NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
The No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers lost a heartbreaker on New Year’s Eve, falling 95-85 in triple overtime to Virginia Tech inside Cassell Coliseum.
With 14 seconds to play in double overtime, Virginia’s deficit grew to 75-70 as Hokies’ guard Ben Hammond knocked down a pair of free throws. During the stoppage, Cavalier guard Malik Thomas checked into the game for the first time since the 3:04 mark of the second half of regulation.
Advertisement
During the ensuing 14 seconds, Thomas put the ’Hoos on his back to lead a furious comeback. The grad transfer from USF kept Virginia alive, slicing through the VT defense to convert an old-fashioned three-point play before nailing a contested step-back three-pointer following another pair of Hammond free throws.
Change Mallory would cap off the rally with a heroic putback layup as time expired to send the game to a third overtime — where the ’Hoos would ultimately run out of gas.
Virginia gave itself more than enough opportunities to steal one on the road and escape Blacksburg with an ACC-opening victory. Instead, the ’Hoos couldn’t deliver a knockout blow down the stretch and now start conference play 0-1. It’s more than fair to wonder, however, if things would have turned out differently had Thomas been on the floor for the end of regulation and the first nine-plus minutes of overtime.
Advertisement
The veteran guard — who finished as Virginia’s leading scorer despite playing only 29 of 55 minutes — wasn’t in foul trouble (he finished the game with just two personals) and, based on his performance after re-entering the game, didn’t seem to be injured.
So why wasn’t Thomas on the floor? Ryan Odom didn’t address the decision in his postgame press conference, so it’s unclear if there were non-matchup-related reasons behind the benching. But from a purely basketball perspective, it was incredibly puzzling.
Granted, the Hokies rolled out a guard-heavy look after regulation, so Odom might have wanted his best…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-didn-t-malik-thomas-214233441.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-01-02 21:42:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
