Is where VT needs to improve in the margins. There isn't some insurmountable talent difference between what VT has currently and what they need to be to be inside the NCAA Tournament comfortably. Despite what some might have you believe. The margins are what makes a Miami team with largely the same members go from Final 4 to next to last in the ACC. The injuries and absences affect the close games. The Miami team of this year isn't a bad team from a talent standpoint, but they just kept getting crushed in absences and close games. Miami was 2-5 in games decided by 5 points or less this season. They were 6-4 in that category in the Final 4 season. And no, Isaiah Wong isn't the difference between Final 4 and a 6-14 record in the ACC. But if Miami's exact situation were VTs situation, the terrible triumvirate would have you believe it is because Jim Larranagga is a bad coach who caught "lightning in a bottle" last season. We can look at close games every single year, but what is telling is WHY those close games aren't going your way. VT needs to keep getting better in the margins to make the roster deeper and more versatile to deal with the injuries and absences. That doesn't mean you need to replace Wessler and Camden with Top 100 players, but replacing them with (to borrow a baseball term) replacement level players can go a long way to turning those close games into wins. If the same Miami team wins 6 of their close games this season like they did last year then they're sitting at 19-12 (10-10) and with the injuries they've had, that would be a huge victory. Can you imagine winning 19 games with a depleted roster? Man, that'd be a helluva coaching job ** Edited by Will Stewart at 3/10/2024, 4:05:01 PM