looks beat
Keep those boys on their heels
Sloppy play. If we could clean this nonsense up we could up 15 - 20. Running the floor and coming up empty for 5 straight possession is useless especially when ND has been gassed for the last 5 minutes.
Pig missed some huge momentum baskets there. Gotta make those & pull away in this one. Also, can we please look at the effing shot clock and stop relying on opposing fans to tell you when to shoot?
Wilson has points!
Stick a fork in Bonzi. He's done
Can you imagine what the lead would be if we could get a rebound?
There is no way Mike Brey isn't in the mafia.
Called a foul on VT for a NOtre dame guy
Did TV Teddy just make that call from half court?
Tv teddy can make calls behind his back.
I knew it was only a matter of time till Pflueger would travel.
26-8 run to end the half. Yessir
Let's finish, keep your foot on them!
HOT DAMN, BABY! We're effing ROLLIN this shit!
Colson when the halftime whistle finally blew..
Bonzie trailing Bibbs in the first half...
That travel was the least whistle worthy thing that should have been called in the last minute or so. And then TV Teddy goes over the top with just a basic fucking travel call.
Buzz looks more winded than Bonzie. Get that man a beer and an aspirin.
Let's be clear here... It's not just Bonzie who is gassed, that entire ND lineup was hands on hips halfway through the first half.
This game could get ugly in the second half
Live look at TV Teddy wondering how he's gonna make this more interesting by fucking us harder in the second half than that rhino fucks him postgame
I hope this doesn't get close because these refs are giving ND trash calls like they placed the same bet they did for the PITT game
Is it just me, or is Capel painful to both watch & listen to?
You mean Ellis?
It appears the ACC has told the refs to "let 'em play" for the tournament. In all the games, a lot of contact is going uncalled.
I like
This is where we gotta be men and not let them back within 7.
Time to see what we learned from the Miami game.
Good start to the 2nd half
Sorry buzz... LETS FUCKINNNGGG GOOOOO!!!!!!
Nd looks like they are being coached offense by Stinespring
Fantastic defense to start the 2nd half. Love seeing the aggressive play & the quick rotations it's paying off with easy baskets on the other end
Keep running on transition and playing stifling defense, Brey is completely clueless how to play us right now.
Timeout 90 seconds in. Hot damn, it's fun playing well.
Solid D. Keep building this lead in the first 5 minutes and let those starters rest.
They are calling a lot of traveling on us and not on nd.
They are calling a lot more of everything this half.
I love this team.... for now
That wasn't a walk
Yeah, tv teddy has to impact the game if he can.
Ooh, right. I cancelled cable and can't watch the game. Fuck me.
Can you get it on the watch espn app?
No, says i need a cable subscription that includes ESPN 2
It is also on ACC network if you can somehow make that work.
I'll try that
That's what bars are for.
My LOLUVA boss told me Notre Dame we're gonna whip us tonight, more like Notre Lame
All ball
Fucking Teddy Valentine.
We are cleaning the offensive glass this half.
Ted Valentine is ass, my dudes.
Starting to hate tv teddy. He called that from twenty feet away with no line of sight.
Fuck Ted Valentine
Seriously, TVT? F'ing seriously?
TV Teddy's parents didn't let him play outside
What is with all the traveling calls tonight?
This is where we make a blowout into a one possession, last second victory
Please don't do this.
Fuck Teddy Valentine
Wouldn't be a Tech game if TV Teddy didn't breath life into a nearly dead team
Come on good guys, bury this team
Only been watching since half (Mom's surprise b'day dinner (ugh (jk)))...
How ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH are we winning? Not a single call our way. (And I'm not a guy who harps about the refs. Only about free throws and missed layups ha)
I mean, since I started typing this, ND can't miss, so...
I'm glad I commented. Seemed to work
Sorry guys. I started watching. Turning it back off.
This team is falling apart. Unbelievable.
Please please please stop shooting KJB
Who was the tech on?
Clarke. Shoved Farrell into the camera people.
The fuck he did... Guy flopped like a penis
Still was stupid to put his hand on him.
Not really
That was not a shove. He shouldn't have put a finger on him but that's is all that was. That was 99% acting by Farrell trying to take everything down with him.
After Farrell rips the ball out of his hands. Bullshit that its not a double tech.
The charge was BS too, dude only had one foot on the ground.
... said the refs.
Bull fucking shit he did.
Good God, y'all are a sensitive bunch.
Did you see the play?
That little bastard didn't get touched by Clarke...fuck the Irish
Well the refs are fucking some things up.
Good Lord.
Fucking officials. Not a charge and Farrell should've been called for the T as well for ripping the ball out of Clarke's hand.
That was total bullshit. Ferrell didn't even get a warning. And he's smiling like it was a heady play.
Buzz should have Clarke guard him from here. on out.
Farrell must be getting an acting degree from Notre dame. He starts it with Clarke and Clarke gets a technical????
That was a stupidly soft technical ferrel made all of that up
I almost respect the head game there
This is about as pathetic as it gets. Every aspect of the game was under our control and we can't help but start playing sloppy basketball and chucking it at the rim. Every time.
I just have one question. Why?
Y'all thought I was joking in the other thread. The refs are in the bag for ND. The league offices must've called at halftime.
These refs have almost completely eliminated a twenty point lead through their bullshit calls.
That being said we've quit running our offens and settling for contested late threes
It was a push off by Clarke so its a player control foul when he was driving and then he doubled down by putting a hand on Farrell regardless if he "pushed" or not. Clarke just is a ticking time bomb sometimes
Clark loses his head a lot. Farrell flopped, but you can't put your hands on him like that
Shouldn't have been called. Ferrell initiated contact by taking the ball away.
Yeah fuck these refs
And Clarke gets a flagrant foul. WTF!!!
This is some of the bull shittiest b******* I've ever seen
Oh Ted...
Buzz is all of us with that deep sigh.
They going to give Notre Dame every call now
Lol he wasn't fucking touched on the drive... 2 shots
Fuck these officials. Pardon my French.
The biggest problem is they took their foot off the pedal. Most of the lead came from transition opportunities. We are now just walking around the floor
Wow this is such crap. I hate how much influence refs have over the outcome of basketball games.
Imagine how interesting of a season this would have been if this team could hold leads. It's not like they are a bunch of freshman out there
Everything is fucking foul now
Ref interferes with a VT pass... ND ball
that was the best call of the past 5 minutes
Okay. Let's call the foul after you make sure he misses the shot.
That was a terrible call
Somebody needs to put a shoulder in Ferrell's smug ass chin.
If I'm buzz Williams I eat the fine and unload on these shit refs after the game
I'm sure we could get a GoFundMe to cover it
WHAT THE FUCK AM I WATCHING?
Holy smokes..they called a foul on notre dame.....
Why do the refs wait to call a foul until they see if he makes the basket or not???
It's a rare thing to get fouled on a three pointer twice in one game. 5 is doing a good job of that.
Lets all remember the first game where ND attempted 9 free throws in the first 38 minutes and then 16 free throws in the final two minutes and overtime
I know certain people hate criticizing the refs and I'm not saying it's always only against the Hokies, but in general basketball refs are the shittiest refs in all of the major sports and I'm getting tired if it!!!
Dribbles the ball into a VT leg... FOUL
Blackshear called for a foul because the ND player hit the ball off his foot. Ridiculous
They are going to foul out blackshear.
On zero actual fouls.
How the fuck do we get TV Teddy so many times??? Bullshit foul after bullshit foul. Fuck basketball refs.
Because Buzz doesnt have the pull that Williams and Boeheim do
Ferrell and Pflueger are two of the straight up douchiest looking humans ever. Like straight out of the douche factory.
Pflueger translated is Flock of Seagulls!
Been throwing that knee out on screens all game. Bout time they called one.
Finally an illegal screen.
And you can't tell me they aren't fouling us on defense when you see the shit being called the other way
This is fucked up. These refs have a fucking agenda and it's fucking blatant
So, how do we expose it and prevent it from happening again?
Icarus II: Electric Boogaloo
It is getting infuriating to watch.
Whelp
Seriously. Punch Ferrell in the face! Bitching they stop play for injury.
That will definitely hurt for a few days...
After all the ticky tack calls that goes no whistle getting worse
He gets body checked mid air and no call? When they just called that the other way on jrob
Hands down the most trash game I can remember
Are those Irish cunts really booing JRob being injured?? Fuck all of them
Now I wish Clarke had shoved that little fucker as hard as he could
I bet he could throw him into the upper deck
Fucking cheap shot. It's a block or a charge not a no call. TVT swallows the whistle again. He can make them from 100ft away, but not right in front of his damn face.
Matt Farrell can go suck a whole bag of dicks. Five goes down hard and then when the refs stop play so he can get medical attention Farrell throws a princess hissy fit.
Coulson crushed 5 and no freaking foul. Refs making it obvious now.
These refs are fucking ridiculous no foul there eh?
Oh my God they called a foul on ND on defense
Holy shit is this real life
It's amazing how we're suddenly are terrible.
8 on 5 will do that
So when does TV Teddy call the five free throw play?
Why in the FUCK are they letting these Irish fuckers walk around holding and grabbing our guys after the play???
So when we say or do anything they can call another technical.
So we will retaliate and they can T us up.
Definitely five on eight in the second half.
We should take up a collection and mail TVT a bag of dildos after the season. Care of TKP
I'm getting 1000 bucks back from the IRS. Because I share an Amazon account with my girlfriend's sister, I know that I can afford to contribute 100 dildos to the cause.
You win the thread. After reading this, I don't even care that we lost anymore. Your girlfriend's sister must not give any fucks whatsoever.
Clarification: she held a galentine's party where there were sex toys for door prizes, and I got amazon notifications. Apparently Amazon has $10 dollar dildos. I did not mean that she literally bought 1000 dollars worth of rubber penis.
I didn't take it that way at all. I just thought she used Amazon to purchase some personal items and didn't care who saw it.
Why would she give any fucks?
She got all them dildos.
ESPN will just gush about how the Irish made such an amazing comeback if this goes there way
Hit the free throws when we get them.
Do the refs in this game have any purpose at all?
I mean, other than trying to throw this game to the Irish.
Great hearing hokie fans at the game!!
Buzz has to cut Blackshear off its miss after miss costing us possessions
I think Kerry Blackshear should take more 3s and waste more possessions.
We've also missed 12 of the last 13 shots
That's not the refs fault
Never mind they didn't call a foul on several HEAVY contact during the shots. I'm not saying they're totally to blame, but these refs are clearly in it for ND.
THE 3 IS NOT FUCKING FALLING, TAKE IT TO THE FUCKING IRON!!!
That's not falling either.
We need to run!
This
5 points in the last 8 minutes
No fucking way
I'll say it again. Why do we ALWAYS give up a miracle shot at the end of the shot clock?
Well, one of their screeners had his arm wrapped on DW who was trying to defend.
Welp
Love blackshear but we need to quit that stuff it's why ND are back in this
It hasn't helped but the reason that nd is back in it is the refs.
Blackshear gone
Fuck this shit. I swear...
I turned it off. Can't
What a fucking choke job....the refs aren't helping but damn
This game is over.
Refs sucked but this team stopped playing. Atrocious offensive effort last 9 minutes
Fuck this conference. They didn't want us to win and made the fuck sure it didn't happen
Refs didn't help, but you can't possibly place all the blame on the refs. We've missed like 13 of the last 14 shots and blew a 21 point lead.
I appreciate your optimism. Fuck this.
Especially after that 5 travel with no foul call
I really shocked that Buzz allows KJB to take those shots
Was that foul on Bibbs?
This is a choke job. 5 points in the last 9 minutes. No large comeback ever occurs unless the leading team stops scoring.
I will agree with this.
Well said. Calls haven't gone our way but we have derailed offensively.
It's hard for the offense to stay on track with bogus travelling calls
Tale of two huddles
I have to say, for a Catholic school, they sure play dirty.
And Blackshear jacking up horrible shots all game didn't fucking help our cause
We don't deserve anything this is pathetic
Fuck it
Stupid Teddy literally caused a huge momentum change. We lost our offense from that point and never recovered. So frustrating how the refs believe they should be part of the game. They should do everything possible to be invisible. Pathetic.
TVT needs a knife to the chest
Haven't been on here in over a year, but I just stopped by to tell you that 90% of your posts are pure garbage. Go to bed.
MAKE A F-ING SHOT ALREADY
Farrell working on that acting degree again.
Deserves an Oscar.
Well, at least as much as Kobe did.
Farrell falls down and another foul
How is that not a fucking foul on JRobs 3 if you're calling that shit on the other side
We need to put the damn ball in the basket!
And rigged
Season might as well be over. Missing 15 of 16 shots, will lose by one possession
People on here can get emotional and bitch about the reffing all they want but that's ridiculous if you watched the game. Irish got hot and made shots and the officials didn't cause us to shoot 1 for 14 down the stretch.
I love this team but come on, they didn't finish the game off. Pretty serious choke job and the only silver lining is that we avoid the 8/9 game.
Fuck off with that shit. We got fucking mugged on offense without a fucking call all night and we fucking breathe on them and it's 2 shots and the ball
Fuck the ACC and fuck these refs.
You're speaking with about as much poise as we've had the last 10 minutes
Say what you want, but the one-sided foul calls got inside VT's head.
You don't think getting hammered when you shoot or go up for a rebound effecting the game?
Eh, they missed a couple calls like every basketball game that's ever been played. I'd say the 22 ND FTs in the 2nd half is more alarming than any apparent whistle swallowing on are end. Someone can string together video of our shots during our cold streak, brick after brick.
Shut the fuck up
Refs have been awful, but this team has imploded. I've said it numerous times, but this team relies too much on emotion. One thing starts going wrong and they let it snowball out of control and fall apart. Not going to be a championship caliber team like that.
Farrell is annoying.
To say the least.
Jerking the ball away from Clarke definitely affected the game.
He knew how to push Clarke's buttons.
What a fucking load of bullshit. ACC is garbage for allowing this to happen
Say what you want about the refs. It's probably fair. But this team has mastered the art of choking in the last 2 games. Chance to get the third seed in the ACC tournament, blow a lead against Miami. Chance to advance to the next round of the ACC tournament and improve seeding in the NCAA tournament, blow a 21 point lead against Notre Dame. Absolutely pathetic.
True.
How is that not a t on Notre dame for tossing the ball into the stands?
Fade me fam
We don't belong in the tourney sorry folks we suck
As good of a player as JR is, he has at least 3 completely head-scratching plays every game. That travel was one
Replayed it and ND player hit the ball out of his hand, that's why he was pissed
Slowing it down and running clock after building up the 20 point lead was the deciding factor. We'd run them off the court to that point
It's like hey we've killed them with fast pace so let's do the complete opposite right?
I agree with this and Buzz does it all the time. Its like he is opposed to embarrassing an opponent but it kills all momentum.
If there was one performance that could convince the committee to bypass a team with our resume for the tournament, we just put it on.
What an absolute choke job. Absolutely pathetic.
Which is exactly what will happen. Which is exactly what we deserve.
Oklahoma never led against OkSt today. FSU was handled easily. NC State lost to BC. But Lunardi will pull the strings and keep us out.
We got 10 ACC wins and 4 wins against top 15 teams... step off the ledge
I tried to set the stage so it would be obvious the last sentence was /s. It's unfortunate that wasn't clear but I can see how it would be conflated with the very same "Lunardi is against us" theme that I was attempting to mock.
You don't blow a 20+ pt second half lead because of refs. You blow that lead because you played like absolute shit in every aspect of the game. Only Louisville can choke worse than this.
You do blow it because of the refs.
The bad calls get inside your head.
No but it makes it a lot easier when the refs spot you 15, and let you get away with rape on defense
The refs took over and changed the flow of the game. For the game, we shot a better % from the field, had 5 more made field goals, and fewer turnovers. ND won this game at the line with at least 20 free throws in the 2nd half.
So yeah, I'd say we blew the lead because of the refs.
Such a disgrace to this school.
You or the game?
/s, but the brake is the one on the left
What the fuck was this dog shit second half? Refs aside, that's fucking garbage. We're not nearly good enough. A good team would have beaten Louisville and Miami, and certainly would not have given up a fucking 21 point lead. I'm so fucking pissed right now.
A good team would have beat uva and duke in the regular season .... Oh wait
Eh. The inconsistency is indicative of a less than good team. You are entitled to a different opinion, of course.
Just fucking kill me
No.
I'm glad nobody did, I'm over it now. It would be a lot worse if we were on the bubble.
Wow where was the foul there
You realize it is back to a three point game. Team hasn't given up and neither have I.
The squad hasn't quit yet.
They could have easily packed it in and walked off the court down 10+.
Still fighting.
I love they keep showing Bonzie's miracle shot. DW was mugged and tripped on the moving screen. No call.
and Robinson gets pushed to the floor
WHAT THE FUCK
Refs have killed it
How was that not an offensive foul?
Foul on the inbound. CLEAR AS FUCKING DAY.
Doesn't count if it's against ND. League rule.
JRob gets tackled... No foul
But yeah it's not the refs... Noooooooo not at all. Not these shitheads. They didn't impact this game at all
Shouldn't have been in a position to need that cool had we not blown a 21-point lead. It's unfortunate and a horrible no-call, but when you leave a game up to the refs and they have an opportunity to send Notre Dame to the quarterfinals against Duke, you're gonna pay. It's fucking stupid, but that's the way it goes for us.
No you're right... The complete double standard of calls on us on defense vs letting them get away with sexually molesting our players when we had the ball had no impact on the game at all
The bullshit technical had no impact either.
Of course the officiating had an effect. You're reading what you want to read. But I'm so tired of watching this team blow leads and choke. At some point we have to step on someone's throat.
It wasn't a BS technical. The officiating sucked yes, but Clarke earned that T.
It should have been a double T on Farrell too for ripping the ball out of Clarke's hands as he is turning to give it to the official.
Your eyes were closed QuinnVT, Farrell f'ing ripped the ball from Clarke's hands like the douche he is, Clarke did what any of us would have done to a faggot like that.
Perhaps use a more fitting, PC insult. Not the best look
I'm not going to lie. Seeing someone casually drop a hateful slur like this with a net positive Comment Score is disappointing.
So I might be to blame for this. Started watching when Tech was up 21 and then collapse and Teddy V happened.
Same, but since you said it first:
Evidently Notre Dame can hold on the gridiron AND on the parquet.
Sheesh.
When you blow a 21 pt 2nd half lead it isn't all the refs...the 1 point wins against UVA and Duke are the only reason we're going to the dance.
Yup, as much as the refs did absolutely NO favors in the 2nd half to VT, VT also lost composure and self-imploded. I put a lot of this loss on Buzz, with the disclaimer that there is a lot none of could see via the television broadcast, so I may not be fully qualified to make this statement. But to me it seems that Buzz did very little, if anything, to get the frustrations of the piss poor officiating off the minds of his players and to have them refocus on making stops and holding on to their lead. It seemed like he was keen to just letting things ride out, stay emotionless as a coach, and hope the ship would right itself. But that never happened. Robinson and Clarke both let emotions get the best of themselves, and we paid dearly with Clarke's lack of good judgement. Our shot selection went down the shitter as our lead disintegrated into nothing. We got sucked into watching the ball on defense instead of defending the weak side of the court. We allowed ND to show they wanted it more on the boards by simply trying to rebound against ND without any boxing out and establishing position. We couldn't finish simple basketball shots that should have kept our lead sound. We allowed a team who played an extra 40 minutes of basketball make us look like we were the ones who had played the night before.
And now they have drained most of my excitement of having made it to the NCAAs two years in a row. I won't be the least bit surprised if we have another 1-and-done appearance in the big dance.
President Josiah Bartlet is the only good thing to ever come out of Notre Dame.
via GIPHY
I hope Grayson Allen drops a 40-piece on their fucking heads. Fuck Notre Dame.
Tomorrow I root for the meteor strike during that game.
I hope Grayson Allen gets a triple double tomorrow and stares down that entire fans base draining 3s.
If Ted Valentine was killed by a stray bullet tonight I wouldn't she'd a tear
Yeah, maybe include the /s.
Not sure why this constitutes a downvote.
Looks like we have a serial downvoter.
I mean I'm all for you cussing him out and all but holy crap dude.
Our fearless leader!
Take a break bud.
Wait. I thought bud got a pass...
Seriously, that Alum post is pure trash.
Y'all remember when Alum got on everyone's case every game for complaint about refs? Pepperidge farm remembers. And if memory serves, no one else has suggested TV Ted be murdered, only some light rhino skullfucking.
Poor attempts at jokes. I'll give you that.
With that said....
I can better stomach bad reffing in the regular season. Sometimes it's just not going to be your night and at the end of the day, you still have another game to look forward to. To see this in a tournament, however, where one bad reffed game and your season is potentially over is absolutely infuriating. Tournament games should never ever be swayed this much by the zebras and tonight they completely altered the game and effectively handed ND the win. Completely and utterly unacceptable. We we're pushing the play for the entire first half and we gassed ND. We played tough clean defense in the first and converted that into numerous transition points. In the second half, suddenly everything that was clean in the first was a foul in the second. The consistent breaks in play gave ND an extended rest and allowed them to get their legs back. They started hitting their shots and got back into it. On the other side of the ball, our transition game was completely neutralized. ND was allowed to get away with mucking up the lane with the body without calls and forced us to play a more perimeter game. We should have bad better shots, yes, but our game was altered. Defensively, everything we learned was clean in the first was a foul in the second. Defensively, we didn't know how to play it in the second without fouling because the terms of what was a foul changed. And to amke matters worse, we took the ball into spots offensively that we're called fouls on us defensively that were allowed to play on for ND.
The problem that I really have is that the ACC allows this to continually happen every time Ted Valentine is on the court. This is how he refs. He makes the game about him, and changes the limits on what is and is not acceptable on a whim midgame to ensure his role in the game is influential. It's bad but somewhat understandable in the regular season but should be grounds for termination in the postseason. This conference fired Karl Hess for this, it's time they do the same here.
I refrained from commenting last night, hoping to return on this beautiful morning to find an edit, or a "my bad" but naw. Man, we all get fuckin pissed about these things, I was livid last night, but you gotta know when to not let that thought allow your fingers to move and type some shit like that, and then click post. Control yourself... this is disgusting and the type of shit that makes Hokie fans look bad. Y'all cant downvote me back to the stone age for all I care, but this post makes you a complete asshole. Have a great day.
EDIT: Fuck the ACC, that is all.
That game was taken from us & you won't convince me otherwise. Absolutely fucking pathetic officiating
Aight FUCK Ted valentine that was trash no call fuck him and everything about him that was a bull shit no call fuck him
I hate everything
Please don't everyone tweet. Use this as your platform to complain. Not a good look.
I hate Duke, but I hope Duke blows them off the floor and they still miss the tourney.
The chucking up of threes was embarrassing. You could watch each offensive set during the collapse and know there was no way we were going to get a good look. We got the benefit of some calls during the end and still blew it. We are an all or nothing team. I guess we are still in the tournament. But could go to the sweet 16 as easy as we could lose embarrassingly in the first round.
Yeah I cringed every time Blackshear chucked one up...ND was more than willing to give that up
Haven't choked that hard since that Clemson game 10ish years ago where Delaney had 30 in the first half
Ha, I thought of that game
It's hard to forget nights where your sports teams left you completely crushed and distraught
Flash back bad memories Obligatory FUCK MATT RYAN
If this team doesn't apologize for this joke I'm gonna be furious that was uterally embarrassing for this school
They owe us nothing.
This is dumb, this is not a reflection of our university at all. This is pretty embarrassing for the Virginia Tech Hokies Men's Basketball program, and that's it. I'm sure every student working on their degree, or every VT student athlete that has given their best efforts at their sport, or every researcher trying to further their ideas is still proud of Virginia Tech as an institution.
As a Hokie Club donor, yes this sucks to see and is quite disheartening, but I can promise you that the school, as you put it, is still very proud and would never expect its student athletes to apologize...
6% shooting from the field down the stretch.
EDIT: before the 2 late 3's.
I've got nothing so much went wrong
Wow Buzz already did his presser? Sounds like a quote
I'm proud of our guys. I can positively say that. I'm embarrassed that we are in this league.
Dear Ted,
Your job is to stand on the beach, not to ride the fucking wave.
Never seen an official get caught up in "momentum" like Television Theodore.
(I despise bitching about the refs, but it happens 👏🏼 every 👏🏼 single 👏🏼 game.)
I guess Valentine has been this way for awhile...Even Malcolm Delaney was tweeting about it.
https://twitter.com/foe23/status/971557678588792833
Here's my mini rant about officiating and then I'm gonna go drown myself in bourbon.
It's not just the calls themselves that fuck any team (not just us) over. It's the rhythm of the game. When a team like ours builds a lead from transition baskets and free flowing basketball, fouls prevent that from continuing. So when ND gets a cheap call and is gifted free throws not only does it give them a chance at the line but it also gives the gassed opponents another rest and prevents us from pushing the tempo. When the refs start to blow the whistle that much it changes the way the entire game is played. It's not limited to that single play. I've said this before but if you're gonna make those calls, MAKE THEM ALL GAME AND BOTH WAYS.
Anyway, on to the tourney. Thank you all for indulging my rant. Please have a good day and don't forget to let a bunch of rhinos loose in Teddy's bedroom.
SEE ABOVE. Agree 100%
Sidebar.... who wants to start a band called "Teddy's Bedroom Rhinos"
Or a brand of dildos
Would that be a Dexys Midnight Runners cover band?
If so, sure.
Is our set just us playing Come On Eileen for two hours?
If so, sure.
I am on board. I'm just happy I was able to make the rhino thing stick.
Proud of our players. If I had been out on the court with that BS happening I would've been swinging on people. They were blatantly calling an unfair game & didn't care who knew it.
Is ESPN glitched or did we actually only shoot 9 FTs to their 25
Oh don't forget that they only shot 5 in the first half.
The ACC has a real problem on their hands. How can they cheat for Duke and against ND? How can they cheat for ND and against Duke? Coach K will never let that happen, he'll call a TO and make the officials come over and explain their calls. The ACC office will require booth reviews for every call against ND. Bet this will be the first game ever called with no fouls, no whistles, no turnovers.
Of course the ACC has a problem
They still employ Ted fucking Valentine
Unfortunately the ACC had over a quarter million reasons for ND to win the game. Ever team in the NCAA is a guaranteed $250,000 for the conference. We were already in, the graphics showed that with a win over us ND had a 72% chance of being moved into the big dance. That is the reason why the ref's got the call at half time, ND couldn't beat us without additional help and the ref's gave it to them. They called travels that weren't, ticky tac fouls and non-existent fouls on us, and let them get away with shoving, grabbing, and travels until our momentum and game plan were destroyed.
This is why the dilemma above will also go ND way in todays game against Duke.
Alright everyone go watch the office cool down and hope Grayson Allen trips up TV teddy tomorrow
Not really sure what to say. That was as atrocious a fifteen minutes of basketball as I can recall watching in a while. Just a total collapse. I should have known better than to start feeling comfortable when the lead got to 21. To console myself I'm going say they were just trying to go ahead and get their postseason dud out of the way now.
Yup, we went up 21, my girlfriend ask me the score, I say were up 21.
Her - "oh that's great!"
Me - "it's not enough".
Lol I literally had this same conversation except it was me talking to myself out loud. My wife was so confused
Sad but true. We have a hard time finishing when we have a good first half.
Had a bad feeling the whole time. Soon as they start putting in players deep on the bench, I think we get too comfortable.
I hope CJF drops 60 on these turds in October.
Notre Dame joining the conference brings a lot of money.. It's just annoying when that money trumps the hard work of the student athletes on the team in which the conference is manipulating to benefit themselves.
I've watched every VT football game since 2007 (and many before that) and most of our basketball games since around the same time. I have never been this angry after a game.
Matt Ryan?
I just didn't have the emotional attachment or time invested when I was 13. I'm sure it would be #1 on the list if it happened now.
Everybody has their own. JMfU for me.
JMU?
I was pretty pissed after Boise St. of course I had a good amount of beer in me. But that's the angriest I can remember. Disclaimer: I didn't watch this game since I was in Europe.
Fuck-dammit.
Same old shit.
Fuck EVERYTHING.
I'm beyond pissed about this game. I'm embarrassed that we blew a 21-point 2nd half lead. However, I'm livid at the officiating. It was pretty obvious to me that the refs had it in the bag for ND. They call ticky tack crap against us yet ND can push, shove, hit, and smack us and crickets. The tech against Clark was the most egregious. Farrel took the ball out of his hands and hit CC in the process. It should've been a dead ball T on him before it was one on Clark. After that, it was all over.
Still, Go Hokies and let's make a run in the big dance!
I'm with you. ND had moving screen all game long. But, for us to go over 6 minutes without a point is unacceptable. Hill was off, Blackshear was irrelevant and we counted the game as a win, after the halftime break... ND did not. This, unfortunately, is a painful, yet consistent outcome.
I don't think they counted the win until the under 16 timeout. That's when Buzz had them take the pedal off the floor. Up until there they were still flying around. Buzz just doesn't seem to understand his team in that regards. They are only successful at one speed. Forcing them to slow the pace breaks their rhythm. You can see the change when Robinson started walking the ball up the floor rather than sprinting.
This doesn't change much aside from hurting a bit. We still firmly have a chance to out-do last season. A win in the first round of the tourney is still our goal and I think we can do it. Unfortunately, this game showed what many of us thought. We play well against very good team, well against bad teams, and quite poorly against similar teams. At least we know if we win our first game we will get to play a 1/2 seed!
Sooooo...would now be a good time to ask about any new football recruits? Asking for a friend...
I heard Devin Wilson can play receiver...
In order to finally kick the shadow of being known as a choking athletics issue as in both football and bastketball we will always be known for choking we need to kill teams off screw easing up on a team or this whole shown your opponent mercy when we've got em on the ropes we need to start knocking them out otherwise we will never achieve the heights we dream of.
I pray these guys stomach this stuff and learn everything they can do next year this doesn't happen but this loss hurts the worst and leaves and awful taste in the mouth heading into the ncaa tourney not gonna be surprised if we get a much lower seed now after these last two games I'm going for a 11-12 now
I've never been madder at a VT game
Tech sports is the only Thing that makes me happy. No wonder i wanna kill myself all the time
We're all frustrated tonight bro, but htat's a bridge too far. You need some peeps to talk to, and we're all here for you.
I just can't take it anymore I seen to much bullshit to be happy anymore
I love VT athletics just as much as the next guy but there is sooooooo much more to live life for. This is all a very very very small part of this world and to become so reliant on it for joy isn't necessarily a good thing. we all have our bad days but when life hits you in the face you gotta hit back and get up and smile and find something out there to brighten the day. Just remember no matter how crappy your day is or has been someone else has it way worse and that's why instead of dragging everyone else down all we can do is be kind and help one another regardless of what everyone else does don't use society as the bar to how to act. Being kind to others is the best rememdy for a bad day.
I needed to hear this tonight, thank you!
I'm tried being nice before to people It didn't get me far
Being nice to people is as much for you as for the person you help.
Anything to help out we've all had our days all we can do in life is leave it better than we found it
I've been there myself. Step #1 for me was leaving Tech Sideline, and it looks like you got that part checked-off. Step #2 - realize the odds of winning a national championship are so minuscule to begin with and having to be near-perfect to win one (talking in general, not specific to football, basketball, etc). What that lead me to was flipping my perspective around. Not that i lost my high expectations for our Hokies, its just that I got a lot happier when I just started watching for the competition, and not as a gauntlet that had to be navigated perfectly. I still get upset, sure, but I'm already over tonight's game. 10-15 years ago I would be fuming for weeks... Step #3 - I just eventually realized I needed to put more emotional investment in other things, specfiically things that could have a very big return on that investment - Wife, kids, family.
Why can't we run teams off the court? If we were tied at the 15 minute mark, there's no way we would have lost that game by 20. Whenever we have a lead we see more and more of Ahmed, pig, and Bede. Why? Step on their throats until there's under 3 minutes to play.
Man and Med was arguably our best player coming into the season.
This. How he's gone from a straight ace from outside to not being able to put an open three in the bucket I can't fathom unless it's the fact he's shaken up from losing the starting role to Wilson
His release is too slow, and when we started playing really good competition (UNC or first UVA game I wanna say) his shots started getting packed or very well contested. Along that same time he started to completely lose his old freshman self and not give near the same effort. He's turned it around a bit here at the very end but hasn't gotten over it yet
Ill counter a little here lately Bede and Horne in particular have had good minutes coming in and keeping up the defensive energy but tonight buzz seemed to not trust them and left our older group out there even though they were obviously out of it and probably needed a short rest to cool off and refocus
We can cry and complain all we want about officiating, and trust me it's warranted; but you can't deny that we lost a 21 point lead. We went SUPER cold, and I've said it since the beginning of the season, THIS is when we need an alpha dog, that says, we're not losing this game, the buck stops here! LeDay would've put Bonzie in his place and muscled us to a win. J-Rob got caught up on the moving picks, and I truly believe he's the closest we have to an alpha dog. I counted 4 moving picks that weren't called, so I get it, we got screwed, but I'll be beyond pissed off is Buzz allows this team to use the escape goat known as the refs. We lost a 21 point lead because we relied too heavily on the 3 pointer when it wasn't falling, we missed makable shots, and we lost the battle of mental wills. This lost is on us more than it's on the refs, there I said it! Onto the tournament!
Side note: A small hope of mine is that we are under seeded and somehow we can squeeze out a 10 seed. That would be the only positive that comes out of all of this.
I'd expect nothing higher than a 10 seed after these last two choke jobs the committee always seems to have us lower on the list than you'd think
Honestly I'd think our tourney seeding would be better by this quality loss to a phenomenal Notre Dame team /s
I wouldn't mind an 11 at all, that's the easiest path. But that's also way too close to being left out
The opportunity of having a lower seed than 8 or 9 is the only thing that is keeping me sane after this loss.
Yep. For all the talk about NAW being a NBA prospect, he never puts the team on his back/shoulders and just carries them to a victory. It's usually Clarke or 5.
Worst Virginia Tech basketball game I've watch in the last five years.
Wow. How lucky for you. We've all seen way worse.
(See Johnson, James)
At least with the JJ teams you never had hope. You knew the team was going to lose and most days you didn't bother to tune in.
Tonight we were up 21 with 11 minutes to go in the game. It's an all time choke, assisted by some horrible reffing.
Pfffft yeah, you're right. "No hope" is way better than "hope".
But it's good to see you're softening. Admitting that it was a (ref-assisted) choke: that's progress, right there.
Refs having a hand in this or not, we were still up by 21. We didn't finish and now we wait for 4 days and hope to hell we didn't screw ourselves out of a bid.
By ref assisted, I do mean that TVT can choke on an entire bag of dicks
Cool. Rather choke on a bag of dicks than "catch a stray bullet".
(Am I choking on each dick in the bag individually? Or am I choking because I'm trying to swallow the entire bag at once?)
I'm sure TVT can fit the whole bag in there at once
Iowa State a few years ago rings a bell
Eh, 20 mins of it was pretty fun to watch. During the JJ years, only thing that was fun to watch for 20 mins was the halftime show, and even most of those were bad.
The smell of moonshine brings back the JJ years for me as it was the only way to watch those years
At the end of the day... we will still make the tourney, we will still play a team we can beat in the first round, and we will still have an opportunity to make a run. Some games it doesn't look like it, but we're a dangerous team when everything clicks. Win a game or two and this season is still incredibly successful (albeit equally frustrating).
Everyone seems 100% convinced we're in, but does everyone really, really believe it? We've been burned before by the selection committee, and I'm not convinced we're in. Tonight was not good. Our last regular season game against Miami was not good. We are not trending in the right direction and I'm mentally prepared for our next game to be as an NIT opening round host.
We were burned by the selection committee because previously we didn't deserve to be in it. We lost bad games at the end of the seasons after getting one maybe two wins against good teams.
I mean I have no idea if we're in or not. But I'd be absolutely shocked if we went from an 8 seed before the game to missing the tournament after losing to a healthy ND. We're trending down, but we still have a resume good enough to be in the field of 68. But the committee will do as the committee pleases, so until Sunday, I'll just remain optimistic.
Yes we are a lock. And likely so is ND, too
If I were NCSU, however... I'd be extremely worried
ND in over State would be total horse shit, but youre right I think the committee will probably see it that way
I don't have the data watch it, but anyone see Buzz's post game?
18 more fts for nd in the second half i am sick
Went to the gym to run and lift out the anger I had from that game rather than breaking all my shit in my dorm room or trying to fight my roommate who keeps pissing on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night.
I feel a little bit better but still can't quite get over how when we went up by 21, we didn't try to go up by 30 and then 40 and then 50. We played not to lose rather than to finish them off and were rewarded with a close game down the stretch giving the refs a chance to take over the game and get the conference the ND-Duke matchup. A lesson learned hopefully. Bring on the tournament.
My 77 year old Mother went outside to shovel snow to work off her aggression from the officiating. Talking to Dad on the phone after the game he said he had to stop her from throwing things at the Tv.
My sister texted me after the game and said "Mom just used the F-word"....that about sums it up.
Mom turned to Dad during the game when they called four fouls on us in the first five minutes of the second half and told him the officials were going to cost us the game. Dad's comment at the time, we are up 20.
Rule number One.
Mom is always right.
Of every one who has a right to be pissed off it's you. I'm not sure how you fix that situation but I think I'd request a new roommate
Two months left, just have to deal with the guy. We don't have to share the same bedroom. Just the living room and bathroom.
Are you sure its not the ref's conspiring to piss on your bathroom floor in the middle of the night?
I'm just as frustrated as everyone, but I feel like my own negativity is going to swallow me unless I do something positive. So let's all take a step back from the edge and think of some silver linings:
1. Justin Robinson's injury didn't turn out to be as bad as we all feared when he went down
2. We don't have to play Duke for the 3rd time in a month
3. Extra day's rest before NCAA tournament (I sure hope anyway)
4. Hopefully this game leaves a bad taste in the team and Buzz's mouth and we come out merciless in our next games. No quarter, no prisoners
Any others?
5. We probably would have lost to Duke tonight anyway.
Sometimes you have to hit bottom and pick yourself up.
6. At least your roommate didn't piss on your bathroom floor.
Wow... just wow... Just finished watching the game...
Yes the refs were horrid in the second half, and could certainly be blamed for some of the momentum swing. But from about the 15:00 minute mark in the 2nd half on ND straight out hustled this squad. They were just much more competitive, and once that got in the heads of the VT players it was lights out.
I'll keep saying it... This is the most Jekyll and Hyde VT basketball team I've every seen. I never know which team I'm going to see from night to night, but tonight I saw the best of 2017/18 VT basketball and the worst of 2017/18 VT basketball, and it only took me 40 minutes of game time to do so.
This one hurt but I don't think anything will ever top the broken heart scale quite like 1.6 seconds Sean Dockery.
I was there... deflating is an understatement.
Ouch, my condolensces. Was watching in my living room with my dad, had already called all my buddies during Duke's timeout talking trash...and then it happened. I can't get the image of Coleman Collins's face of disbelief out of my mind.
Every damn loss is people on here bitching about refs. It's beyond tiresome. Some of it is from people that don't know what they are talking about so its expected, some of it is from people that know better. Grow up and get a new excuse. No one is out to get us. We blew that game because of OUR OWN SELF INFLICTED POOR PLAY. End of story.
If you're still mad, go outside and kick rocks. Kick a wahoo. Whatever. It doesn't change the fact that our team lost because of their own self with no one else to blame. And it doesn't change the fact that tomorrow everyone will wake up with this team still heading to the tournament after a successful season and still plenty to play for.
EDIT: Down vote me all you want. Some of you here act like children, can't accept the truth and the fact that yes, your team can lose a game and its not the end of the world when they do.
Spot on. You blow a 21-point lead, you have no one to blame but yourself. Don't give the refs a chance to decide the game.
I'm with you. I don't get it. If there really was this giant conspiracy against VT (or an ACC push to get ND an NCAA bid), wouldn't it have been easier for the refs to not allow a ballooned 21 point lead in the first place?
Then let me follow up with a question: which, do you think, has more subtlety? First or 2nd half?
I would think the more subtle way to rig a game would be to keep it tight the entire game with questionable calls scattered throughout. Get one of our key players in foul trouble so he has to sit--something along those lines.
And actually I'd say bad 1st half officiating would be more subtle than 2nd half for the very reason that the narrative has appeared on these boards that we could only have blown a 21 point lead with 15 minutes left because the ACC/officials wanted it that way. If it was inversed and we were in a 20 point hole in the first half and failed to comeback, I think the narrative is, "well, we dug ourselves into too deep of a hole."
Appreciate your response and answering the question. Got one more: would you (of course hypothetically) apply that thinking/strategy to BOTH regular season & tourney games?
But you are forgetting that the way Notre Dame is going to get in is by the feel good story of overcoming the odds. They overcame Colson being injured, they overcame Farrell being injured, they overcame the 20 point deficit against Virginia Tech to fuel their ACC Tournament run.
Now that Notre Dame has gotten all the super ESPN hookjob press for the amazing comeback, expect the Duke game to go exactly as you scripted above. Allen and Bagley will be in foul trouble early on, might even throw in a Tech on Allen. Miraculously playing three days in a row, ND is only down 1 at the half and comes out in the second half to narrowly beat Duke to lock up a spot in the Tournament for the Irish.
Refs might actually be fair now. ND got a huge boost by their comeback win with assist. But if Duke loses do they lose the number 2 seed in the big dance?
I don't think there's any chance of ND beating Duke and if it happens, I'll gladly eat my words.
That being said, wouldn't be surprised if they were rewarded a bid even with a Duke loss based on the narrative you described.
Side note, I don't understand how Oklahoma is even in the tournament field let alone as a projected 9 seed by some sources.
While I agree with you on Oklahoma, especially since they have lost 11 of 15, its all about their nonconference schedule being ranked so high.
Log in to ESPN and what is the top story of course.....Bubble Watch : Notre Dame's Big Moment with an awful picture of Colson praying it up on Farrell's shoulder....you need go no further to see exhibit A of the FIX
2nd part of that fix didn't really come to fruition with that Duke blowout tho...
I forgot that UNC needed a higher initial seed so the Allen technical flagrant 1 was saved for the next game.
While i was pretty much just kidding when I said it, then I go to Yahoo Sports today and see this
UNC should be in consideration for a #1 Seed
The article is obviously predicated on UNC winning the ACC Tourney but hard to picture a #1 Seed with 9 losses.
Yea that's insane. Feel like by any measure other than name recognition Miami was at least just as good.
While I totally agree with what you say, I think you are kind of being a dick about it. We are all hurting after the loss...all of us, crybabies and dicks alike.....
Then PLEASE, by all means, in your expansively vast & superior wisdom & knowledge, enlighten us that "don't know what [we're] talking about". Honestly. Please explain & SHOW us what is unknown. What we're missing or overlooking. You clearly must have a GREATER experience than us. So please, tell us...
Well, maybe it's better that they got that game out of their system.
They lost their composure, bigly. I don't know if Buzz has an elixir for that, but he needs to find one.
I was at work and could not watch the game. If/when hokietapes posts it, I have no plans of going back and watching this game. I don't need another reason to be angry.
Alum, I suggest you look at your avatar, remind yourself that the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and go to your happy place.
Your safe watching the 1st half. Do not go beyond that.
Yeah, but that would just make him angry, as VT was clearly the more talented team in the first half.