GT vs Virginia Polytechnic 2/23

[Techwood Relict]

Third game in six days. Howard competing but picked up a referee cheapie and now has 3 in the first half. The team is shooting well. Would like to pick a home win with a solid second half.

 

[Techwood Relict]

and there's Howard's 5th with 8 1/2 to play. Team is struggling with flow in the back half. Fatigue seems to be an issue leading to loose play.

 

[GTbball2016]

Pathetic offense for ten minutes cost GT the game. Such a disappointing season all around.

 

[tsrich]

Awful awful awful officiating. Really changed the game

 

[Techwood Relict]

This one is reflective of the early season games, all Devoe, Ush and watching the youth learn to play. On the far horizon, it seems we'll be more evenly balanced next year for scoring, but we're going to need some strong advances from Deebo and ?? to make up the scoring that's graduating.

 

[mstranahan]

Really sad to see McCamish about 1/4 full for a late season ACC game. We were leading in the first half due in large part to VPI missing a lot of open threes. They shoot 40% as a team and they missed some wide open looks early, which opened the door for us. Thankfully they never did find the range, ending up at 25%, but they hit enough to stretch the lead out and we couldn't close the deal at the end.
I'm really going to miss Ush. He has played his rear end off this year, even when it was obvious we would be at the bottom of the conference and had no prayer of post season. Hope we can find some more kids like Jose & Ush in the future.

 

[OG-T]

I like every player, but Meka is so out of position at the elbow catch it’s painful to watch and HOPE something develops, or at best it’s not a turnover. Was upset Pastner didn’t sub in K. Moore with 40seconds left in first half. It was a dead ball, and he could have. Didn’t, then Meka turnover, they come down and get Aluma layup. Hated that sequence.
More Jalon Moore. Shoulda been playing much earlier in season. Wasn’t a win, but again, winnable. Other than NC State game, feel we could have won most/many. Need miracle streak to make up for season of tough luck. I’ll keep strongly supporting til no games left.

 

[jbix80]

We have been right there…just can’t finish the deal. Coach has played next years team together some the past couple games. Maybe he’s played a few more guys because of three games in five days, but I’ve enjoyed watching them play together. I like the way Jalon Moore looks like on the court. Howard has looked like a new man. We just need to figure out how to keep him out of foul trouble. I don’t know what his +/- was last night, but we had to be + with him on the court and - with him off. I try not to complain about refs much, but I really don’t know what a big man is supposed to do on his fourth and fifth fouls last night. He literally stood there with his arms straight up. The offensive player rammed into him on his way to the hoop and he got the foul. His fourth one was especially bad, IMO. Coach Rev has really turned him into a potential threat going into next year. I still think the Coleman/Moore/Kelly combo is going to be good.

 

[SandySpringsJacket]

Really sad to see McCamish about 1/4 full for a late season ACC game. We were leading in the first half due in large part to VPI missing a lot of open threes. They shoot 40% as a team and they missed some wide open looks early, which opened the door for us. Thankfully they never did find the range, ending up at 25%, but they hit enough to stretch the lead out and we couldn't close the deal at the end.
I'm really going to miss Ush. He has played his rear end off this year, even when it was obvious we would be at the bottom of the conference and had no prayer of post season. Hope we can find some more kids like Jose & Ush in the future.

I saw Mark Price speak at the GT lunch bunch this week. He said there were about 100 people in Alexander for his first game. By his junior year, people were lining up around the place to try to get in. Winning cures a lot of that but I agree Tech fans are not rabid by nature.

 

[Steverc]

Awful awful awful officiating. Really changed the game

Devoe fouled a guy's hand with his neck and then got a technical.

 

[g0lftime]

Looks to me that Pastner has gone to letting Devoe run the offense like he did with Jose. That just isn't Devoe's strength and teams are doubling him. Mike just doesn't have the quickness that Jose had. It's got to be frustrating for Mike since he is having to work hard for his shots. I wonder if Saba and Maxwell will be on this team next year? Both buried on the bench now. J Moore and Coleman look to be potential stars. I am going to miss Usher. One of my all time favorites. Hope he has a successful career.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

I think I missed it on the broadcast last night, but what did Devoe do to earn a T? Heard it could have been something he said? Was it a straight up argument with the ref or one of those "automatic T" words he let slip?

 

[lv20gt]

I think I missed it on the broadcast last night, but what did Devoe do to earn a T? Heard it could have been something he said? Was it a straight up argument with the ref or one of those "automatic T" words he let slip?

Said it was BS, using the words, after a ticky tack foul called on him that defenders having been doing to him all year and that they also didn't call later on VT when he took it to the basket. He nearly shot the ref a dirty look at the no call. Then they called Howard on the other end for less contact than they just let go.

Horribly inconsistent.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Said it was BS, using the words, after a ticky tack foul called on him that defenders having been doing to him all year and that they also didn't call later on VT when he took it to the basket. He nearly shot the ref a dirty look at the no call. Then they called Howard on the other end for less contact than they just let go.

Horribly inconsistent.

Thanks. Watching the game last night, if I was playing, I would have gotten a T too. Like you said, horribly inconsistent.

 

[g0lftime]

Refs give benefit of the doubt to top teams that are perceived to be better. Duke gets the calls. UNC got the calls under Dean Smith. Happened in our HS team. We had one of the best teams in the state and had a lot of calls go our way. Won a lot of games at the foul line. It's tough to overcome. Happens in FB as well.

 

[Steverc]

I think I missed it on the broadcast last night, but what did Devoe do to earn a T? Heard it could have been something he said? Was it a straight up argument with the ref or one of those "automatic T" words he let slip?

Devoe was on defense and the guy stiff armed him in the neck and got the call. He said BS to the ref.

 

[gte447f]

I knew it would be a tough ask after Howard fouled out with 8.5 minutes to go, and sure enough we played our worst ball of the night for the next 5 minutes or so playing small ball or Meka at the high post, both poor options. We got down by 13, I think, and had to mount a late come back in the last 2-3 minutes. Valiant effort, but ran out of time. Never should have let them stretch it to double digits after controlling the game for 3/4’s. Wish pastner would have played Saba instead of Meka after Howard went out. Meka is ok but inconsistent on defense, but is a major liability on offense. Plus he is undersized as a center, so even with him in the game, we’re still basically playing small ball, but with only 4 possible scorers. If Khalid is also in, then make it only 3 possible scorers.

Another close loss, lost opportunity. Feel bad for the seniors. This team is close to being 13-4 instead of 4-13 (maybe a little exaggeration but you get the point).

Devoe could be amazing paired with another dynamic scorer or in a more diverse offense. As it is he is the focus for 40 minutes and has to struggle mightily to carry the load and get his 18 points per game.

 

[SecretAgentBuzz]

Another close loss. A few more "winning plays," and we take this one. For the most part, the team played well, but we just can't seem to make the big shot or make the big stop. Did we use up all of our "luck" last year? Or does this team lack a winning edge? I really don't know the answer, but it is frustrating because, despite our poor record, we aren't far away.

-Howard has really turned the corner, and he is making a huge difference right now when he is on the court. He was only +1 but when we needed a basket he was the one to get it (who would have thought?). It's a shame he was in foul trouble all game, especially since only two or maybe three of those were real fouls. He does foul too much, but I thought he played good defense but got called for some bogus fouls. Reveno Magic is real.
-There was a real dropoff when Howard went out. Meka is a pretty good defender, but lacks a lot on offense. When he is in, we should never run the Princeton elbow through him--he is not strong with the ball.
-Too many TOs again. VT defended the passing lanes well and we tried to force things.
-JMoore was once again good, and he had more minutes that KhMoore in this one. The two blocks and the 3 were big. The rest...a mixed bag.
-We played some funky defense in this one. I think we were afraid of getting killed by Aluma on the inside, but our zone went really wacky a few times. I like how it confuses the defense.
-VT had one stretch where Maddox came out of nowhere to score 8 in a couple of minutes, and that made the difference. I like how we stormed back at the end, but again, when we needed a big shot to tie the game, we couldn't get it to go.
-Officiating was bad again, but at least it was consistently inconsistent. Fouls and FT were about even.
-We missed Deivon. His speed and athleticism would have been helpful. Sturdy was sturdy, and made some big shots.

I am enjoying watching all of these games. I don't like losing and I know the team doesn't either. Let's go beat ND! Go Jackets!

 

[tsrich]

..
-Officiating was bad again, but at least it was consistently inconsistent. Fouls and FT were about even.
-...

I would disagree with this. For once we were the team driving and initiating contact, and still didn't get any calls. Meanwhile Va Tech got every ticky-tack call available. I'm not a 'refs are against us' guy, but the calls in this game made the difference in the final score...

 

[LargeFO]

I would disagree with this. For once we were the team driving and initiating contact, and still didn't get any calls. Meanwhile Va Tech got every ticky-tack call available. I'm not a 'refs are against us' guy, but the calls in this game made the difference in the final score...

A couple of their guards were hacking and grabbing all game long.