Men's Basketball Recap Week 3: Struggles Continue, Hokies Now Winless in Five Straight

Virginia Tech went into this semifinal knowing Michigan would be one of, if not the most formidable opponent that they have faced so far this season. For 20 minutes, it seemed like the Hokies would hang as they went into the break down by just a point. And after a Jaydon Young three point basket put the Hokies up 49-46 with 14:30 left in the second half, there seemed to be a beacon of hope that the Maroon and Orange could pull it out in Florida. However, from that point on Michigan outscored Virginia Tech 29-14 and cruised to victory. Yet again, it felt as though the telling tales from the game was the shooting and ball security of the Hokies that lost them the game. In this matchup, Virginia Tech shot 24% from 3 and turned the ball over 19 times. As has been the story all season long, when you look at the roster the young guys outnumber the experienced. The shooting and turnover statistics can definitely be tied back to that fact considering that many of the Hokies had never played in an MTE and/or against a team as good as the Michigan Wolverines. Despite the loss, the fact that Virginia Tech stuck around for as long as they did was a light at the end of the tunnel, providing hope that one of these games that sticking around would pay off in the end.

All around, the Hokies played a much better game against South Carolina than they had against Michigan. Turnover numbers dropped drastically, 19 to nine, and three point percentage nearly doubled going from 24% to 44%. Yet, the result was still the same. There is one area in which the Hokies may have shot themselves in the foot during this game. Fouls. They fouled South Carolina 20 times throughout the game. As a team Virginia Tech shot nine free throws, making six. Contrary to South Carolina who made 13 out of 21. That's a huge difference. Too many free points given up down the stretch that can be easily avoided. That coupled with runs of not being able to put the ball in the hoop directly lead to another loss for the Hokies. Down the stretch, the team just needs to see one go through and a boost of confidence will follow.

History has repeated itself again. After a solid first half, Virginia Tech wasn't able to hang in the second 20 and Vanderbilt took advantage of that with zero hesitation. We've seen this happen against Jacksonville and Michigan as well where the Hokies just can't seem to find a rhythm in the second half of games. There were multiple instances especially in the last 15 minutes of the game where it seemed Virginia Tech had gained some momentum. A Tyler Johnson poster, a Jaden Schutt trey, a Ben Burnham steal and dunk. All three of those instances got everyone on their feet, but shortly after the Hokies would go another couple minutes without scoring. After the game I asked Mylyjael Poteat why it was that him and his team couldn't sustain those mini runs. He responded by saying "We gotta run our stuff more polished, be smart with the ball, take good shots, and really just be strong with the ball". Poteat also eluded to the fact that other teams are "seeing that if they get to us it'll mess us up". In his postgame press conference, Coach Young simply said "We just gotta play harder for longer". A simple task that they're oh so close to completing. On a positive note, we saw some of the best individual performances out of players such as Ben Burnham, Tyler Johnson, and Jaden Schutt. When asked about Tyler Johnson after the game, Coach Young said he "played very, very well" putting up "his best game defensively, you know what you're going to get with him on the glass". With all of these young guys beginning to show up at different points during the game, one would have to think that the pieces in the puzzle are going to fit sometime in the near future.

December 7. vs #18 Pittsburgh

December 12. vs North Carolina A&T

December 15. vs Navy