Box Score

The Hokies dropped their ninth straight game Thursday night before a national TV audience, losing to sixth-ranked duke, 88-56, at home. So much for #BEATDUKE. The 32-point loss is VT’s worst ACC loss this season. Their worst loss was a 36-point defeat (88-55) at the hands of colorado state.

Erick Green just about got his, as we figured he would, scoring 22 points (3.3 points below his average) to maintain his status as the nation’s leading scorer with 25.1 ppg — creighton’s Craig McDermott is second in the nation with 22.9 ppg.

Green did get some help tonight, but as usual, it was not enough. C.J. Barksdale scored a career-high 14 points and added 8 rebounds. Cadarian Raines also reached double-digits with 10 points.

The Hokies jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and then it all went downhill. Actually, that’s putting it nicely. The fit hit the shan. The flood gates opened. The four horsemen road into the Cassell. And death followed. Well, not exactly death, but really embarrassing loss.

The dookies reeled off 11 unanswered points including three 3-pointers from Seth Curry. Not surprisingly, duke shot lights out from everywhere on the court. In the first half, duke hit 8 of 9 three-pointers, all 10 free throw attempts, and 60 percent from the field. Curry had 19 at the half. Green had 13.

Once the blue devils went on their 11-0 run, this game was never close. Ever. And here’s why: duke made 12 of 17 three-pointers – that’s 70 percent. SEVENTY PERCENT. The Hokies, on the other hand, made just 1 of 16 three attempts for a mind-numbing 6 percent. Green hit a three in the second half to avoid the shutout.

The Hokies didn’t really have a shot in this game. They played nc state tough, so duke knew not to take them lightly. Plus, the dookies lost to maryland and Coach K was non too happy, so duke came to Blacksburg to lay the lumber to the DFL team in the league. And that’s exactly what they did.

Seth Curry, the son of Virginia Tech legend Dell Curry, torched the Hokies for 22 points, scoring 19 of those in the first half. Of course, duke didn’t need him in the second half; the game was already over.

At this point in the season, I think it’s safe to say that every team we play doesn’t just happen to have a hot shooting night against us. There’s something wrong with the way we defend — some would argue that we don’t defend at all and they’d be right in many respects — but Coach James Johnson needs to do something. Anything. You can’t let a team hit 70 percent of threes (12 of 17!!) on your home court.