After freshman Neoklis Avdalas made the Virginia Tech men's basketball team's final field goal with 3:36 left in the second half against Stanford on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum, the Hokies held a 13-point lead at 65-52. Game over, right?
Well, it should have been. Instead, Virginia Tech allowed Stanford freshman Eubka Okorie to take over the game, literally, and what was supposed to be a résumé-building win for Virginia Tech turned into a loss that will be devastating come Selection Sunday in mid-March.
Okorie accounted for 40 of the Cardinal's final 42 points as Stanford, which couldn't do much offensively over the first 25 minutes, erupted in the final 15 to hand the Hokies a 69-68 loss when Okorie drained a deep 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left. The loss dropped Tech to 12-4 and 1-2 in the ACC, but the lingering result of this game will be felt for the rest of the season.
Virginia Tech coach Mike Young points blame for collapse against Stanford
Who gets the blame for this loss? Well, you could blame the players, as the shot selection down the stretch was questionable at best. Defensively, they couldn't stop Okorie, who got downhill and was able to knock down some big shots. After the game, head coach Mike Yoing pointed the blame for the loss and not surprisingly, he pointed at one person.
"Disappointed with our lack of poise, disappointed with a couple of offensive possessions that we had,'' said Young. "You're talking about kicking one, and that is my responsibility. A couple of horrendous offensive possessions. Shots are too quick. We need time off the clock. We don't need more points. We haven't played great.''
Swell. Young took the blame. It's what a coach does, and he might be responsible, but you can't ignore that lack of execution at both ends of the floor down the stretch. Young isn't out on the court handling the ball or defending.
Look, there is enough blame to go around, and Young is defending his players, but the bottom line is this: a loss like this to a Stanford team that is also on the bubble right now for the NCAA Tournament could very well pop the Hokies' bubble in March. Unless they pick up some big wins on the road and at home over the final 15 games, this is a game that will haunt Young and his team for a very long time.