Virginia Tech has had some good defensive stretches over the course of the season. But not even three minutes into the second half of Monday’s game vs. Virginia, the Hokies had arguably their best defensive possession of the year.
In five seconds, Tech blocked three shots. That’s not a typo. Five seconds, three blocks, two of which came from Keve Aluma.
Virginia’s Kihei Clark attacked the basket from the right wing with seven seconds on the shot clock, 17:47 on the game clock. He was met by Keve Aluma, who slid over to help Storm Murphy, and his 6-10 frame. Aluma swatted it out of bounds right below the basket with four seconds on the shot clock.
Then, UVa ran an inbounds play to Jayden Gardner. Again, Aluma showed his defensive prowess, flying over to block the shot. Dead ball, two ticks on the shot clock.
Finally, the Cavaliers ran a set for Armaan Franklin. He curled off a screen at the top of the key, caught the ball on the right wing, and released it. But Justyn Mutts got there first.
Another block, one of Tech’s six on the night, and a UVa shot clock violation.
In front of the largest – and loudest – crowd Cassell Coliseum has hosted this season, the Hokies rattled Tony Bennett & Co. in Monday night’s 62-53 win.
UVa (16-10, 10-6 ACC) had more turnovers (ten) than assists (nine) and was 33% in the second half, all while Tech (16-10, 8-7) shot a 55.6% clip after intermission.
“We’re playing the way I envisioned us playing,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said afterwards. “I said when the lights come on, we needed to come on. We were in a tough spot. It was going to be beautiful, and we’re going to play really good basketball and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it, and that’s where we are.”
It started with shutting down Jayden Gardner, who carried Virginia in the first half.
At halftime, Gardner had 15 points and had scored six of his team’s 12 baskets. After shooting 6-of-11 in the first 20 minutes, he was 1-of-6 after the break, scoring just two points. All thanks to great defense from Justyn Mutts, who Aluma described as “relentless” on that end of the floor.
“I thought as good as Jayden is, I thought Mutts made him uncomfortable,” Young said. “He wants to rip at the baseline, he wants to … out of his left and step-back, and I thought Justyn really covered that up and did a great job on a really, really good player.”
“I thought we did a great job recognizing his strengths and then trying to take those away,” Mutts said of his defense on Gardner. “He’s a lethal mid-range shooter, lethal. If he gets a shot, we all know it’s going in, so really just trying to take that away and do whatever we can to take that away, and also just try to flock to other guys. They started killing us with the pick & roll late in the second half, but I thought our coaches did a real good job making that adjustment.”
On offense, the Hokies started to make some shots. They got good looks that just didn’t fall in the first half, but that wasn’t the case in the second.
Time and time again, Virginia Tech found a way to score, and no shot was bigger than Aluma’s Dirk Nowitzki-esque fadeaway with 1:19 remaining that iced the game.
“That’s just great players and good passing,” Young said of his team shooting 56% in the second half. “Mutts’s interior passing is a thing of beauty, and probably the shot of the game was, we got a little tentative and Aluma hits a turnaround jump shot opposite our bench at the bottom of the clock.
“I didn’t want to give them a bunch of stuff. I wanted them to play, and we did a lot of that in the first half and I thought we had good opportunities.”
Aluma led the Hokies in scoring with a game-high 24 points, and he only missed four shots (10-of-14). He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. But Aluma often was the product of something special from Mutts.
The Millville, N.J. native, who recorded a triple-double on Saturday vs. Syracuse, has a unique perspective of the game. He’s a staple for the Hokies defensively, and he finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. Mutts is an all-around player that is crucial to Virginia Tech’s success in every aspect of the game, and he’s shown it lately.
On Saturday, he recorded the school’s second-ever triple-double. In his last two games, Mutts has 20 points, 20 rebounds, 16 assists, one turnover, two blocks, two steals and one personal foul. For comparison, he had just two points, four rebounds, two assists and four personal fouls in January’s meeting with Virginia.
“He’s a unique player,” Young said of Mutts. “His vision, his gamesmanship, his lookaways, and there goes that dart down there to Aluma. Aluma does a great job, he’s got great hands.
“He’s a special player, and a lot of fun to coach. … See it all the time. Very unique for a 6-7, 6-8 man with that kind of skill set, and he is such a threat going at the rim and he’s so athletic around the hole. He’s a good one. Lucky to have him.”
All eight players who touched the floor for Tech scored, though Alleyne (11 points) was the only other to join Aluma in double figures. And despite the team making just five 3-pointers, tied with Dec. 22’s game at Duke for fewest number of treys in an ACC game this season, the Hokies controlled the game.
They shut down Virginia’s Kihei Clark (two points, two assists, two turnovers, four fouls). They didn’t allow their opponent to hit a three for the first time since Clemson on March 1, 2012. And they got to the free throw line 21 times, a major difference from just three instances in the previous meeting in John Paul Jones Arena.
The victory is the sixth in a row for the Hokies, who are above .500 again in the league. It’s an amazing feat, one that likely has never been done before. And it’s a run that’s been anchored on desperation, toughness and edginess.
That’s something Virginia Tech can’t, and won’t, lose sight of moving forward. Especially not when it results in wins like Monday’s.
“Fighting. Being desperate. Back to the wall,” Mutts said of Tech’s mindset as of late. “Wanting more, and knowing who we are, what we’re capable of, and knowing that we weren’t doing that. We dropped way too many games that we should’ve won throughout the season.
“Every game is a Super Bowl. That’s what coach Young has been telling us, and that’s how we’ve been taking it.”
Box Score: Link
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What’s so great is to see these kids develop over time and get better. Great group, great coaching and exciting to see. Thanks to all of you who brought back the environment I so loved as a student in the 80s.
No coach can like coming into The Cassell!
Great job Hokies! Let’s beat the UNCheat
Let’s not forget that crowd. Wow. The Hokie faithful deserve a big nod on this win too. You could see the team and the crowd feeding off one another the entire game. A thing of beauty.
What were the shouting last night?
Mainly “AIRBALL” and “KIHEI SUCKS”
Yes. Anticipated game at a critical time. Sold out. Great energy. Team delivered. That’s what college sports are (should be) all about!
Love the way this team has picked itself up off the mat. In doing so, they’ve clawed back to respectability and playoff contention. They’re playing now like we – and they – expected going into the season. Bravo! Now keep it going and beat Cheat!
If they have truly cracked the code on their game…Katie bar the door.
Loved the defense! Three-point shooting won’t get us there every time. It’s great to have the weapons and coaching to beat good teams in more than one way. If we just play to our ability for the rest of the season and make the tournament, we’ll be talking about this season for a long time to come!
Note how each of the games in this streak are highlighted by stellar play from different guys. You cannot key on any one individual because another will step up. And you damn well better not give us an open look by ANYONE beyond the arc!
This team is fun to watch.
Go Hokies!
Thanks I was recapping and adding the Notre Dame win
Six guys have had stellar games
We have had guard dominant wins, Mutts games, Aluma games, Murphy etc
You are spot on!!!!
Exactly! a couple of games ago it was the Pedulla and Cattoor show vs. FSU; this time the Mutts, Aluma, and Alleyne show. Maddox and N’Guessan were pivotal in yet another recent game. We’re enjoying a team that finally has the resources to adjust based on the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. We have a great bench! Last night it was the inside and mid-range game, while against FSU and their 8′ and 9′ players we 3-pointed the crap out of them. This depth and unpredictability for the opposition is just plain fun to watch and should bode well for us down the stretch and into the ACC tournament.
Go Hokies!
The crowd “beat” K Clark last night. Every time Clark touched the ball the crowd made super loud noise.
Good win, and now comes UNC and “fast basketball.” GO HOKIES!!!!!!!
Awesome recap, David! That was one special night and you captured it perfectly!
The 3 block possession David describes was followed Pedula’s block of Clark. Four consecutive blocked shots. That’s got to be a record.
For sure
Amazing energy on D in the second half
Great photos to capture a great game! Go Hokies!
ESPN called Cassell the loudest Coliseum in ACC..that was good to hear.
LOL
Please don’t rank the men’s team. That is the kiss of death and seems to take away the desperate, aggressive play style that this team needs to finish the season strong. One at a time. #beatUNCheaters
Don’t worry, Tech is far away from being ranked.
Coach Young is an elite offensive coach. The shots VT was getting against that tough UVA defense were excellent. So many times I’ve seen VT take desperation shots at the end of the shot clock against UVA’s defense. Tonight, we were getting good shots. If we had shot better, we rout UVA.
Keeshawn King has ELITE quickness
Great defensive performance. That’s two games where we haven’t shot that well and won (except FTs). This is what I am thinking the rest of the way If: 5-0 NCAA, 4-1 NCAA, 3-2 NCAA Bubble, 2-3 NIT, 1-4, NIT, 0-5 Nada. The way we are playing I think we will do 4-1 or 3-2. If our 3-2 does not include a win against UNC or Miami we will lack a signature win, which is something important if you are on the bubble, something we had last year.
But it’s nice to have something to cheer and get excited about. And women’s team is rocking as well and finally got ranked.
In my opinion, the only route to the NCAA is win-out and win at least two in ACC tourney. The hole this team dug earlier on in the season was just too deep. They’ve made a valiant run, but I think they’ll probably lose to both UNC and Miami, which will kill the chances. NIT isn’t a given, considering the amount of bubble teams floating around, but I think win 3 more games, maybe one in the tourney, will get an invite. We’ll see.
Could be but we are 35th in Net and 30th in Sagarin and in the next 4 out right now so that’s why I don’t think we have to win out. 2nd and 3rd in the ACC in those two rankings. To go 4-1 means we beat either Miami or UNC which would give us 1 big win. Not counting anything for sure.
Game Summary:
VT UVA
62 53 Final Score
——————————-
15 00 From Three Point Shots
30 44 From Two Point Shots
17 09 From Free Throws
Biggest VT Lead: 9 (60-51)
Biggest UVA Lead: 5 (18-13)
Last Tie (of 5): 44-44
Last Lead Change: VT 46, UVA 44
It Was Over: VT 54, UVA 48
Six in a row! The Hokies continued their recent roll, and moved to 8-7 in the ACC, by taking down our hated rival UVA! With this win, Mike Young’s charges secured a seventh straight winning Regular Season for Tech, and kept postseason hopes alive!