Wednesday night’s blown 21-point lead against Notre Dame was very disappointing. A victory could have seen the Hokies potentially move up to a No. 7 seed, but alas, it appears they are stuck on the dreaded 8-9 line. If that’s true, this will mark the third time in Tech’s last four NCAA Tournament appearances that they were in the 8-9 game.

But my bigger concern about last night’s game is the team’s mentality right now. Why do players, specifically Chris Clarke, keep making silly mental mistakes when they get riled up by the opposition? How empty is the team’s emotional tank after last night’s loss? Finally, where could the Hokies be heading for the NCAA Tournament, and whom could they be facing? We’ll talk about all of that in today’s article.

Chris Clarke’s Actions, and Getting Away From the Underdog Mentality

Chris Clarke has been a really valuable member of this team for his entire career. He willed the Hokies to victory with great performances late against Notre Dame in January and Duke in February. He’s a mismatch, he’s a good, hard-working guy and he’s an entertaining player.

He’s also got to learn to keep his emotions in check. I gave a talk about a local Lions Club meeting recently, and one of the questions I got from somebody in the crowd was “why does Chris Clarke do so many dumb things at the wrong time,” or something to that affect. I knew exactly where she was coming from. At that point, last night’s technical foul against Notre Dame hadn’t happened, but there were reasons to be concerned because of incidents earlier in the season.

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