Virginia Tech blew an 11-point second half lead to UNC Greensboro and lost 55-52 in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies are now 7-5, while the Spartans improved to 7-7 on the season.
UNC-Greensboro picked up just their second win in school history against an ACC program, and their first win ever against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies were sloppy from the very beginning, but still managed to hold a 43-32 lead with 10:06 left in the game. However, they couldn’t make it stand up down the stretch thanks to a few different factors.
1: Shooting. Tech shot just 36% from the field, 20% from three-point range, and 56.5% from the free throw line.
2: Defense. Though Tech held UNCG to just 55 points, they had just one steal in the game, and the Spartan offense operated efficiency down the stretch.
3: Turnovers. The Hokies had 15 turnovers, many of them unforced.
4: Softness. Tech was outrebounded 30-28 by a team that featured a 6-5 “center”.
Jarell Eddie had a rough night, scoring just four points and going 1-of-12 from the field. Marshall Wood paced Tech with 14 points, while Ben Emelogu and Joey van Zegeren each had 11 points.
Arizona State transfer Kyle Cain put up 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting for UNC Greensboro. He also had 10 rebounds. 6-5 post player Kayel Locke added 15 points for the Spartans.
What was a decent start to the season has rapidly gone downhill for Virginia Tech. After taking 13 days off following the win at Miami, the Hokies were smoked by 30 by VCU, and now have lost at home to a UNC Greensboro team that was blown out by Presbyterian at home.
The Hokies return to action on Tuesday, December 31 when they host Maryland-Eastern Shore, who is coached by former Tech head coach Frankie Allen. Tipoff is scheduled for 4pm, and the game can be seen online on ESPN3.
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Not sure we have an accurate read on this team or the coach at this point. JJ coached through a disastrous transition last year. He recruited some decent talent given the time available to cobble a team of freshmen and sophomores together. They’re playing with one freshman point guard. It is going to take a while for them to learn to play together and we will see the ups and downs. Give them a break! They will get better. It may not be this year but I think the foundation is there to start to build.
One team had desire against all odds, the other did not have that desire and could not rely on superior athleticism and length….desire prevailed. Tech hoops needs to take a long look in the mirror. That was absolutely pathetic.
Disagree about a new football coach….you live in la-la land if you think or program is ever going to be more than what we had it for a great stretch…still good, we owe Beamer whatever time he wants
Basketball is a mess….once again we ar soft…a 6′ 5″ center and we are outrebounded…. I have seen it all year, outhustled on every single 50-50 ball. We can talk about talent and all the excuses in the world, but there is no rationale when we go into games knowing we have some deficits, but we have no pride. All you ask is a group of guys that hustle and play their butt iff. Saw it night in and night out with Greenberg….for all his faults that one can point out (and they are valid), we had someone that could coach and motivate guys to hustle and believe. The longer we stay with JJ, the longer we dig out program’s hole to worse and worse, and the harder to recover. Wish him the best, I just have seen enough of his resume to know what to expect from our efforts.
The Bottom Line is This- New President, New AD, and God Willing- New Football Coach, and of course- New Basketball Coach- a quick Fix from a Feeble AD- probably the “Titanic” that will mark Weaver’s career. Better days ahead, as UCLA kicks our Butts in the Sun Bowl- but, change is around the corner!
Going to be a looooong season. If we can’t beat a 2nd tier team (with a sub .500 record) imagine how we will do against ACC teams. I wish Coach JJ the best and hope they can turn this around soon.
Losses at home to USCU and UNCG?!?! Will we win another ACC game?
Soft… No focus… Too much turkey …NO excuse for this loss…period.
I can’t wait to see the Greensboro News and record tomorrow. Going to have to take my VT tags off the car. Embarrassing
Chris Coleman (quote)…”The Hokies return to action on Tuesday, December 31 when they host Maryland-Eastern Shore, who is coached by former Tech head coach Frankie Allen.”
If VT loses to Frankie Allen and MD-ES…… ugh! Time to move on quickly!
Basketball just like football, giving the other team their firsts.
JJ is a nice guy but the obvious issue is that it was a very poor hire by an ACC school. Especially bad considering all the schools that were just added to the ACC.
This isn’t going to turn out pretty
Will we win another game this year? JJ will get one more year dye to the AD turnover but it won’t be soon enough.
Are losses like this really upsets any more. Geez.
Vegas thought so… VT -14
Yeek
Best…reply…ever. Yeek indeed.
Afraid this is not going to work out for JJ. New AD is going to earn his keep immediately.
Really bad. As I’ve said many times, Eddie is SOFT and unless his jumper is going he is a non-contributor.
Embarrassing….
Becoming a pattern for JJ…start a little better than expected, then lose the team during the holidays and tank
Two seasons make a pattern?
Yes. More than once is a pattern. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern