VT Basketball: Justin Bibbs Will Not Play Against #2 Virginia

Jan 6, 2015; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Justin Bibbs (10) goes up for a shot past Florida State Seminoles forward Kiel Turpin (11) during the first half of the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

The Virginia Tech Hokies have struggled offensively in their last two games with 53 points on the road against North Carolina and 60 points at home against Notre Dame.

The main reason for those struggles has been the fact that the Hokies have been without Justin Bibbs for the last two games due a concussion. There was some hope that Bibbs might be healthy in time for Virginia Tech’s home showdown against the #2 Virginia Cavaliers in front of a sold out Cassell Coliseum.

Unfortunately, that will not be the case.

#Hokies won't have freshman guard Justin Bibbs (concussion) tomorrow against #UVA. Tech doesn't expect him Tuesday vs Pittsburgh either.
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) January 24, 2015

Bibbs played tremendously well in his first three ACC games averaging 20.7 points per game and it is once again a huge loss that the freshman guard will once again be out due to a concussion.

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Bibbs is the Hokies’ best shooter and scorer as proven by how he leads the Hokies in points per game with 13.6. Bibbs also has proven that he can handle the attention he receives from opponents and still make plenty of shots.

The Hokies have struggled to find someone to replace the offensive efficiency of Bibbs with Ahmed Hill and Jalen Hudson shooting a combined 10 for 26 in the Hokies’ loss to Notre Dame.

The loss of Justin Bibbs is made worse by the fact that the Hokies are facing arguably the best defensive team in the country, the Virginia Cavaliers. This past week, Georgia Tech became the third team that Virginia has held to under 30 points this season.

While the Hokies may not end up with less than 30 points, losing Bibbs means that the Hokies could have a lot of offensive struggles against a strong Virginia defense. The Hokies will need Adam Smith, Ahmed Hill, Jalen Hudson, Malik Muller, and Will Johnston to all step up with Bibbs out once again.

The loss of Justin Bibbs is huge for the Hokies, and really hurts their small chances of handing #2 Virginia their first loss of the season.

Hokies Basketball: Justin Bibbs Will Not Play Against #2 Virginia

By Tim Thomas | Jan 24, 2015

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