Sitting at 8-6 (0-3 ACC), Virginia Tech men’s basketball doesn’t have any wiggle room. After starting the season 5-0, the Hokies are 3-6 since.
A gritty win at Maryland and a blowout of St. Bonaventure bookended frustrating losses vs. Wake Forest and at Dayton. Most recently, the Hokies played Duke close until late in Cameron Indoor, and let the game slip away against NC State.
However, as surprising as it might seem, Virginia Tech is still No. 37 in the NET rankings. That’s third-best in the ACC behind Duke (13) and North Carolina (36). The team is No. 31 in KenPom, too.
Four of the next five games on the slate are on the road, starting with Wednesday’s clash at Virginia. After Notre Dame at home on Saturday, Tech travels to NC State, Boston College and North Carolina in a five-day span.
It’s the ACC, so the schedule is only going to get so easy, but the Hokies don’t have back-to-back home games until mid-February. For a team trying to right the ship and still seeking its first league win, it’s a tough path ahead.
“We understand the situation that we’re in,” Tech head coach Mike Young said on Monday’s ACC media teleconference. “It’s not ideal, but this is where we are. We make this better one day at a time, one practice at a time. The next game on our schedule, Virginia on Wednesday, the biggest game that we have. Can’t look out here, it has to be a very narrow focus, and certainly coach Bennett’s team, year in and year out, you’ve got your hands full.”
After the loss to the Wolfpack last Tuesday, Young said the most important thing the Hokies needed to do was get back in the gym.
Since, Tech’s had a week to practice and get things right. That’s time to work out the kinks, shore up details and get shots up.
“Yesterday’s [Sunday] practice was as good as we’ve had in a while,” Young said. “We’ll tweak some things looking ahead to Virginia on Wednesday. Been in the gym consistently, getting a bunch of shots up before and after practice, so exactly what I expected. We practiced well last week before Saturday’s day off. We’re healthy, we’re in good shape, and we’re going to figure this thing out.”
Heading into NC State, the Hokies hadn’t played in 13 days due to COVID. Games against North Carolina (now rescheduled for Jan. 24) and Pitt were postponed. Tech didn’t use fatigue as an excuse; moreover, players like point guard Storm Murphy mentioned that the Wolfpack just outplayed them. Young said NC State was just quicker to the ball, and it showed in the box score: his team allowed 14 offensive boards to Kevin Keatts’ bunch.
“Just more connected over a 40-minute period,” Young said in response to one central thing Tech needs to improve on. “I thought we had a couple stretches in the second have where we were ready to extend our lead a bit and had a mishandled ball or a missed assignment defensively. Just little things that add up to bigger things as the game wears on. Rebounding, a dip back in the last 10 minutes of that NC State game. Just finishing games and finishing segments.”
Against a Virginia team (9-6, 3-2 ACC) that is also trying to find its footing after a 16-point loss to North Carolina over the weekend, it won’t be easy to get back on track.
Jayden Gardner, the East Carolina transfer, leads the Cavaliers in scoring with 15 points per game. He’s scored in double figures in four of UVa’s five league games, including 23 at Clemson, and he’s the main guy the Hokies have to stop on Wednesday.
“He’s a load, ” Young said of Gardner. “Does a really nice job around the basket. Second shots, gets his body into you. I’m impressed with his ability to shoot the thing from 15… He’s making that shot very consistently. He’s just a really good player. The more I watch, the more I admire him.”
Tech will need Keve Aluma to be himself. He’s been a dominant force this season, scoring in double figures in all but two games (Maine, Merrimack). The fifth-year senior put up 25 points at Duke and 18 vs. NC State. In addition, the Cavaliers allowed UNC’s Armando Bacot to go off – 29 points, 21 rebounds – this past weekend.
He had 29 against UVa last year, and he’s likely licking his chops at this opportunity.
“Last year, we didn’t have an answer for him,” Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said. “I’m sure he saw what Bacot did to us and is saying, ‘mmm,’ because he’s a complete player offensively. He’ll shoot the three, he can score in the post, passes, plays out of a bunch of different spots and is experienced, so he’s really good and he’s having a heck of a year.”
Wednesday’s contest is going to be a slow, methodical game. The two rivals rank 14th (VT) and 15th (UVa) in tempo in the ACC, and they’ve both been poor on the defensive end as of late. Tech is 15th in adjusted defensive efficiency among league foes, while Virginia is 12th, per KenPom.
Early in the year, the Hokies’ defense was the team’s backbone. In the last eight games (3-5 record), Tech has held just two opponents – Cornell, St. Bonaventure – under 40% shooting. In ACC play, the numbers bring forth a grimace.
Wake Forest: 63.5%
Duke: 53.7%
NC State: 44.1%
Young’s crew needs to get back to its style of basketball, which starts on defense. Forcing turnovers, contesting shots, drawing charges. If there’s any hope in righting the ship, it starts on that end of the floor.
“We’ve been really good for the most part, but when it matters most, and certainly the last cluster of games, we have faltered a little bit,” Young said of his defense. “And not any one person, but more of our team than anyone else. Thankful to have had the opportunity to practice over the last week and I feel good about our work on the floor.”
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I’m new. I just can’t stand to see a VT Hoops team have a formidable, useful, talented #5 go to waste. John Ojiako is and has been the answer to a lot of our ills. Coach talks about hustle and working harder. Well, coach, you can’t when you are draining your talented players’ collective energy. Ojiako playing more often will keep the “talent” players’ energy up throughout the game. The starters should be: Ojiako, Aluma, Mutts, Catoor, Murphy. NGuessan is too light to play underneath, not good enough to play outside. Alleyne has never been good enough to start, even last year…he’s a streaky #6. Maddox should be used more, Pedula great future. Folks, this is a matter of the sum of the parts being greater than the talent WITH Ojiako in the game. Not playing Ojiako is such a fundamental mistake by Coach it is astounding. We need him underneath doing the grunt work, and anyone who saw him before he got hurt KNEW he was coming along and becoming effective. We cannot have Aluma wasting his energy guarding massive ACC bigs only to struggle towards the ends of games from fatigue and frustration. Mutts is NOT a #4…he is a firm #3 and if he stays there his advantages will be insurmountable to opponents. Ojiako is the key, I promise. Coach better realize it soon or this most talented team will continue to lose, not because of talent, but because of Coach’s inability to see the pieces.
So you’ve seen Ojiako work day in and day out like Coach Young and feel you are a better evaluator of his skill/ability to play in the ACC presently than Coach? For a new guy you’re asking for trouble here hahaha. I hear you though in theory Aluma should absolutely not be banging with the ACC true centers and would be great to have Ojiako do that grunt work. Problem is Coach doesn’t feel he can help us so there’s something deeper going on with Ojiako than likely you or I know. All we know is he’s big and that’s it!
What we know, if you saw him three years ago, is he was coming on STRONG. Big man strong…not finesse so much as getting the game and doing the things paramount to the 5 role. What we know is for the few minutes he’s been given he’s been effective. You can see he WANTS it. His teammates call him a “dog”. This is very important in taking on bigs in the ACC. If you have not seen him play yet, then just wait. I hope we’ll all be pleasantly surprised if Young is brave enough to let Aluma dominate at 4, Mutts dominate at 3, and Ojiako raise heck at 5.
Lastly, you haven’t seen anything either. Nothing to lose. We are 0-3 in conference and I’ve heard nothing but good things from Young speaking about John. Now it’s time to let it fly, let him play and don’t lord over his mistakes….get him going so he’s useful down the stretch.
Make sure that Coach Young, the reigning ACC Coach of the Year, has your cell number on his speed dial.
Guys, please dispense with the sensitivities. We’ve had coaches of the year before; each of our last three. But right now we are far too talented to be where we are. I love Coach Young. I just think he’s missing a big piece of the puzzle. Maybe Ojiako is still hurt, maybe he’s a jerk, maybe his work ethic in practice isn’t there. But I just don’t think so. I think coach is afraid to play him, but we’re still losing, and still getting behind early and he isn’t playing him. All I’m saying, all things equal, I think Coach knows there has to be some pretty major changes. Getting a #5 more and more involved in the ACC is the right thing, not the wrong thing. Chill.
I agree 100% about playing Ojiako. All preseason we heard that he was a force, and was coming along, would play a lot, etc., etc. Maybe there is something we don’t know. But I can guarantee you this – we aren’t beating anyone that is good playing the equivalent of six / seven players unless the stars align and we find a way to pull off an upset at home. We simply will wear out at the end.
Bookies (Vegas) have the Cav’s by 1.5.. Unless Alleyne comes out of his slump, will be worse than 1.5 points.. GO HOKIES, Please beat the Cav’s
Amazed that we have maintained our NET rating and Sagarin says the same thing. We’ve already lost two home games, have to win one on the road we are not supposed to. The hole is getting too deep.
We will be fine, we have a good team
I would be shocked if this team beats UVA, hope they turn things around but I just don’t see it.
I have confidence in Alleyne, he will bounce back, just needs a game that he gets it in gear. However, some players are better coming off of the bench, after he has a feel for the pace of the game.
His shooting motion has always been poor…very streaky at best.
Bottom of we can’t find a 3rd scorer we have no chance. If Alleyne continues his dismal shooting woes we will really struggle
Alleyne Should be on the bench with Maddox starting.
Problem is Maddox has one skill – spot up 3 point shooter. Can’t dribble, doesn’t drive, doesn’t handle the rock well enough to be trusted to move with the ball. Tired of everyone saying Maddox is the answer to Alleyne, he’s just not. He needs to work on everything EXCEPT his 3 point shooting and then he can get more PT.
The elephant in the room.