Virginia Tech Drops Fourth Straight Game, This Time To Georgia Tech 76-57

Virginia Tech
Tyrece Radford had a good game, but as a team Virginia Tech played poorly against Georgia Tech. (Grant Pearrell)

Virginia Tech fell behind Georgia Tech early, never recovered, and were easily handled 76-57 to drop to 14-9 overall and 6-8 in the ACC.  It was the Hokies’ fourth consecutive loss, and the only one in which they were not competitive over 40 minutes of basketball.  The Yellow Jackets improved to 11-12 overall and 5-7 in league play.

Neither team played great defense early, but it was eventually Georgia Tech who settled into the game defensively.  They came into the contest No. 34 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency against the 6th most difficult schedule in the country in terms of opposing offenses, and the Hokies had a very difficult time getting good looks in the first 20 minutes.  When they did get a good look, they generally missed.

Georgia Tech led 14-9 with 13:39 remaining in the first half, and that’s when the wheels came off for the Hokies.  The Yellow Jackets went on a 10-0 run to make the score 24-9 with 7:10 left in the half, and eventually led by 20 points, 38-18, when a three-pointer by Jose Alvarado went in just before halftime.  Virginia Tech scored just nine points over the final 13+ minutes of the half.

Georgia Tech played a tough zone defense that bothered the Hokies quite a bit.

“I thought we attacked it much better in the second half,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said after the game. “I wish we would’ve attacked it that way in the first half. But that zone was bothersome.”

Redshirt freshman guard Tyrece Radford led the way for the Hokies with 12 points.  He was 5-of-9 from the field.  Fellow redshirt freshman Landers Nolley had 10 points, but he was only 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range.  Over his last seven games, dating back to the January 14 win at Wake Forest, Nolley is just 39-of-114 (34.2%) from the field and only 13-of-56 (23.2%) from three-point range.

As a team, Virginia Tech was just 21-of-55 (38.2%) from the field and 4-of-23 (17.4%) from three-point range for the game.  A normally cold shooting Georgia Tech team was 29-of-55 (52.7%) overall from the field and 8-of-18 (44.4%) from the outside.  The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 30 points in the second half in a game that was not as competitive as the final score indicated.

The Hokies will try to break their four-game losing streak this Saturday when they host Boston College in Cassell Coliseum.  Tipoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will be televised by RSN.  Check your local listings.

Box Score

Game Notes From Virginia Tech

Records and Notables

  • Virginia Tech goes to 14-9 overall and 5-7 in ACC play.
  • The Hokies have now dropped four straight games for the first time this season and are 3-4 on the road overall.
  • Mike Young is now 1-3 against both Georgia Tech and Josh Pastner.
  • This marks the Yellow Jackets’ first win over Virginia Tech Tech since 2014, snapping a six-game losing streak
  • Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 20-7.
  • UP NEXT:​ The Hokies will return to Blacksburg for a three-game home slate beginning with Boston College on Saturday at noon at Cassell Coliseum.

Team Notes

  • Virginia Tech started a lineup of Wabissa Bede, Tyrece Radford, Landers Nolley, P.J. Horne, and Nahiem Alleyne, marking the 17th game this season that Tech has gone with these five out of the gate.
  • The Yellow Jackets shot over 50 percent from the field, as well as hitting eight 3-pointers.
  • Georgia Tech outrebounded the Hokies 37-30 and recorded more points in the paint with a margin of 34-22.
  • Virginia Tech’s bench did outscore the Yellow Jackets bench 22-16. This marks the 14th game this season the Hokies’ bench has scored 20 or more points.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN:​ Georgia Tech went on a 15-2 run over a nine-minute stretch beginning early in the first half. This run would prove to be too much for the Hokies as the Yellow Jackets entered the break leading 38-18.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN:​ With just over 15 minutes to go in the game, Georgia Tech went on a 10-3 run giving the Yellow Jackets a 57-28 advantage. Georgia Tech led the rest of the way and would go on to win 76-57.

Individual Notes

  • Radford scored a team-high 12 points and led Tech in scoring for the third time this season. This is Radford’s ninth game scoring in double figures and third straight game doing so.
  • Nolley’s 10 points marks his 21st game scoring in double figures and 11th consecutive outing reaching double digits in points.
  • Wabissa Bede tied his career high in blocks with two at Georgia Tech.
  • Branden Johnson scored the first points of his Tech career with four on the night and had a career-high five rebounds.

26 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. I guess all the talk about Nolley leaving for the NBA next season was a little premature. I can’t help but ponder what it would have been like if Kerry Blackshear and Chris Clarke stuck around.

  2. The thing that was really bothersome were the Georgia Tech players making shots and then dancing in front of our bench in a taunting/celebratory manner. I would be a bit offended if I were a VT player.

  3. I hate it that we don’t rebound! We don’t crash the boards and we don’t box out. It’s one and done on practically every possession. We don’t have size so we’re getting taken inside more which will happen more often now that other teams see the success of taking us to the basket. Maybe mix up defenses sometimes like full court pressure, zone, or match up. I do agree with other comments that we need to spread the scoring around and take the pressure off of Nolley to do it all. Bit challenges in the short road ahead.

    1. We are 3-point shooting team, shot 17% on three pointers, and we don’t try to rebound on the offensive end. How was this game as close as it was.

  4. Team has checked out. Being overmatched night after night has finally taken it’s toll. We will be much better next year, closer to an ACC caliber team. I feel MK will get us there. The one thing Buzz could do was attack a zone defense. Not sure why we having so much problems with that.

    1. I’m not giving up on the team playing better. We have a lot of freshmen and this is when they usually get tired. If we can get past BC, we get a much needed week off plus three straight winnable home games before having to travel to Duke on 2/22. I do agree that the future looks bright with CMY leading the program.

  5. This season is shot so let’s work toward next year. If that means benching some upper class men for awhile so be it

  6. Our 2 early stars (Nolley and Bede) are now liabilities. Bede can’t score and gets taken advantage of by taller guards, and Nolley doesn’t play great defense, is sloppy with the ball and takes some low percentage shots. And when Nolley is out there the other players seem not to be looking for their own shot.

    I’d like to see coach change up the starting five and come up with some screens and other ways to get people open against man to man defenses. On offense we appear to be just standing around until the shot is at 4-5 and then shoot a hurried shot.

    But the thing that bothers me most is our passing has gotten sloppy. There have been a number of recent games where we make a defensive stop and then throw the ball away and then foul the other player creating a 4-5 point swing. Last night it was Cone who got the ball slapped from behind coming up the court and last game it was Bede who after a bad pass created a technical foul giving the other team a potential 6 point swing.

    1. Bede has never been a star for me. He is terrible. He tried to hide it well but now it’s being seen for what it is.

    2. Team is lackluster and the effort of all starters except Radford/Bede is questionable. Definitely time to shake up the starting lineup. Nolle should sit more. Only game is the three point shot and he doesn’t have that now. Way overrated. No inside game at all. Zilch.

  7. I know coach instills confidence in his players to take shots and he’s “on their team” on shot selection. However, we can’t have Bede shooting the ball unless it’s under 5 on the shot clock or he’s within 3ft of the basket. Further, Nolley is forcing and trying to carry the load too much. His numbers are in the tank in ACC play and I don’t see any other reason why other than trying to do too much. Alleyne, Cattoor, and Cone are all capable of handling more scoring responsibility. Nolley needs to take smarter, higher % shots. I think Alleyne is quite possibly the only guy capable of putting the ball on the floor and creating his own shot…maybe Radford and Cone to a degree. I like Cone’s ability to elevate for mid range jumpers. He should be watching tape of Chris Lykes on repeat. He’s a better shooter than Lykes he just needs to develop the other parts (and he will). Remember he’s an early entry freshman. It’s still in our favor to have Bede getting the minutes but the others(Alleyne, Cattor, Cone) need to know that when they’re in the game with him (and Horne), they need to shake the fear and be the offense. I think we’ll right the ship soon, but defense creates offense and when it doesn’t there needs to be more of an inside out game, whether that’s via the pass or the drive. I think that’s more on the coach needing to take away some freedom or running actual sets. These next 4 weeks will be a good barometer of our heart and of coach’s influence.

    1. These two posts by gdot and chagerman above were insightful to me. Thanks. I couldn’t bear to watch the game.

  8. Watched the whole game.. not sure why. It’s strange to me why opponents now seem to have their best game from three point land, while suddenly the Hokies shoot bricks at 20%. I suppose there is a logical reason, but that is above my pay grade. Out inability to break zones is going to be a terminal illness since the “word is out.” Without any height in the middle, and now poor shooting from the outside, this is going to be a long, cold season unless something changes. Against Georgia Tech, the team bottomed out. Hopefully something will change. At this point, unfortunately, I’m not optimistic. A.H.

    1. You watched the whole game because you’re not a quitter and you’re commended for that. CC played that middle of the zone so well in years past. I like Nolley there now (although I’m not sure we’ll see zone again) because he’s big enough and Alleyne, Cone, and Cattoor shoot well enough for a kick out (and frankly Nolley is forcing 3s and his % shows). I’m ok with Alleyne there too. He’s 6’3″ and has a nice pullup from 15′ if its open. Against man, we need to revive dribble penetration. Have faith. They’ll turn it around.

      1. I was at the game and when we were down 30 I still stuck it out. I guess i’m a masochist.

  9. I can tell Nolley will miss before it leaves his hand. When he tries to shoot quickly and doesn’t get his legs into the shot it will hit front rim. Bede needs to have his minutes reduced. We need to protect the rim by playing Johnson and Ojiako more.

  10. Tough to watch. The team has little energy, not relaxed, not having fun. Would consider putting Nolley on the bench to start the game to let him get a feel for the flow, the defense etc. We are in a bad habit of getting behind big-time early in games. Hopefully we have hit bottom and will turn it around at home. Time for Coach Young to shake things up a bit.

    1. 133895, was thinking the same thing. They look tense, tired, tentative, and confused. Part of that is there is no real leader right now

  11. This game started with two missed FTs Turned out to be a preview of things to come. Tough game to watch. I do recall 3 fast break possessions in the 2nd half where Cone was wide open in the left wing for 3 and we never got the ball to him. Passed to the right twice to someone who was covered and Radford missed a layup. Can’t fault Radford too much except he was not alone and we were down 20+ so I think the 3 would have been a better choice. I don’t think we got any points in those possessions. Cone was 0-3 but his shots were very close, two in and out. Just not doing much of anything well now.

  12. We’re getting younger as the season gets older like Benjamin Button.

    Nolley (36%-FG; 25%-3pt) has nearly identical field goal percentages as Bede (37%-FG; 21%-3pt) in ACC play, but he’s taking around 16 shots per game and that is problematic.

    Radford is shooting 70%-FG but only averaging 6-7 shots per game in league play. Radford has taken 73 shots to Nolley’s 170 shots in ACC play. It’d be nice to see those numbers flip over the second half of the season. From my vantage point, Radford has earned that right with his consistent effort, scrappy play and hustle.

    Cone, who has been quiet of late, is still shooting 50% from 3pt in ACC play and over 90% from the FT line. Meanwhile, Bede is shooting just over 50% from the FT line. Would like to see Cone bring the ball up court more. If we’re going to get blown out in a loss, let’s give Cone more ball-handling experience because unless Kabongo surprises and stays healthy next year and/or we get a clutch PG off the transfer portal, we’re in big trouble next season. Cone is probably the closest thing that Bede has to a backup at this point so let’s baptize him by fire. At least he can count on him to convert if/when he goes to the line.

    Glad to see Ojiako get minutes. Time to turn the big fella loose and get him as much experience this year with an eye towards next season.

    Hats off to Branden Johnson for making the most of his minutes.

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