Virginia Tech Postgame Thoughts

[IthacaMatt]

Winning 20 games in Year 1 is a great talking point for Red in recruiting.

I hope we can find that win.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah, I'm sure that did it.

Well, I don't think I've seen Chris Bell move so much without the ball as he did today. Where has that been for the last 27 games?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Daddy Copeland gave em the business down the stretch

Love Cop, but too much mustard cost him some points today. Good with the bad.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Yes, Mintz had a really good game. Created a lot more than usual, not complaining to the refs too much.

When Brown was getting lit up in the low post by Kidd, I was kind of hoping (around 7 minutes left) that he would throw Carey in there just to knock Kidd off the low block, and allow Maliq to compose himself.

Yep, Cope with a couple spin cycles too many. You don't need to make every reverse layup into an audition for SportsCenter. But he makes so many plays for us.

What was all that chatting between Judah and the ref?

 

[jdubs30]

We’re in the tournament.


If it started today we wouldn’t be but this team will do enough to get in. This backcourt with Q off the bench - could be exciting.


Maliq was very involved offensively all night. Was clearly on purpose too. Very encouraging

 

[dollarbill44]

considering Chris didn’t add much tonight, HT needed to play more but luckily Judah went into NBA mode

Chris had a really big block when VT was making a run.

 

[Sbucketball]

Love Cop, but too much mustard cost him some points today. Good with the bad.

Less mustard, more onions.

 

[Scooch]

For all the nerves, the game never got closer than 7 in the second half. And that was for just one possession.

We actually did a good job of protecting the lead.

 

[kcsu]

Some people might remember that Sherm used to airmail one into the 2nd row once in a while. Just think about all those "auditions" that next year are just part of his repertoire and he finishes them. He's is so fun to watch. He needs a shooter and a baseline slasher to dish to to realize his potential.

He improves every game. His growth this season has been excellent. If he continues he is going to be playing in the league in a few years. He is a special talent.

 

[RedtheGOB]

That georgia tech game is pissing me off more and more. Such a winnable game, we’d probably be right on the bubble if we didnt gag it away.

Win the next 2 and it’s on.

Possible that can sneak into Q2. Eye test for committee hopefully won’t hurt us too bad cuz Duke and UNC have that same black eye.

 

[jdubs30]

Possible that can sneak into Q2. Eye test for committee hopefully won’t hurt us too bad cuz Duke and UNC have that same black eye.

So does Clemson

 

[RedtheGOB]

Considering we squeaked by Louisville at home. I think you’re getting just a tad ahead of things.

Not every day the only upperclassmen on your team gets dismissed the day before.

 

[RedtheGOB]

And LSU squeaking out, doubt they get up to Q2 but still hope for that. Need NC State to beat Florida State and we should wake up tomorrow with those wins sitting Q1/Q2.

Was hoping someone would say this. FSU shows up tonight to play tho.

 

[rocfan44]

Was hoping someone would say this. FSU shows up tonight to play tho.

I’m convinced the NET is the worst metric ever and we are not going to make drastic improvements there. I am looking more at ACCT seeding to give us the best opportunity to win. With that said I am pulling for FSU here to move us into the 6th seed.

 

[grepal]

Well, I don't think I've seen Chris Bell move so much without the ball as he did today. Where has that been for the last 27 games?

And that block keyed the single most important point in the game.

 

[capeorange]

What a block by Bell with that pin on poteat, bell showed me something there

One more great defensive play than a dead man...

 

[rrlbees]

Well done boys. One game at a time.

Two things I’ve noticed as tweaks in the offense. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen us using Bell some to set high screens for Judah. Maybe the thinking was the defender wouldn’t leave Bell out there alone like they would do with Brown thus giving Judah more room to drive?

And the last two games we’ve used Taylor as a true 4 on offense. He’s the 4 but we would often play 4 out and he’d be more a 2/3 looking for jumpers. Now, like many 4’s, he’s running the baseline which is creating different opportunities.

 

[rocfan44]

One more great defensive play than a dead man...

Exactly. Glad he got that block cause then we will remember that instead of his dreadful 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist.

 

[Wrinkle]

We will make the tournament

 

[Niastri]

Especially with the way they are playing right now. They didn’t score for 4 minutes in 2h and Bell made 1 three and they scored 80+

Any game where Bell is 1 of 8 from 3 and we win by double digits is a good game.

The offense has been frustrating at times, getting bogged down with isolation... But you can see why Red keeps going back to it!

A player like Mintz is an isolation nightmare, and if he gets a favorable matchup, he's good enough to carry the whole team offensively. Today was a perfect example of that.

 

[Jake]

If that Judah Mintz shows up the next two games, we’re in business. I thought Judah played his most solid game in a long time. That was nice. he completely took over the game down the stretch and there was really nothing. Virginia Tech could do about it. Their guards could not stay in front of him.

Game really came down to the fact that Va Tech doesn’t have a rim protector. I know we like to complain about the layups we give up, but we took it to the hole all night long.

Tech came out with the focus on taking Bell out of the game. They put number two on him early and did a nice job denying him the ball.

But we adjusted by attacking the rim and their other two guards couture, and Padula could not stay in front of Judah or Cope or JJ.

On offense they only attacked the rim with their bigs. I think we’re a bad matchup for Tech and wouldn’t mind seeing them early in the ACC.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Boeheim as mad at a player as I saw tonight with red and Chris Bell. It was really something. And you didn’t have to even read lips to understand the message that Red was trying to deliver. He essentially told Bell that he jogs back down court and doesn’t hustled back on defense. Woof it was unbelievable.

I know, Cope drives everyone crazy, myself included, but he’s getting so comfortable on the court and you can see the game has completely slowed down for him. he completely changes the dynamic of the game when he enters. The offense has more ball rotation player, movement, and I think it’s because players know that if they get open, he will find them. Even when they arent looking for it.

I believe that’s the third or fourth game in a row in which we’ve shot better than 55% from the field field. You can complain all you want about our defense, but I’m not sure that we’ve shot that well from the field as consistently in a very long time, we are getting better shots than we have in recent years.

We are playing our best ball of the season right now, and if we can somehow manage to win out and pick off one maybe two games in the ACC tournament. We might get a look on selection Sunday.

The Louisville game really worries me though. My fear is we come out flat and give Louisville life early in the game. If we come out strong, I think we can put them away because I don’t think they have much fight left.

Clemson would be a tough one to pick off.

 

[SoBristol]

Well done boys. One game at a time.

Two things I’ve noticed as tweaks in the offense. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen us using Bell some to set high screens for Judah. Maybe the thinking was the defender wouldn’t leave Bell out there alone like they would do with Brown thus giving Judah more room to drive?

And the last two games we’ve used Taylor as a true 4 on offense. He’s the 4 but we would often play 4 out and he’d be more a 2/3 looking for jumpers. Now, like many 4’s, he’s running the baseline which is creating different opportunities.

Good point about Taylor. He has missed enough jumpers to know he should look for other ways to contribute.

 

[Scooch]

We will make the tournament

Ummm, SPOILER?!?!

 

[corpjet]

Winning 20 games in Year 1 is a great talking point for Red in recruiting.

Agree 20 wins would be huge, icing on the cake is beating a top 10 UNC team and doing it with all sophomores is a great accomplishment for Red in year 1.

Let’s keep the momentum rolling!

 

[billsin01]

A Winner Was Judah. A superstar performance.

Loved that Red showed the trust in Cuffe to defend at the end of the game (and subsequently benched JJ, sorry for JJ, but he simply has to get better on D)

JJ's defense is weird, because he's obviously quick, has nice size and he actually works fairly hard. Just don't think he plays instinctively all that well on either end of the floor. Like he doesn't seem to anticipate and make calculated gambles defensively. Judah gambling 80 feet from the basket much of the year has been detrimental, but his anticipation and understanding of when to reach in makes him a tough defender when he's locked in. JJ doesn't seem to have that.