Virginia Tech's trip to Salt Lake City didn't go well. The Hokies got blasted by BYU 97-71 in a game that was never close. Tech dropped to 9-4 with the loss, while the Cougars improved to 10-4.
The Hokies didn't play defense all day, and gave up 42 points to BYU sophomore guard Tyler Haws. He was 14-of-25 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range. On the opposite end, Erick Green had his first off day of the season. The nation's leading scorer had just 12 points, and was 4-of-17 from the field. Green did have six assists, but Tech's defense wasn't good enough to give them a chance in this one.
Jarrell Eddie led the Hokies with 17 points, and he also had seven rebounds. Robert Brown added 13 points for Tech, who was just 2-of-20 from three-point range.
The Hokies got poor play from their starting frontcourt. Cadarian Raines had no points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, and he missed all six of his free throw attempts. He came into the game shooting 61% from the line on the season. C.J. Barksdale finished with just two points and no rebounds in eight minutes.
Walkon forward Christian Beyer got 23 minutes and finished with nine points and 11 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds. Joey van Zegeren had seven points and four rebounds off the bench. Tech's backup front line completely outplayed the starters. Raines and Barksdale have to find a way to get things going.
What started out as a great season has gone south in a hurry. The Hokies have lost four of their last six games, and their defense has been poor over the last two contests. Colorado State scored 88 against Tech last Sunday.
Tech returns to action next Saturday when they travel to Maryland for their first ACC game of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for noon, and the game will be televised by the ACC Network.
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