Buzzketball Blows Out Maryland Eastern Shore 85-40

Virginia Tech did what UVA couldn’t. Beat an underdog, Maryland-based, basketball team.

[Virginia Tech Athletics]

Without Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and with Justin Robinson taking only three shots, Virginia Tech won and covered the 39-point spread. The Hokies demolished Maryland Eastern Shore, 85-40.

Buzzketball now enters the belly of the beast. ACC play. Virginia Tech (11-1) begins their conference slate in Cassell Coliseum against Notre Dame on New Year's Day.

Alexander-Walker sat out the game against the Hawks with a sprained ankle. A Tech spokesperson said before the game the Hokies hope to have the sophomore guard back for Notre Dame. Buzz Williams added his diagnosis in a way only he could.

"Just an ankle sprain," said Williams. "I think any time your ankle, there's a word for it, when it goes out that means the swelling is above the ankle. And I'll always think that that's worse then when your ankle goes in and the swelling is below the ankle bone. So, he's the most diligent worker I've ever been around. He's doing all the work with Eddie [Benion], relative to treatment. It's probably still a little too early to say."

The player of the game was Wabissa Bede. The sophomore guard picked up the majority of Alexander-Walker's minutes (34 total). Bede tallied a 14 point, 7 rebound, and 6 assist stat line.

"We didn't know that Nickeil wasn't going to play until shootaround," said Bede. "We just didn't know. We already know that when one guy is down, somebody has to step up. Everybody as a team stepped up. And we did a great job."

Ahmed Hill, sporting a new, in his own words, "ASAP Rocky, Travis Scott" hairstyle, also put on a show. He went for 20 points, including a nice 6 of 9 from deep. Hill snagged 4 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.

"My teammates just finding me," said Hill. "I was open. Just didn't think, just shot the ball. Normal routine and thank god they went in today."

As it stands, the Hokies are ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll. Five years ago, Virginia Tech finished last in the ACC with a 2-16 record.

"Sometimes maybe we talk about success and use it in the wrong context," said Williams. "I think of success as an individual. I think that what's happened here is not exclusively success. I think it's more significance. I think when I think of the word significance and give it context, it means that it's for others. And all of the good stuff and all of the bad stuff, there's so many lives that have been impacted through that. I'm getting to the point in my life now that the result of a game, good or bad, doesn't have near the impact that it once did. And at times, I'm [convinced] that maybe I don't care about coaching anymore. And what's morphed is I care so much more about people. And maybe that the experience here regardless of the history of the program potentially changes the trajectory of their life. Which maybe has a generational impact to their children. And that's not because of me, that's because of all of the people."

Pundits and analysts consider the ACC one of the strongest conferences in college basketball. Bracket Matrix currently projects 8 ACC teams in the March Madness field.

"I think any time you play poker in the back room or you throw dice in the back room, when all the other people are throwing it on the first floor, that's what the ACC is," explained Williams. "You're in the private room. Like Coach [Roy] WIlliams doesn't throw dice, I know everybody knows Coach throws dice. Coach doesn't throw dice where we throw dice. They already have the chips in the room. They already have the stick man waiting on Coach when he shows up. That's what the ACC play is."

First Half: Virginia Tech 50–Maryland Eastern Shore 22

19:28, 3-0 VT Blackshear Jr. drained a three to start off the game. Williams immediately called timeout. Lovely.

15:44, 11-4 VT Buzzketball started strong tonight, unlike against North Carolina A&T.

11:52, 18-9 VT Virginia Tech's defense has impressed so far. Yes, this is the 349th worst team in the country according to KenPom. But the Hokies have been smothering the Hawks. Four possessions have been near shot clock violations.

7:30, 33-14 VT Maryland Eastern Shore decided to not guard Ty Outlaw. Not sure why. Buzzketball might cover the 39-point spread, courtesy of shooting 80% from the field so far.

2:07, 47-20 VT Buzzketball is finding points wherever they want to find them. This is an absolute rout.

Second Half: Virginia Tech 85–Maryland Eastern Shore 40

14:41, 58-27 VT Big time reverse jam by Ahmed Hill. That was pretty. Only real question now is whether the Hokies will cover or not.

11:50, 63-31 VT This is a balanced attack from the Hokies. 18 assists on 21 made baskets. No player over 14 points. More impressive is the fact that Horne, Bede, and Wilkins are all perfect from the field.

4:30, 81-38 VT Robinson missed the front end of the one-and-one. With Virginia Tech up by 43, it's interesting to not see walk-on Brendon Palmer get some playing time.

00.0, 85-40 VT The stat everybody is here for. Hokies win, cover spread.


Thanks for the article! Buzz and team handling business.

I just have one question. Why does this school need to specify which shore it is?

followup question: where is Maryland Western Shore?


Deep Creek Lake.


Technically the Eastern Side of the Chesapeake Bay would be a Western Shore compared to the Ocean being Eastern Shore

Bc it sounds better than University of Maryland Princess Anne?

It was previously known as the Eastern Shore Branch of Univ of Maryland. As times changed, just turned to UMES after a stint as Maryland State College. Just think of it as directional Michigan or Carolina.

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
@BuryHokie #ThanksFrank

We're gonna learn a lot about this team in the next few games. Home vs. ND and BC then away at GT before we go to Charlottesville. We should be favored in the next three games. If this team is going to be legit, we're gonna need to win those kinds of games


#RedshirtNolley :/

We have a statistically significant chance of winning the natty this year, IMHO it's all hands on deck, but unfortunately, I think you're right...does basketball have a "redshirt rule" similar to the new rules for football?

Redshirt rules would prohibit him from post season play. I could see Clarke deciding to play if he was made eligible but i think the Nolley ship has sailed this year. The bigger concern is if the NCAA finds Nolley is only a partial qualifier he will lose this year of eligibility and wont be able to use a redshirt on it.


Waho's suck
Uva swallows

Kind of random but Gardner-Webb, who we defeated in November, has now won at Wake Forest and at Georgia Tech

At least now GT and WF have a quality loss


Just finished watching while slightly distracted. How effective was the defense vs. how poorly did UMES shoot? That is to say, if we switched in Duke or VT clone shooters, but all else stayed the same, how much different might the score be?



I was at the game right near the basket and UMES shooting was atrocious in the first half. Our D still played well and forced a lot of bad shots, but obviously a better team would have made more of those shots. It's tough to take much away from these games, positive or negative.

Thanks! glad you understood my question. Also noticed that Skutt didn't include any negatives in his write up, which is unusual.



UMES perimeter defense was terrible, leaving Hill open every other trip down the court or so. Tech played well but not so well to determine if they would have beaten Duke in UMES place