Random Thoughts:

• Will someone other than Jeff Allen, A.D. Vassallo, or Malcolm Delaney PLEASE step forward? Those three guys had 64 of VT’s 73 points. That is 88% and that is way too much to be getting from just that trio. On the season, those guys are scoring 51.2 of VT’s 67.2 points per game, or 76%. And get this: NO ONE else scored for VT in the second half other than Allen, A.D., and Malcolm. No one else is even averaging 5 points per game. It is not a good sign that Cheick Diakite, a shot-blocker (not a scorer), is fourth on the team with 4.8 ppg. The biggest disappointment has to be Dorenzo Hudson, who did not score and attempted just two shots. I’m sorry, but a starting “shooting guard” should average more than 2.8 ppg. The combination of Hudson and Terrell Bell are chipping in just 4.6 ppg.
• Speaking of Dorenzo, I’d like to see him penetrate more. He is really struggling from the outside, but from what I’ve seen of him in the past, I think he is good at driving and scoring around the basket. The problem is defenses are dropping off of him. But heck, at this point, Hudson needs to try something, even if he has to force his way towards the hoop. Maybe post him up against smaller guards, too.
• I talked the other day about how the Hokies have struggled in the final five minutes of games. Today they decided just to stink it up the entire second half on offense. Then went almost 6 minutes without scoring early in the second half and missed nine shots in a row from the field during that span. Tech shot just 10/30 (33%) from the field, and 9/20 (45%) from the line in the final 20 minutes. Think the outcome might have been different if the Hokies had made their free throws?
• Jeff Allen played 39 minutes in the game, meaning he sat just one minute. That shows just how great of a shape he is in, but I wonder if this contributed to his 5/15 foul shooting since most of his misses were in the second half. Jeff did collect his second straight double-double and 12th of his career. See below for his career highs from this game.
• The Hokies got dominated in the paint, getting outscored 42-24. However, they did win the battle of the boards by a wide margin, 43-34.
• Tech was -5 on turnovers, with 14 total. That obviously doesn’t help a struggling offense to have five fewer productive possessions.
• Going 1-2 in Puerto Rico has to be a big disappointment, especially based on the draw VT ended up with. Hopefully the boys will leave that bad taste in Puerto Rico and come out fresh on Wednesday against elon and play a good game for 40 minutes. Need to get some momentum before the nationally ranked wisconsin badgers come to town in a week.  I still think this is a good team, and a NCAA Tournament team when the dust settles in March.  Hopefully J.T. Thompson will inject some life in this team when he returns, or someone else will elevate their play before then.

Jeff Allen Career Highs Set Sunday:

• Rebounds: 17 (previous high was 16 @odu last year)
• Assists: 4 (previous high of 3 he matched several times)
• Free Throws Made: 5 (tied with other occurrences)
• Free Throws Attempted: 15 (previous high was 10)

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Box Score

The Virginia Tech Hokies dropped their second straight game at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip Off in San Juan, P.R., 73-77 to seton hall. Three things killed the Hokies in this game: 1) the “non Big Three” (everyone besides Jeff Allen, A.D. Vassallo and Malcolm Delaney) only scored 9 points; 2) Tech went nearly six minutes (5:56) without scoring in the second half; and 3) free throw shooting – Tech shot just 59 percent from the charity stripe (19/32).

The Hokies played well in the first half building an 14-point lead, 31-17, with 7:20 to play. But the pirates scratched away at the lead finishing the half with an 17-9 run to push the halftime score to 40-34 Hokies. Vassallo led the Hokies at the half with 12, Allen with 10 and Delaney with nine. The rest of the team only had nine points and they wouldn’t score again.

The first seven minutes of the second half was the Hokies’ downfall. After a pair of Vassallo free throws at the 19:24 mark and a Delaney trey at 18:51, the Hokies wouldn’t score again until Delaney sank a free throw with 12:55 left in the game. By that time, the pirates had taken the lead. Using an 18-6 run to start the second half, seton hall pulled ahead 52-46.

As Niemo pointed out in an earlier post, the Hokies miss J.T. Thompson much more than we thought they would. Tech’s “Big Three” were the only Hokies to score in the second half. No points from the other two starters and no points from the bench. Cheick Diakite scored his typical four points, so that’s not out of the ordinary, but Terrell Bell, the other starter only scored three points. Lewis Witcher was the only bench player to score and he only managed two points. The Big Three tallied a combined 64 points. Malcolm led the way with 25, A.D. had 22, and Allen had 17 points and 17 rebounds.

The good news is that Tech’s Big Three can handle the load even when they are pressured and double teamed. The bad news is, the other starters and the bench can’t score a lick and that ain’t gonna cut in the ACC. The Hokes are going to need a big non-conference win against wisconsin to help their chances come Tournament selection time.

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