MBB vs VT 1/22/2025

[CEB]

Not a super impressive display but we made plays down the stretch. Great hustle play by Baye and great D to follow…
Hitting FT can never be DE-emphasized.
Excellent close out!

 

[Techwood Relict]

Good grind win. 6 days to get healthy(er). Hopefully we can compete against the Irish on the road.

 

[AUFC]

Nice win, game went about how I figured. Gave up a ton of second chances to a team that rebounds the ball extremely well, our guards had their way with a defense of guys who really don't belong in a power conference (their AD funneled every ounce of NIL to football this past offseason). Generated a ton of takeaways against one of the most careless offenses in D1.

Ultimately I hope the guys feel good about the win heading into their weekend hiatus. They are obviously shorthanded and playing a ton of minutes every game and have been trying their best which gives me some hope that CDS can inspire his troops next season when we've got a full roster again.

 

[orientalnc]

I want to remind everyone that 20 year old men in top condition can play 40 minutes of basketball. We were the fresher team at the end tonight.

 

[Ramble1885]

Good win, wish I was there but I got Algebra test tomorrow so I couldn’t go

Thankfully we were treated to the BEST commentary crew (Wes, Cory, and Boehiem)

nice win, especially with how banged up we are.

 

[Connell62]

I want to remind everyone that 20 year old men in top condition can play 40 minutes of basketball. We were the fresher team at the end tonight.

Sure, they can but when they’re forced to do it game-after-game, that’s where the problems originate. It makes our margin of error non-existent.

Nice win by the guys tonight, but it wasn’t easy. I thought it was a really good effort by both teams. VT made it difficult for us, but the D really stepped up down the stretch.

VT shot 42% (11/26) from 3, out rebounded us by 10 (37-27) while we shot 65.4% (17/26) from the charity stripe, and we still won by 7. Goes to show you what the team is capable when they play with this level of effort.

In closing, I’ve been critical of Baye’s effort all season but not tonight. He was all over the court, snatching boards, and hustling. His huge steal and dunk was a beautiful. We’re a much better team when he plays with purpose.

 

[stinger78]

Nice win!

 

[GTHomer]

Great effort by the guys tonight. 40 minutes of PT for Powell with his 23 points. With the exception of Souare who went out early with a wrist injury but returned, the starters played 37+ minutes.

We had our first 'Sutton sighting' in a while. He gave good effort while in the game. Maybe he can get more PT going forward?

I realize that Souare is 'work in progress' however he makes it 4 on 5 when we are on offense. Even the commentators wondered why he consistently stood in the corner. Could one of the coaches work with him on how to effectively set a screen followed by a hard roll to the basket with his far hand in the air? Doing this could pull a defender for the possibility that he might get the ball while opening things up for the player with the ball. I saw too many plays where he did not make a hard roll.

 

[orientalnc]

Sure, they can but when they’re forced to do it game-after-game, that’s where the problems originate. It makes our margin of error non-existent.

Nice win by the guys tonight, but it wasn’t easy. I thought it was a really good effort by both teams. VT made it difficult for us, but the D really stepped up down the stretch.

I’ve been critical of Baye’s effort all season but not tonight. He was all over the court, snatching boards, and hustling. We’re a much better team when he plays with purpose.

Game after game can be a problem. I think Damon has to alter his plan to give guys rests. Some need it more than other. Powell and Souare played their tails off tonight.

 

[ESPNjacket]

Not a super impressive display but we made plays down the stretch. Great hustle play by Baye and great D to follow…
Hitting FT can never be DE-emphasized.
Excellent close out!

The two hustle steals by Baye late in the game are the types of plays you need from a team leader. We need more of that!

 

[Fizz74]

Janicewhokeepsmehumble and I enjoyed the game. GT had only 6 fouls and 10 turnovers total for the game. They won on steals and points on fast breaks. The game was in doubt until the last minute when Ndongo got that final steal. Stoudamire has moved Ndongo out on the wing on both ends. His speed makes a huge difference on the defense. He had 5 steals. He and Soare trapped guys driving the baseline behind the basket a couple of times. He had a great game. It was a strong effort by the starting 5. Only 14 minutes off the bench. The jump shots were not falling In the second half, probably due to fatigue. They gutted it out. It was great. We were glad to be there.

 

[gte447f]

Good win. Really good defensive game plan to shut down their big man. We were doubling him in the post with Souare and Ndongo a good bit, especially when he turned baseline. Our other three, for the most part, were doing a good job of covering up his outlet passes when he was being double teamed. Like someone else said, I also think this was a better defensive effort than usual from the Jackets. Forced 17 turnovers, had 11 steals, Ndongo had 5, and 3 different players blocked shots. Converted 20 points off turnovers and scored 14 fast break points.

Career game for Duncan Powell. I like that guy. He was giving high fives to the front row at the buzzer.

 

[MacDaddy2]

Was very impressed by the team tonight. Nice win and great effort by the players

 

[Poodletop]

Any idea when we can start getting people back from injury?

 

[gte447f]

I only know what I’ve heard from media. Mustaf maybe 1-2 weeks. Reeves and O’Brien no timeline. Terry has the flu so hopefully only out for one game.

 

[57jacket]

Nice win, especially considering Terry didn't play and Mccollum had a terrible night. I liked Powell from the start of the season for his toughness, but then he started hitting threes! Only bad performance tonight was allowing VT a ton of 2nd chance opportunities in the first half. Not so much in the 2nd when coach played a little bigger lineup. Happy for the guys.

 

[GTJason]

I think the most important recruits for next year are anyone who has eligibility next year and played in tonight's game. The guys were locked in and even when VPI hit a clutch 3, just kept going. Also for the love of God can we please hit free throws? I'm too lazy to check but i would bet we're a bubble team if we hit half the free throws we missed this season. It's like a GT moniker or something. I remember in 2005 Jack vs Paul and Jack hit some clutch free throws to seal the game in OT. It's important to hit those shots!

 

[Jacket4Life]

Most complete game we played this season. Great win!

 

[SecretAgentBuzz]

Great win! They showed a lot of grit and determination, and, similar to the FSU game, I was proud of their effort. The boost Powell gave us at the beginning of the game was HUGE. We have been starting soooooo slow, so having him come out and hit big shots early gave the team confidence. We basically played 5 guys the whole game, which is not sustainable, but worked well in this one because the refs mostly let them play. If anybody had been in foul trouble, we might would have seen walk-ons. Really incredible to pull out such a win against a hungry team like VT with so few players available. And I liked the consistent drives to the basket and good passing on offense. Players are trusting each other and playing well together (which is the benefit of so much time together on the court). We desperately need to get healthy. I still think this team might have a run in them, but its almost certainly too late for any postseason play. Either way, I'm here for the ride.

 

[awbuzz]

Any idea when we can start getting people back from injury?

November???