Tony Bennett’s scheme defensively against Virginia Tech seemed focused on taking away looks from three, and that, at least, worked.
The Hokies, third nationally from three coming in, shooting 41.5 percent from long-range on the season, were just 5-of-20 from behind the arc.
“Yeah, and they held us to 0 percent. So, they beat us by 20 percent,” said Bennett, noting that his team was 0-of-9 from three on the night.
What makes it tough to scheme against the Hokies is that they can hit threes most nights, and they have Keve Aluma, who had 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the win, after putting up 22 in the 54-52 loss in Charlottesville last month.
“Their ability to shoot, but yet they have Aluma, who can kind of slash, play outside and get inside, or they can find him inside, and that puts a lot of pressure on you,” Bennett said. “They run good stuff with handoffs, and you look at that statline of his, 10-of-14, that’s really efficient.”
It says a lot about this Tech team that it can get a win shooting 5-of-20 from three.
“I said that at the beginning, I think Virginia Tech is one of the better teams in our league,” Bennett said. “They hit some bumps in the road early, and obviously now they’ve won six in a row and certainly capable. They have a nice balance with their one through five.”
Story by Chris Graham
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