I didn't get to watch the Notre Dame game, so you'll have to excuse anything I mention here that doesn't jive with what you might have seen in that game, but from the look of some highlights and the box score, it was probably fairly similar. So I think most rational individuals can see the Hokies have had a rough year due to absences of players who were supposed to be key rotational players at the very least (Maddox/Rice), or their most important player overall (Cattoor). What can be slightly difficult to see (despite how logical it actually is) is why VT has struggled on one end but not the other with those players out. From a metric standpoint, this is a very bad year for VT from what their standard is and should be. I've seen explanations for that ranging from its Mike Jones fault to this being a lasting effect of Chester Frazier being gone. Both are completely false. Chester Frazier is a good coach who will do well somewhere as a HC some day. He was **not** Mike Young's defensive coordinator. He did not devise a defense that VT has now gone away from since he left. Mike Young has not changed how his teams defend in the last decade (as far back as I've watched). They play ball screens the same way he did at Wofford. They teach rebounding the same way he did at Wofford. Their personnel is pretty similar (but more skilled overall) as his time at Wofford. They were able to take a jump in efficiency from Wofford to VT due to the better athletes he could bring in at VT to run the defensive part of his system. So why are they worse? It's so simple, yet so frustrating... Because they've been down 3 rotational players. VT has played 1 conference game where 2 of Maddox, Cattoor and Rice were at full strength. They won that game against UNC and became a Top 25 team... Ever since, at least 2 of those 3 players have been out. Why is that so important? Let's take a look at an ideal defensive matchup for VT... Pedulla -----> Opposing PG Cattoor -----> Opposing best player Maddox ----> Opposing wing Mutts --------> Opposing 4 Basile -------> Opposing center Bench unit Rice ----------> Opposing PG/Wing Cattoor -----> Opposing PG/Wing Collins ------> Opposing Wing Camden ----> Opposing 4 Kidd ----------> Opposing C Lots of options with that bench unit. You could even have Collins and Maddox, and let Maddox take the better offensive player and let Camden take the worse offensive player. You could play your best defensive lineup of Cattoor, Rice, Collins, Mutts and Basile. A lineup that has gotten 0 minutes this season. You could play your best offensive lineup (even with Maddox's struggles) of Pedulla, Rice, Cattoor, Mutts and Basile. Another lineup that has gotten 0 minutes this season. But VT hasn't had the luxury of either lineup. Or the bench lineup. Or, for most of the season, even their starting lineup. Here's what they've actually had Pedulla -----> Opposing PG Cattoor -----> Opposing best player Collins ------> Opposing wing Mutts --------> Opposing 4 Basile -------> Opposing center Bench unit Pedulla -----> Opposing PG/Wing Cattoor -----> Opposing PG/Wing Camden ----> Opposing Wing Kidd ----------> Opposing 4 Poteat ------> Opposing C The starting unit isn't bad, but also not ideal. But the bench unit is abysmal. Camden is guarding out of position. This leads to him being beaten off the dribble and fouling in unnecessary places. He's done a better job of being in position away from the ball but still has lapses...way too many. Kidd has trouble defending 5s in ball screens. Kidd is horrendous defending 4s in almost every situation. Poteat is a situational player asked to play rotational minutes. His game against Pitt should be exactly why he was brought to VT. There are certain matchups he can exploit. There are way more matchups that exploit him. It isn't his fault he is on the floor in situations he shouldn't be. But he has to. VT has played a lineup of Camden, Mutts, Basile and Kidd/Poteat at times. Think about that. No matter who you put at PG with that group, they're going to struggle on both ends. But Camden and Mutts both defending wings while Basile defends a 4 is a disaster. Replacing Camden with Collins even isn't much better. This is why VT has been worse defensively this season...they are playing out of position. They are more than 1 foul per game worse this season than last. And for a team that plays low possessions and isn't aggressive defensively, that is a significant measure. They are fouling more due to being out of position, whether on the ball or away from it. They're out of position because they're literally playing out of position and out of their strengths. So what VT has done to try and keep that to a minimum is to play Pedulla, Cattoor, Collins, Mutts and Basile more. If you can roll with that lineup then I like VTs chances. The problem is that foul trouble exists, fatigue exists and off nights/weeks/months happen. So it can be frustrating to watch a team very capable, but also fail to meet the standard their own skills have set. All of the above is (for the most part) fact. Irrefutable. But everything from here on out is only something I can guess from watching... It seems that the lineup of Pedulla, Cattoor, Collins, Mutts and Basile is coasting early in games to be able to stay on the floor longer. Saving energy for a close game down the stretch. That might seem like a sound strategy at face value, as the alternative of Camden at 100% but out of position isn't as good at Cattoor at 70% but within his strengths. This however, probably is better in theory than practice for VT for a couple reasons... 1) there were a handful of games VT could have won with effort alone. Boston College 2x, and Georgia Tech come to mind. If VT would have played their normal energy levels in those games early on, they could have broken the spirit of those teams early. And would have been unlikely to see a late resurgence from a much less skilled opponent. I would much rather see this current iteration of VT play tired but from a lead than shoot to play with more of their energy in a close game. Their skill level is good enough to fend off late runs, even if tired. 2) the strategy builds complacency, which manifests in low-attention turnovers. I think Pedulla and Mutts are the biggest culprits here, but Basile has had his share as well. They're just a lot better than what they show at times, and it's frustrating to see them sleep walk through a full half while keeping the other team close. They need to pick up the intensity, play with it for as long as they can. Then either trust their teammates or understand it just wasn't their night. That is a very difficult task to ask high level athletes to not be on the floor when their team is struggling, but the results will almost assuredly be better with more effort and attention for a longer sustained period of time, even if that means they're not on the floor as much. Anyway, all that to say there's a very understandable reason why VT isn't better defensively this season, and the options to plug holes in the ship are slim. But with more attention you can keep the ship above water more making the holes less of an issue.