From the opening tip, the Hokies looked rather stale and lethargic. There was poor defense, no movement on offense, and a transition game that was non-existent for most of the game. But despite all of that, Miami managed to win this game more so than the Hokies losing it.
The Hurricanes shot 70-percent in the first half and finished the game shooting 63-percent, which was their best mark on the season so far. Tech managed to shoot better than they normally do but just couldn’t match the Hurricanes on the offensive end.
Although this loss pushes the Hokies to 3-3 in the ACC, there were some positive signs to take away from this game. Jeff Allen came alive and really played well for the first time in almost two months. Allen had 19 points and really led the charge while Delaney was on the bench with two fouls.
Dorenzo Hudson was 4-8 from three and continues to be a serviceable scorer in ACC play. And, of course, JT Thompson continues on his tear, scoring 14 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench.
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The Hokies will now head into a week that will define its season. Tech will host both UNC and Clemson this week inside Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg. Win both and Tech is just a few more wins from a trip to the NCAA tournament. Lose both and Tech’s postseason chances area almost all but gone. Split them and the Hokies will still have a lot of work to do with just eight games remaining.
Stats
Bullet Points
- Its clear that Seth Greenberg just doesn’t trust his freshmen yet and the statistics prove that. Through six ACC games, every one of our four freshmen has seen a decrease in playing time, including Erick Green. Green came into ACC play averaging 14 minutes per game but in conference he’s only averaging 10.8. Ben Boggs was averaging 10.1 minutes per game but is now down to just three minutes. Manny Atkins was averaging 8.9 but is now down to just 3.0 a game. Cadarian Raines was averaging 6.8 but is now averaging only five minutes a game.
- Miami entered the game as the number one three-point shooting team in the ACC. The Hokies did little to stop Miami from shooting a few wide open threes and that truly was the difference in the game. There were a few times where Tech could crawl back within five but Miami would hit a three to extend the lead. Hopefully perimeter defense is one thing Seth Greenberg will have his team work on with another good three point shooting team coming up in the UNC Tar Heels.
- Sorry for the lack of bullet points but when you do 20 or so of these, you really run out of statistics and interesting things to say. However, for this last bullet point I do want to talk about the burst JT Thompson has given the Hokies over the past few games. Against Miami, JT had a few bonehead fouls but once again he was the only Hokie that was able to contribute off the Tech bench. If Greenberg can keep getting a 10 to 14 point effort each night out of JT, the Hokies are going to be very tough to beat down the stretch.
Next up
Next up for the Hokies is a home date with the struggling 13-8 (2-5) UNC Tar Heels on Thursday at 9 p.m.
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