Virginia Tech Falls Flat to Georgia Tech in First Game in 17 Days

Jackson Didlake

February 24, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — In a sparsely filled Cassell Coliseum, Moses Wright stepped up from deep, knocking down his only trey in a career day and ending the hopes of the No. 16 Virginia Tech faithful in the Hokies’ first game in 17 days.

“We’re not going to blame anything. We’ve all lived it. Bottom line, we lost to a better team tonight,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said. “We needed to get this one behind one win, lose or draw. … we weren’t ourselves.”

The Georgia Tech forward flew all over the court for the Yellow Jackets from start to finish in their 69-53 victory, spoiling the return of Virginia Tech guard Tyrece Radford after he was indefinitely suspended on Jan. 25.

“Proud of him for how he’s carried himself the last couple weeks,” Young said. “Happy to have him back in a Hokie uniform.”

Radford finished the contest with 11 points.

The Hokies woes against zone defenses continued exactly one month after they fell 78-60 to a Syracuse team that was able to keep them to just 32.8% from the field and forced 10 turnovers.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball through [Keve] Aluma,” Young said. We were able to move the ball more against Syracuse than we were tonight.”

On Tuesday night, the Hokies (14-5, 8-4 ACC) struggled to take care of the ball from the jump. Both Nahiem Alleyne and Justyn Mutts had four giveaways, nearly half of Hokies’ 17 turnovers of the game that resulted in 16 points for the Jackets.

Georgia Tech stole the ball nine times, five alone from Jose Alvarado. The shifty guard, who averages 2.8 steals per game, made his presence felt in Blacksburg.

Wright drained 9-of-11 shots for the Yellow Jackets (11-8, 7-6 ACC), finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds on the day.

“[Wright] is really good,” Young said. “He is such a talented person.”

Working in the paint, Wright was often matched up against Aluma, who had a tough time with the six-foot-nine forward.

When asked what the Hokies need to change going forward, Aluma said, “Not get dominated. … be better defensively. … He [Wright] definitely scored on me more than I would like.”

Alvarado was lethal from behind the arc for the Jackets, hitting three treys en route to recording 13 points. Additionally, Michael Devoe added 12 points in the victory.

Nahiem Alleyne and Keve Aluma each had a team-high 12 points for the Hokies, with Aluma adding 14 rebounds, a career-high, and five assists.

The two ACC foes started off sluggish, combining to miss their first eight shots from the field before breaking through to make three straight baskets.

Georgia Tech made its living off of turnovers in the first half, tallying 13 points on 11 Virginia Tech giveaways.

“Eleven turnovers in the first half is sickening,” Young said.

Luckily for the Hokies, they dominated the boards with a 19-8 advantage, a lot in part to 11 rebounds from Keve Aluma.

The Yellow Jackets struck fire in the second half, jumping out to an 18-4 run. After taking a significant lead, the Hokies tried to fight back down the stretch but for every Virginia Tech surge, there was a Georgia Tech answer.

The Yellow Jackets were lights out in the period, shooting 61.5% from the field to convincingly take down the Hokies 69-53.

“You learn so much more from a loss than a win,” Mutts said. “This was good timing for a loss.”

For the Hokies, the huge takeaway from Tuesday was the return of Radford, something Young knows will get backlash from fans and media around the country.

“I could care less [what people think],” he said. “I love that kid.”

The pinch of good news came with its hint of disappointment. Jalen Cone was unavailable against Georgia Tech, something to monitor as the ACC Tournament nears. Young expressed postgame that his situation was more complicated than he’d like to discuss and that there is a “little more to it.”

With only three contests remaining before the postseason, Young and Co. will look to rebound after their 17-day COVID-19 break.

“I think you lose that rhythm you had in games,” Mutts said. “We’re trying to get back in that rhythm as a team.”

Virginia Tech’s next matchup is on Saturday at home against Wake Forest.

“We’ll play better Saturday,” he said. “I guarantee that.”