RALEIGH, N.C. – In some games the phrase 'defense optional' is used in a high-scoring shootout, but when the No. 12/11 Virginia Tech men's basketball team took on No. 23/22 NC State at PNC Arena Saturday, it was the complete opposite in a 47-24 victory for the visitors.
The Hokies (18-3, 7-2 ACC) put the clamps on defensively by only allowing 24 points, which is the fewest scored by a ranked team in the shot-clock era. The Wolfpack (16-6, 4-5), who went 9-of-54 shooting (16.7 percent), could not find a groove in their home gym in front of a sold-out crowd.
Both teams, as you could imagine, struggled in the early going with the score knotted at 2-2 the first seven minutes into the contest. Isaiah Wilkins hit a 3-pointer from the corner and things would pick up, as the two squads went into the locker room with season lows at 20-14 Tech.
The second half was more of the same, as the Hokies held the Pack to just 10 points while scoring 27 themselves. Tech stretched its six-point halftime lead to double digits for the first time at 15:58, following a steal and layup by Kerry Blackshear Jr. And that would be as close as it got, with the Hokies only giving up five points the rest of the way out.
Only two players in the game, out of the 16 that played, reached double figures. Tech's Nickeil Alexander-Walker (11 points) and Blackshear (13) cracked the 10-point plateau – and a plateau it was.
The combined score of 71 points is the lowest in the shot-clock era between two ACC teams, topping the previous low of 85 by Virginia (57) and Georgia Tech (28) on Jan. 22, 2015.
Though it wasn't pretty, the win marked the best-ever start for the Hokies in ACC play since they joined the conference in the 2004-05 season, boasting a 7-2 record through nine league games.
(2/2/2019) 2019 MEN'S BASKETBALL at NC STATE
QUOTING HEAD COACH BUZZ WILLIAMS
On limiting NC State's point off turnovers:
"I think when you get to this point in the season, the most telling statistic, unless there is an outlier, is you want to at least have the same number of field goal attempts as the opponent," Williams said. "Sometimes there is an outlier; most of the time for us, it is when we are getting beat on the offensive glass.
"I thought we did a much better job in the second half of trying to shorten the game and trying to make sure we got a shot. Just to give a little bit of grace, some of those nine turnovers is a credit to NC State for their nonstop full court pressure, and I think some of it is guys are having to carry different responsibilities than they have up until this point in their career."
On defensive game plan:
"Nobody has ever asked me to speak at a coaching clinic," Williams said. "I would rather be with my family or at the office. NC State's spacing is very, very good. They have two ball guards that are very effective at off ball screens. I think their bigs do a very good job of changing the angle of their screen and changing the location of the screen. We couldn't afford to get into rotation.
"The whole premise was, 'How can we handle all that I just mentioned, while staying between the ball and the basket, and not just on the ball, but the three guys behind the ball screen?' I think our ball screen colors, that's our coverages, were right but the three guys behind the ball screen are so important and today they did a good job."
NOTES
- Tech topped its previous best of fewest points allowed in an ACC game or ACC Tournament game by 19 points. The previous best was on March 10, 2011, versus Georgia Tech in the conference tournament by a score of 59-43.
- The last time the Hokies allowed 24 points was on Jan. 9, 1959, against Washington & Lee with a score of 105-24.
- NC State's 24 points scored were the fewest by a Division I team in a conference game since 2008. The Pack's 16.7 percent shooting was the lowest mark in ACC history.
- Tech capitalized off of State's turnovers, outscoring the Pack 11-2 off miscues.
- Wabissa Bede turned in ACC bests with nine points, four steals and three 3-pointers. Blackshear earned his fourth double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) of the season.
STAT OF THE GAME
- The 24 points scored by the Wolfpack were the fewest scored by a Division I team in the last 10 years.
TWEET OF THE GAME
This score is not a typo 😳
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 2, 2019
No. 12 Virginia Tech holds No. 23 NC State to just 24 points! 🔒 pic.twitter.com/E796Q9Z6Dp
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will head back to Blacksburg to face No. 15/16 Louisville on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The game is a "Black Out" for fans to wear all black and will broadcast on ESPN, being a part of ESPN's Big Monday.