Virginia Tech got off to a slow start, but eventually crushed an overmatched Grambling State team 87-52 in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night. The Hokies improved to 8-3 on the season, while the Tigers dropped to 2-9.
Tech led just 35-32 at halftime, but poured it on in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 52-20 for the easy win. The Hokies didn’t play well in the first half, but part of that was due to their different starting lineup. For the previous two games, Tech played very well with the following starting lineup…
G Devin Wilson
G Jalen Hudson
G/F Justin Bibbs
G/F Chris Clarke
F Zach LeDay.
However, Buzz Williams went with the following starting lineup against Grambling State…
G Justin Robinson
G Seth Allen
G Matt Galloway (walkon who was a team manager last season)
F Kerry Blackshear
F Shane Henry
Buzz noted on the postgame that the regular starters did not perform well in practice during the week, and he isn’t going to reward players for bad practices by starting them. LeDay didn’t get into the game until the second half, and Chris Clarke didn’t play at all due to an illness.
Once the starters were on the court for the second half, the Hokies had their way with Grambling State. Justin Bibbs had a huge night, scoring a career-high 31 points. He also tied Malcolm Delaney’s school record with seven three-pointers in a game. He was 7-of-10 from the outside against the Tigers.
There were several other good performances as well…
Kerry Blackshear: 11 points, 12 rebounds.
Seth Allen: 13 points, 7 rebounds
Zach LeDay: 14 points, 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes
Justin Robinson: 8 points, 7 assists, only one turnover
Blackshear became the first Tech freshman since Jeff Allen to record a double-double in back-to-back games.
The Hokies outrebounded Grambling State 38-29. That includes 17 offensive rebounds, and Tech scored 13 second chance points. They scored 42 points in the paint against the overmatched Tigers, and scored 24 points off 24 Grambling State turnovers.
Virginia Tech returns to action on Tuesday when they play St. Joseph’s in Brooklyn. The game will tipoff at 1pm, and can be seen on ESPN3.com.
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Is Delaney still playing? Can I go anywhere online to find VT players still playing?
Google “Malcolm Delaney.”
Good one. But sometimes the databases for finding information on their post college careers if playing internationally can be spotty. Or, cost money to subscribe. I know that some websites chart the pro careers of past football players for VT. I just wondered if there is ever any follow up for previous bball players. Never mind.
CC- thanks for the summary. Will you or someone else provide analysis on the game. Or Buzz’ strategy? Of course he’s not going to do this in a tougher game where the game results hang in the balance.
Interesting tactic, though- and this would be the last game to do it. If the players want to play, they have to make the effort at the level that Buzz wants them to.
I also like him playing a completely different set of players, and give them a chance to player together in a live game environment. Players riff off of one another, and they have to build a chemistry- if you have to rely on your depth off the bench, it’s necessary to have the second string be able to play together, beyond substituting one guy in at a time.
Go Hokies! Beat St. Joes! In Buzz We Trust! IBWT
Again, putting your subs in at the end of a game well won just doesn’t have the same effect as starting your subs and having then fight and claw to a respectable score.
What would Allen Iverson say? We talking about practice! I know Buzz is sending a message about effort but if you don’t play your best players against the ACC teams until the 2nd half, you will be too far behind to come back. It will be interesting to see how he handles it later in the year. It is good to see progress in both our basketball programs this year.
I think he handles it the same way. If they want to play, they’ll practice to his satisfaction. It shouldn’t matter who the opponent is. In the real world, you don’t get a promotion for being a slacker nor do you get “a big project ” opportunity for being lazy.
That may have short term benefits (i.e. the win in that game) but Buzz is focused on building a culture and isn’t going to take shortcuts in doing so. He’s trying to win the war and isn’t worrying so much about the individual battles.
The put back by Blackshear around 15:20 in the first half is a thing of beauty. Just quick, smooth, under control, pro. Yeah, just one play but looking forward to him getting his foot fixed and a year under his belt (waistband) and seeing what he will be able to do.