Hokies pop bubble of No. 3 Villanova in overtime
Va. Tech surges after Wildcats’ free throws force OT
Mike Young couldn’t believe what he was watching Saturday night.
In a game that didn’t exist on Virginia Tech’s schedule less than 48 hours earlier, Young’s chance to lead his team to a potentially defining win in “Bubbleville” against a marquee opponent was slipping through his fingers, and he wanted to kick himself for it.
First, he was shocked when he watched Keve Aluma’s free throw bank off the glass and into the basket with 1.3 seconds left, foiling what was supposed to be an intentional miss. Moments later, Young’s stomach turned as he witnessed Virginia Tech’s Justyn Mutts plow into Villanova’s Justin Moore along the baseline, resulting in a dead-ball foul being called on Mutts after officials conferred and reversed their original call.
Young’s fears would eventually be replaced with euphoria in overtime as Tech went on to take down
No. 3 Villanova 81-73, but on the night of one of his best coaching jobs, Young was momentarily left wondering if he hadn’t prepared his players well enough.
“I take full responsibility for the end of regulation,” said Young, who has now led Tech to wins against No. 3-ranked teams in November in each of his first two seasons as the Hokies’ coach, including against Michigan State last season in the Maui Invitational. “Yes, we wanted to miss it. No, I didn’t want him to bank it in. He did, and I failed to coach my player on one of the oldest tricks in the book and it almost cost us. Nobody’s fault but mine.”
Moore went on to make two free throws to send the game to overtime, where Tech (2-0) jumped to a five-point lead in the first 75 seconds on the strength of a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Mutts and never trailed again in Uncasville, Connecticut. Aluma scored a career-high 23 points, while guard Nahiem Alleyne added 20 points off the bench for Tech, which plays South Florida (1-1) on Sunday in Bubbleville.
Aluma and Mutts, both of whom are veteran frontcourt players and transfer additions to Tech’s rotation this season, combined with guards Hunter Cattoor and Alleyne to keep Tech afloat in overtime after the Hokies lost floor leader Wabissa Bede when he fouled out with 30 seconds left in regulation.
“Keeping our cool and feeding off of our bench’s energy,” Aluma said regarding how Tech persevered after the foul on Mutts near the end of regulation. “That helped us seal the game.”
Three things we learned
Tech responds well to spur-ofthe-moment scheduling, which might become a hidden skill in this pandemic season.
On Thursday, Tech’s game scheduled for Saturday night against Temple was canceled because the Owls were dealing with issues related to the coronavirus. Villanova (2-1), which defeated No. 18 Arizona State on Thursday night in Bubbleville, wanted another game in the Uncasville venue before heading home.
Since Tech was suddenly available, a deal was brokered late Thursday night (and into the wee hours of Friday morning) for Tech to play Saturday evening against Villanova. As he deliberated briefly on whether to take the game, Young pondered what would’ve happened had he not accepted it.
“What if — and I think the probability is quite good — what if we wake up Friday morning
and social media or whatever these guys are looking at all the time (says), ‘Virginia Tech had the opportunity to play Villanova and Mike Young said no,’” Young said. “That’s not going to go over well with my team, nor should it. We are here to play. We are here to challenge ourselves. We are here to improve.
“Was I thrilled that we were matched with Villanova? No, not this early in the season, ... but I thought, ‘Let’s go.’ It’s a different year, needless to say, so we’re going to challenge ourselves and go lay it on the line.”
Young is going to explore the foul near the end of regulation a little more. After the game, he was still trying to figure out exactly what happened on a foul that was originally called on Moore, but was changed to a foul against Mutts (12 points).
“It infuriated me,” Young said. “Lee Cassell is a good official. He came over and he said, ‘Mike, my (fellow official) has given me information — I got tangled up and I got it wrong.’ Now, rightfully so, I think I had a bit of an outburst there. He called it on ‘5 white’ (Moore, who wears No. 5). I’ll go back and look at it, but not (Saturday night), but sometime soon. I think he got it right. Again, that was on me. I did not coach that.”
Tech, which also got eight points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Tyrece Radford, has won four of its last six games against opponents in the top three of the Associated Press rankings.
Aluma ... the scorer?
Aluma’s start to the season is surprising, to say the least.
In his first two seasons, at Wofford playing for Young, Aluma averaged 4.8 points per game — reaching double figures just eight times in 68 games — and developed a reputation as a capable rebounding presence. He’s had 19 and 23 points in his first two games for Tech.
“I’m not sure if he scored 23 points in the first half of his freshman year,” Young said. “He is a great person and he worked his tail off.”
VIRGINIA TECH 81, NO. 3 VILLANOVA 73, OT VIRGINIA TECH (2-0): Aluma 9-14 4-7 23, Mutts 3-3 4-6 12, Bede 3-8 0-0 8, Cattoor 1-3 2-2 5, Radford 3-6 2-2 8, Alleyne 7-12 2-2 20, Diarra 1-8 3-4 5, Pemsl 0-1 0-0 0, Bamisile 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 17-23 81.
VILLANOVA (2-1): Robinson-Earl 5-15 4-4 14, Samuels 1-6 0-1 2, Daniels 7-14 1-1 17, Gillespie 8-14 5-8 25, Moore 2-8 2-3 7, Swider 3-4 0-0 8, Slater 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 12-17 73.
Half—29-29. End of regulation—64-64. 3-point goals—Tech 10-20 (Alleyne 4-6, Mutts 2-2, Bede 2-4, Aluma 1-1, Cattoor 1-2, Bamisile 0-2, Diarra 0-3), Villanova 9-25 (Gillespie 4-7, Swider 2-2, Daniels 2-5, Moore 1-5, Robinson-Earl 0-3, Samuels 0-3). Fouled out—Bede, Diarra, Moore. Rebounds—Tech 36 (Radford 13), Villanova 29 (Robinson-Earl 9). Assists—Tech 14 (Radford 5), Villanova 11 (Gillespie 4). Fouls—Tech 19, Villanova 23.
Norm Wood, nwood@dailypress.com