Virginia Tech Basketball Gains an Impressive Win Over Pitt
After the loss of a star player and an extremely tiring double OT game just two nights ago, Buzz Williams and the Hokies picked up another resume-building road win over Pitt.
On Sunday night, the Virginia Tech basketball team gained a huge double overtime win against in state rival UVA. Unfortunately, the win was somewhat overshadowed by a season-ending injury to Chris Clarke, who led the Hokies with 7.3 RPG.
In a quick turn around, the Hokies traveled to Pittsburgh tonight to take on the Panthers. The fatigue was evident early, as Pitt jumped out to an early 20-9 lead.
The Hokies slowly scraped their way back, cutting the lead all the way down to 4 on back to back threes by Justin Robinson and Ahmed Hill. Pitt answered with their own 6-0 run, and the lead was up to 11 by halftime.
In the second half, Virginia Tech came out shooting well. In fact, the Hokies shot almost 44% from beyond the arc for the game. However, Tech did not seem to be able to get the crucial stops they needed on defense.
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In fact, Pitt was having a season high night from three point land. They average only 8 threes per game, and they hit that mark by halftime. Yet after the under 12 TV timeout, things suddenly seemed to change.
The Hokies went on a quick 12-0 run at this point. It was highlighted by Ahmed Hill making a layup, drawing an intentional foul, making both free throws, and Bibbs knocking down a three off the inbound to take a 53-52 lead.
From this point on, the game was very back and forth and extremely close. No team ever lead by more than 2 possessions.
The biggest lead since Bibbs’ three came when Pittsburgh went up 4 with about a minute and half left in the game. Luckily, Zach LeDay answered by knocking down two free throws, and Seth Allen hit a three pointer in the ensuing possession to take a 64-63 lead with 55 seconds left.
Virginia Tech forced another stop, and Justin Robinson hit two free throws after being intentionally fouled. Pittsburgh had the last possession, in which they had three decent looks to tie, but none of them fell.
The Hokies walked away with a 66-63 win at Pittsburgh. This game was particularly important for a couple of reasons.
First of all, the Hokies were hit hard with the news that Chris Clarke was out for the season with an ACL tear. Players such as Justin Bibbs, Ahmed Hill, and Ty Outlaw would need to step up in his absence.
Hill, who had struggled since beginning conference play, had a huge game. He started 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points. In addition, Bibbs hit a couple late threes that were crucial for the Hokies.
Even though Outlaw only had three points, his hustle was very noticeable and led to a couple of tip-out offense rebounds.
Secondly, this game was huge for the Hokies’ tournament hopes. After a huge win at home against UVA, Virginia Tech backed it up buy gutting out a road win over Pitt. Road wins in particular can do wonders for a team’s RPI.
Overall, Buzz Williams and the Hokies have had a great three days, going from a team in serious danger of missing the tournament to one with a much better resume and justified hopes of dancing this year.