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There really isn’t much to say. Duke piled up the points early, froze out the Hokies from the paint, pushed them to take low percentage shots from 3pt range, and never let the the Hokies up to gain any sort of momentum.
It was a reminder of how young and inexperienced the Virginia Tech Hokies are. As one user Tweeted back to us, this evening.
The high school comment is real. The other thing I’m hoping this stretch of the past 7-8 games has shown is that Nolley sees how much more devt he needs before the league. Talent is there but if he plays another season of college it probably gets him to NBA instead of G league.
— Jay Oakley (@Joakley98) February 23, 2020
Look this isn’t an excuse, it’s a real thing. Most of the 2019/2020 Hokies are Freshmen who were playing high school ball less than 12 months ago. Duke is Duke, and Coach K’s recruiting and development programs are some of the nations best.
We had some bright spots; however. Tyrece Radford, Isaiah Wilkins, and Hunter Cattoor scored in double digits. In fact they were most of Tech’s scoring, entirely.
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Duke Blue Devils
| Player | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
| T. Radford | 16 | 4 | 9 |
| I. Wilkins | 11 | 5 | 6 |
| H. Cattoor | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| N. Alleyne | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Cone | 6 | 1 | 2 |
Mike Young will have to figure out a way to pick this team back up after these last two Ls. There is still more basketball to play and a potential NIT bid to work for. Tech has several winnable games over the next four. Duke was just not going to be (and was not) one of those games.
The next game is against the Wahoos at Cassell Coliseum on Feb 26th. The Hoos have been steadily improving. They are going to prove a more difficult challenge than they were earlier in the season. There is always hope and adrenaline from playing at home... that’s what we have.