In a top 20 road showdown, the Virginia basketball team suffered its first ACC loss of the season as Virginia Tech pulled away down the stretch in Blacksburg. The 65-51 defeat snapped a 15-game winning streak in league play that dated back to last season. The Double Bonus is back to look closer at the setback.

Huff Defensively

The game, in large part, hinged on a single player. The Hokies ran offense through Keve Aluma frequently and he responded with a monster game. He scored 29 points, easily doubling the output of any Cavalier and doubling everyone else on his team as well except for Hunter Cattoor (by one point). Aluma made 10 of 15 shots, 2 of 3 3-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws. He added 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 blocked shot. Long story short: Virginia never settled on an answer to Aluma’s play.

Virginia Tech tried to put Huff in traditional Pack-Line help spots vs. trying to attack him purely as a post defender or a ball screen defender. A couple of examples of this came in the first half. With approximately 8:10 to go, Aluma set up shop on the right side of the floor outside of the 3-point line. That put Huff in a spot as a gap defender. He ended up in a poor help situation when Cattoor didn’t drive and flipped the ball out to Aluma. Huff lost his stance, closed at the wrong angle, and gave up the baseline (that’s a Pack-Line no-no) as Aluma scored easily.

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