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Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
Opening Statement
Obviously we’re disappointed with the end result today and not being able to come away with a win. I thought before the game, if we strung together some plays on both ends of the floor, we would have a better opportunity to win. We started the game that way, but towards the end of the first half, they put together an 11-2 run. There were different plays in the game that could’ve gone either way, and that cost us; not sticking to our principles at times like that where a team comes at you and you don’t come back either on defense or through execution. There were things that happened in the second half that made the game less manageable for us. As a result, we end up with the loss. We got to get back and forget about it quickly. Give credit to them (Tech), they played hard.
On Vassallo and Delaney…
They’re two guys who have led them (Tech) this year. Vassallo and Delaney dictated the game offensively. Delaney did a terrific job of getting to the middle of the floor and making decisions. When he got the ball back, he made plays and shots. I thought from start to finish Vassallo found openings we couldn’t close down and he made us pay for it.
On the ending of the game…
One thing they (Tech) did do well was keep on the ball in those two guys’ (Vassallo and Delaney) hands. I thought as we were coming back and being a little more aggressive on offense, we just needed to get that one defensive stop. Obviously we didn’t get it. When you get to two minutes, three minutes left, I look at it in terms of possessions you potentially have left. If you’re down enough where the amount is small, you have to gamble more.
On Vassallo’s final field goal…
That was a big time shot, late in the shot clock. Ultimately it carried them over the top. I look at it more that he came out in the beginning of the game and we allowed him to get comfortable. If we had done a better job of taking space away and making him uncomfortable, in the later stages of the game, he’s going to wear down more to where he might not make those kind of shots. I don’t just look at that shot, but how he was playing throughout the game. There was only a time or two he wasn’t comfortable.
Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg
Opening Statement
It’s great to be home and I really appreciate our students and the people in the community driving in for the game. It’s important for us and it’s important for our kids. I thought it was a typical Virginia Tech game. The other team isn’t going to quit, they’re going to fight back. They made runs. I thought we were in good position late in the game, but you can’t take a play off and let the other team feel good about themselves. We made enough plays and found a way to win in the end. We took care of the basketball and it was a good team win. Rebounding was important. If someone told me that Allen wouldn’t make a field goal and we’d win, I’d say that’s a good day. That’s probably not going to happen too often. He made some huge plays and did other things to help.
On Landesberg…
The guy’s going to get twenty whether it’s quiet or loud. You can tell your guys to stay in front of him, but he got twenty without having to take a pull-up jumper. We told our guys, you have to stay in front of him and get lower than him, and he still drives to the basket. He’s a good player; you’re just not going to stop him.
On Tech’s defense…
Until the last six minutes, I thought our defense was pretty good. They were 3-for-14 from behind the three-point arc heading into the final minutes. We let the ball get a little too deep a couple times, but our help was pretty good. It comes down to our maturity. We have to continue to get tougher. I thought we competed at a high level tonight.
On the team’s progress…
I talked to our team about it today. We played at Duke and with 17 minutes to go, we forced them to call a timeout. Duke punched us in the nose, and we failed to respond. It’s not like our guys aren’t playing hard. We might not play well. We did not respond in that moment and time. If you’re looking at the big picture of us, I would say we’re trying, but we’re not as tough as I want us to be.