Virginia Tech game thread! 11/26/21

[muskieman]

A miracle win. Another second half let down. VT got a shot off at the end plus 2 tip shots and nothing went down....thank goodness.

I don't know if it was as much as 2nd half letdown or balancing out of a way overachieving first half. They got good looks for the most part, but wish they varied the offense more and not relied on 4 out the whole time, but they were limited with personnel obviously. I'm glad it turned out well but would not want to rely on a Nunge trey to bring X back, as great of an asset as he is in every other way.

Scruggs had a rough tourney and topped it off by forcing a one on four with 1:10 seconds in a tie game, allowing V Tech to take the lead. Johnson played the game of his career and bailed X out. Odom was equally responsible for the bucket because he drove in and collapsed the D, then kicked it out. That's what Scruggs should have done a minute earlier.

Great heart was shown by the team, and kudos to Steele for willing them to a win.

I agree with the balancing. I watch VT play Memphis and they play 40 minutes, and Memphis has NBA players on the court and the bench. As for Paul, he has had more than two games where he has not scored. In the one game he took over at the end he had not played well up till the final few minutes. I like going to war with him as opposed to without him but I hope he becomes less pressed and doesn't think he always has to be the closer.

NOW get everyone healthy and Free back to scoring for X and making the Jack and Zack attack the most feared two men in college basketball.

[Anti-Homer]

Need to say something positive about Coach Steele. Being short-handed, he played a slow-down offense to limit overall possessions. Turned into the desired one possession game ... X made the big shot and VT could not get the ball to drop.

VT focused on Paul Scruggs, and Paul might also be slowed due to health, and Nate Johnson made them pay.

Exhale, a good win. Go X!

Agreed regarding Coach Steele. I think they focused on Scruggs initially, but he fed right into their game plan and forced a lot of shots. Why they didn't hedge a player on Johnson after he singlehandedly helped X build a double-digit lead in the 1st is beyond me.

[muskieman]

Need to say something positive about Coach Steele. Being short-handed, he played a slow-down offense to limit overall possessions. Turned into the desired one possession game ... X made the big shot and VT could not get the ball to drop.

VT focused on Paul Scruggs, and Paul might also be slowed due to health, and Nate Johnson made them pay.

Exhale, a good win. Go X!

Agreed regarding Coach Steele. I think they focused on Scruggs initially, but he fed right into their game plan and forced a lot of shots. Why they didn't hedge a player on Johnson after he singlehandedly helped X build a double-digit lead in the 1st is beyond me.

I think they thought Paul is the go-to guy and we need to shut him down as State did or he will get hot. There was one group I liked was when X had Paul, Kyky, Nate, and Adam on the floor which I thought put a lot of pressure on their D. I could see that with Zach or Jack on the floor as the big man.

[Anti-Homer]

Need to say something positive about Coach Steele. Being short-handed, he played a slow-down offense to limit overall possessions. Turned into the desired one possession game ... X made the big shot and VT could not get the ball to drop.

VT focused on Paul Scruggs, and Paul might also be slowed due to health, and Nate Johnson made them pay.

Exhale, a good win. Go X!

Agreed regarding Coach Steele. I think they focused on Scruggs initially, but he fed right into their game plan and forced a lot of shots. Why they didn't hedge a player on Johnson after he singlehandedly helped X build a double-digit lead in the 1st is beyond me.

I think they thought Paul is the go-to guy and we need to shut him down as State did or he will get hot. There was one group I liked was when X had Paul, Kyky, Nate, and Adam on the floor which I thought put a lot of pressure on their D. I could see that with Zach or Jack on the floor as the big man.

Freemantle is very good at shooting the short corner, and Nunge is very crafty around the rim, so he, Free, and Johnson on the high wing ball side will be fun to watch. Kunkel too (along w/Johnson) on games when he is on.

[X-lucidity]

Monumental win- because a loss would have been soul crushing after holding a lead for so long & coming home 0-2. Lots of mistakes, mental and physical to work on, but we will take the gutty 'Dub. Fantastic drive & kick by Odom at that crucial last bucket. His timing was perfect and his pass crisp and right into Nate's shooting pocket in stride. Nice way to ease us into the rest of this Holiday weekend!!

[olsingledigit]

Monumental win- because a loss would have been soul crushing after holding a lead for so long & coming home 0-2. Lots of mistakes, mental and physical to work on, but we will take the gutty 'Dub. Fantastic drive & kick by Odom at that crucial last bucket. His timing was perfect and his pass crisp and right into Nate's shooting pocket in stride. Nice way to ease us into the rest of this Holiday weekend!!

Amen. Good summary!

[muskieman]

Not sure that Iowa state game will do much damage after seeing State dismantle a Memphis team loaded with NBA players that make long and understatement. Iowa St turned Memphis over by double digits in the first half and 21 with 3 minutes to go

[longliveskip]

considering the obstacles this team was facing: no Miles, Hunter, or Jones. Scruggs and Kunkel looked nowhere near 100%. still no Freemantle, etc. I'd say this was a HUGE win. yes, it took a monumental effort from Nate but someone else HAD TO step up and guess what.......HE DID.

considering the whipping we took from ISU, that's a nice way to bounce back. ISU loss ain't even gonna matter because that team is going to the dance. they're gonna win games. i don't care WHAT they did last season - that's a brand new coach, brand new team, and brand new culture. you could see it even more if you watched them play Memphis.

on to CMU. let's hope everyone is healthy this wednesday. it would be nice to see Freemantle play a quarter of the game.

LET'S GO!

[muskieman]

considering the obstacles this team was facing: no Miles, Hunter, or Jones. Scruggs and Kunkel looked nowhere near 100%. still no Freemantle, etc. I'd say this was a HUGE win. yes, it took a monumental effort from Nate but someone else HAD TO step up and guess what.......HE DID.

considering the whipping we took from ISU, that's a nice way to bounce back. ISU loss ain't even gonna matter because that team is going to the dance. they're gonna win games. i don't care WHAT they did last season - that's a brand new coach, brand new team, and brand new culture. you could see it even more if you watched them play Memphis.

on to CMU. let's hope everyone is healthy this wednesday. it would be nice to see Freemantle play a quarter of the game.

LET'S GO!

my sources tell me that there were more than the Mile, Jones, and Huner throwing up during the Iowa State game and the same goes for the VTech game. I hope getting home that whoever was sick is on the mend and others get it out before the Oklahoma and UC game.

[edgecliff hall]

Honor to our gutsy players and their coaches. All For One. One For All.