Well, that was not so fun, then more funner, then the very most funnest to watch. WVU is not a good team, but it was on the road and Tech has been playing injured and not all that great as of late. So to come from behind and to win emphatically is a dang good feeling. And Tech is now going to the tournament!!
Things I liked:
Things I liked about as much as the fact that my mother law is at my house on a random Sunday night:
OSU Thoughts:
Things I liked:
- Making shots - Tech has too many shooters for the recent slump to have continued much longer. The start of the game was quite ugly shooting the ball but as the game wore on and Tech started to break down the defense and get more movement they got absolutely great looks. The 13 threes weren't flukey either, Tech was moving the ball and shooting high quality shots. WVU is not good defensively but when Tech is shooting and spacing the floor like yesterday, they are damn hard to beat. Also, I love how D5, and Chance McMillian moved without the ball. They are very intuitive in finding their spots beyond the arc.
- D5 - In my mind he is unequivocally Tech's best player. His counting stats aren't wildly impressive, but he is just so damn efficient and does everything well. And to improve this much in conference play is super impressive. He just keeps getting better and better. Williams also now owns a shooting split of 48/45.8/89. Crazy good.
- Getting Downhill - This is mostly a Joe Toussaint appreciation point. He was awesome yesterday. Toussaint created separation on drives, got to the paint and collapsed the defense regularly. And once Pop decided to stop taking dumb shots he got in the action as well. Tech's offensive success hinges on those two guards' ability to get into the teeth of the defense and create some disruption. When they do that everything else follows. Between Pop and Joe there were 12 assists. Good stuff.
- 2nd Half Defense - Tech really locked down in the second half. They also turned WVU over 14 times, including 8 steals. That helped bigly.
- Offensive Glass - I enjoyed watching Tech compete on the offensive glass. They struggle to convert off of those but still nice to see.
- Chance McMillian - Good to see him hitting shots again. He's so important to this team and his rebounding has been a nice surprise.
- Making the tournament - I will never get tired of making the big dance. McCasland is a fvcking dude.
- Finland Represent - EY gave Tech some solid minutes. Still not sure what he is as a player, but he has nice feel.
Things I liked about as much as the fact that my mother law is at my house on a random Sunday night:
- First half defense: Did WVU hit some tough shots? Sure. Did Tech play bad defense? Yup, Tech has a propensity to close out lackadaisically and it bit them early in the game. They also were getting lost on simple ball screens and other actions and missing/being late on rotations. It's been an issue all year, but they cleaned it up for the most part in the second half.
- Slow Starts - Just happens often with this team. Need it to be less of a thing. Can't recover from starts like this against high-quality opponents.
- That's honestly about it. Not really gonna go into detail about some of Pop's shot diet and long threes (don't love it) or the fact that every time RJ has a non wide-ass open look he can't finish.
OSU Thoughts:
- Let's beat the shit out of them and lock up a top 5 finish in the B12.
