Observations from last night's game.

[Hokiestud]

I thought that for the first 3/4 of the game, it was one of the best games we've played all year long. We looked sharp on offense, we were attacking the basket, we were passing well, we weren't committing many turnovers, our spacing was good, and we were hitting our open shots and our FTs. Heck, we were even using shot fakes to get defenders in the air, leading to better shots. We looked like an NCAA tournament team, and we were doing it against a quality opponent that was also playing well.

But when Robert Brown went to the line with 11:45 left with VT up by 8 and promptly missed two FTs, I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Unfortunately, that feeling proved to be all too prescient as the offense went into the deep freeze for basically the rest of the game.

The basic reason why this happened is the same as it has been in many other games this season: For some reason, we completely lose our aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor.

For the first 3/4 of the game, overall we did a good job of penetrating the defense and either finishing inside with a shot or a pass or kicking it back out for an open jumper. But from the 11:45 minute mark of the second half, we became totally passive. As we have done so often this year, we suddenly became content to aimlessly pass the ball back and forth around the perimeter 25 feet from the basket only to ultimately jack up a contested three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down. Most of the time, there was absolutely NOBODY within 10 feet of the basket for UVA's defense! They were practically begging us to try and drive on them!!!

I can't believe that Seth is coaching them to do this. It has to be on the players themselves. I realize that one of the aims of the "pack line" defense is to pressure the ball on the perimeter and then collapse in on the ball in the paint, but last night was just beyond the pale. If a team is going to aggressively defend the ball 20+ feet from the basket, you simply have to put the ball on the floor, get that defender on your hip, and take him to the basket. If you can't convert the drive, there's still a good chance you can draw a foul and get to the line. The bottom line is that when you attack the basket, good things usually happen. Erick Green finally started doing this again with about 2:00 left in the game and, lo and behold, we were able to cut the lead to 2 points and had a chance to win it at the end.

What this team needs more than anything else right now is a player like Jontel Evans for UVA. I spent a lot of time watching him last night and that kid is ALWAYS looking to attack the basket when he gets the ball!!! We sorely need that kind of aggressive mentality on our team right now. Most of the games we've lost this year have been due to long scoring droughts caused by the fact that we totally turtle up on offense for extended periods of time. When this happens, our guys seem to be more concerned with not making a mistake than with making something happen.

But as exasperating as last night's loss was, I am seeing definite progress with this team. They are a much better team now than they were six weeks ago at the start of ACC play, and they should continue to improve. I think the future looks good.

I can't close without commenting on last night's officiating crew. Simply put, they were not good. There were numerous blown calls going both ways. The blocking foul called on Dorenzo Hudson was absolutely absurd, and they clearly blew the call when the UVA kid was trying to call a timeout as he was falling out of bounds. He was not airborne at the time and should have been awarded the TO.

But their most glaring gaffe was when they did not go over to the monitor to review whether or not Evans' prayer of a 3-pointer from 30 feet at the 5:00 mark should have counted. Had they reviewed the tape, they would have seen that it should not have counted. Replay clearly showed that the ball was still in his hand as the shot clock read "0.0". In that situation, there can be no excuse for not taking time out to go and review the replay. Who knows what would have ended up happening had the basket been waved off, but as time ran out last night and we lost by 2 points, I couldn't help but wonder what might have transpired had UVA been denied those 3 points.

[HoosierHoo]

But their most glaring gaffe was when they did not go over to the monitor to review whether or not Evans' prayer of a 3-pointer from 30 feet at the 5:00 mark should have counted. Had they reviewed the tape, they would have seen that it should not have counted. Replay clearly showed that the ball was still in his hand as the shot clock read "0.0". In that situation, there can be no excuse for not taking time out to go and review the replay. Who knows what would have ended up happening had the basket been waved off, but as time ran out last night and we lost by 2 points, I couldn't help but wonder what might have transpired had UVA been denied those 3 points.

That is not a reviewable play. The official can only go to the monitors to see if a shot left the shooter's hands in time in three instances: (1) at the end of the first half; (2) at the end of the game; and (3) at the end of an overtime period.

They cannot go to the monitors to review a potential shot clock violation.

The shot was off before the horn, which is likely what the officials were going on. Why did your horn not sound when the clock struck zero? You guys need to tighten up your clock crew.

[Hokiestud]

Yes, I read that below. I understand now that the shot was not reviewable and so I have to withdraw my criticism of the refs for that one. And yes, we most definitely need to tighten up our clocks & shot clock. The way the clock kept freezing up last night was embarassing.

[RapmasterAC]

DFS and Robert Brown looked the most comfortable I've seen them look in our offense last night. Both put the ball on the floor with success. I thought Raines had some good moments on offense (the pass back to Rankin in the lane was nice). Our offense definitely became complacent/lazy in the 2nd half, but so did our defense. UVA was getting more open looks and that was probably the difference.

[Pylons]

I thought Raines had some good moments

This is what I've been most encouraged by lately. Big C has been looking more and more comfortable, competent, and confident out there.

[HokieEngineer]

This is what I've been most encouraged by lately. Big C has been looking more and more comfortable, competent, and confident out there.

I got really frustrated that we didn't work to get the ball to him more in the second half. He did a nice job on offense against Scott in the first half, and for the most part, Scott tries not to foul on defense, making it easier to score against him.

[Hokiestud]

Raines has definitely improved tremendously, no doubt about it. He's now a decent scoring threat down low.

[reestuart]

Raines has definitely improved tremendously, no doubt about it. He's now a decent scoring threat down low.

I agree. He's improved like crazy since he's been at VT. He's a lot quicker than you'd think.

[neworleanshoo]

you still have a legitimate beef on them allowing the bucket in the first place. i've watched it several times and i have no problems admitting i would be livid if that had happened to us. of course the shot itself was also absurdly lucky!

i do think things evened out in the end, as you said they missed calls both ways and you guys had some shots fall that had no business dropping in. overall a very entertaining game and pretty high-quality, if you look at the stats.

[Hokiestud]

I agree. On the whole I thought it was a well-played game by both teams.