Virginia Tech Basketball: Wabissa Bede's Return to Normalcy Crucial Against Pittsburgh
Virginia Tech Basketball (14-10, 5-8 ACC) hosts the middling Pittsburgh Panthers (15-10, 6-8 ACC) on Saturday evening in Cassell Coliseum, as the Hokies take the court looking to avoid their sixth consecutive loss.
After finding themselves in the thick of the NCAA Tournament conversation in mid-January, the Hokies hit a snag, dropping winnable game after winnable game over the course of the last three weeks.
With a full week off to prepare to host Pitt, Tech has had an opportunity to look inward and evaluate where things have gone wrong in the middle of conference play.
While the lack of a true secondary offensive threat, a significant frontcourt disadvantage relative to ACC opponents, and inconsistent defense have all played a factor, there is one significant deficiency that has stood out of late for the Hokies:
The play of their point guard Wabissa Bede.
Bede has never been a bonafide threat as a shooter, as his offensive strengths reside in his ability to take care of the basketball and set his teammates up in position to score. In fact, Bede enters Saturday's game against Pittsburgh ranked fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.4.
However, over the last five games (all losses), Bede's assist-to-turnover ratio is below his season average, sitting at 1.9 per game. While that figure is respectable on the surface, it is below average for Bede, and when taking into account the lack of consistent offense from the team as a whole to begin with, it becomes a rather significant factor.
Bede's best trait is to make players around him better by putting them in position to be play to their strengths on offense. But lately, he has not done that at a high enough level as the team's starting point guard.
In addition, throughout this losing streak, Bede's shooting numbers have been among the worst in the ACC. Over his last five games, Bede is 8-26 (30.7%) from the field. While Bede's struggles as a shooter have been well-documented, this recent stretch is worse than usual for him. He's a mediocre 34% shooter from the floor this season to begin with, but his cold stretch lately has only put further emphasis on his assist-to-turnover numbers.
Bede's defense has continued to be an anchor for Virginia Tech beyond the perimeter, as he continues to exemplify some of the best on-ball defense in the ACC. However, if his offense doesn't improve on Saturday evening after a week of rest, Tech is in danger of not only losing any minuscule NCAA Tournament chance, but more importantly (and realistically) any true chance of making the NIT.
Pittsburgh represents another winnable game for Virginia Tech. Wabissa Bede's play, for better or worse, will go a long way toward determining the final outcome.
