VT 54, GT 64

Quick thoughts: The start Tech had wasn’t too surprising after having played a game less than 40 hours before. That combined with the 1 p.m. start, and the Hokies had no legs. Their first field goal came seven minutes in.

The first half was the lowest of lows this year. The Hokies missed their first 10 shots and built too big of a deficit to recover.

Point Guards: Erick Green had 28 and scored over half the teams points for the second straight game. He led the team in assists and finished second in rebounds. I’ve never seen a player run so hard without the ball in his hand. He had to sit the last 30 seconds due to exhaustion but didn’t require IVs and is now resting at home.

Marquis played limited minutes and is still recovering from sickness.

Shooting Guards: Robert Brown shot 4-16, but that includes a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and prayer at end of the game. He was 2-5 from three (take away the two prayers and it’s 2-3) and definitely never lacked effort. He played 39 minutes and his 10 points was second on the team. Once again, his misses were on-line but too long.

Will Johnston played for 23 minutes today, his highest amount of the season. He sank 2 threes during the 15-1 run and has played the best basketball of his career the past two games.

Forwards: Jarell was upset he was 0-6, had 0 points, and picked up two quick fouls. He was benched and took out his frustration on a water bottle, which he slammed to the ground and burst spilling water everywhere. Robert slipped on it and could have gotten hurt. The effort and attitude Jarell has had of late is embarrassing. He didn’t play the final 17:18 minutes and it was no coincidence we went on a 15-1 run immediately after he sat. Grow up Jarell.

C.J. Barksdale scored the first point for Tech over three minutes in and didn’t do too much after. He was almost non-existent on the boards but is still recovering from the flu.

Marshall Wood got the bulk of the minutes over Eddie and was 1-1 from deep. That hasn’t been a common occurrence for Marshall but could spark his offense late in the season. We’ll see next game.

Centers:Cadarian Raines had a tough time getting his shots to fall. He was excellent on the boards, and has become the presence needed down low. He should have passed the ball out instead of a few of his attempts but I can’t complain too much.

Joey van Zegeren hardly played but picked up two fouls in 9 minutes.

Stat of the Game: The Hokies were killed on the boards 49-35. Between that and shooting poorly, it’s hard to win.

Mike’s Player of the Game: Erick truly left it all on the court. If anyone, he should be the one to give up. I can’t imagine the frustration from scoring 25 ppg and still losing. He deserves every ounce of our attention for the rest of his career at Tech.

J.T. Thompson tore his ACL for the third time; keep him in your thoughts during his recovery.

The Hokies schedule isn’t getting any easier. They face UVa on Tuesday, NC State on Saturday, and Duke on Thursday. Erick needs to rest as much as possible before the UVa game, or we have no chance of beating them. The game is at 7:00 on ESPNU so tune in!