Virginia Tech fell behind 47-29 early in the second half. Although they lost to Dayton 12-1, Virginia Tech suffered another away defeat and missed an opportunity to improve their resume. Although there is no doubt that Hokies has the skills and experience to turn things around, these missed opportunities are starting to accumulate, even if these are not necessarily bad losses.

Having said that, here are three thoughts after Tech lost to Dayton.

Fans and some analysts are increasingly talking about the need for Virginia Tech to play Sean Pedula more at the point guard position than the current starting storm Murphy. Although Murphy does not look great, but Pedula had only one outstanding performance date against a high-level opponent.

After yesterday, the situation has changed.

In the second game, playing time reached double digits. Pedula only scored 5 points and 1 turnover in 11 minutes, while Murphy scored 8 points and 5 assists with 3 turnovers in 26 minutes.

Although these statistics are quite reliable for Murphy, the offense does not look the same or does not seem to have any rhythm when Murphy is on the court. At the same time, this time Tech's big match with Pedulla on the court does not seem to be a coincidence, as we saw against Xavier. For a freshman, there is a surprising sense of comfort, although Dayton did not use almost that much pressure on the court, which also helps, but it seems that it is not just because of the lack of such pressure.

The best statistic to show this since yesterday is probably the plus/minus sign.

As far as the media is concerned, Dayton may have been a little relieved in the #Hokies game, but Sean Pedula's +10 is huge compared to Storm Murphy's -17. And this is not the first time. Mike Young needs more playing time for Pedulla, while Murphy needs less time https://t.co/7nmPHY0ybc

Yes, the 27-point difference between Pedulla's +10 and Murphy's -17 is quite discordant and significant on the large scale of things. Comparing these two with the other members of the team, although there are some differences, the gap is still obvious and illustrates the obvious fact that Pedulla needs a higher level of competition in PG against Dayton.

In addition to the eye test, especially in the Xavier and Dayton games, advanced statistics support this, because Pedulla's average score per 100 rounds is 9.2 plus or minus, while Murphy's is -0.9. Interestingly, in the Dayton game, Murphy's actual score was 6.4, while Pedula's score was even higher, at 13.8.

Although there are more statistics to show this, but because Pedulla's playing time is still mainly for weaker games, there is also a slight deviation, but such a large gap indicates that Pedulla should always assume a larger role as soon as possible.

Of course, playing a young freshman is definitely risky. He made some freshman mistakes, including his wrong pass in the second half. This was his only mistake. However, Murphy’s performance is still a problem for the Hawke team. Considering what we have seen from Pedura’s matches against high-quality opponents such as Xavier and Dayton, it’s time for him to get at least 15 per game. Minutes of stable playing time, and gave him a more powerful opportunity to win the top point guard position from Murphy.

Nahim Allaine has had a good start to the season, but Allaine's third season with Hawke has entered the offensive end in recent weeks. He has shot 1-10 from the field against Dayton. climax.

Unfortunately, this has been a trend throughout the season for Allaine. His shooting percentage is 34.5%. Although his three-pointers are 38% and free throws are 96.2%, this shows his performance. ability. However, Allaine has performed poorly in the past six games, shooting less than 30% on four occasions. He was 4-14 against Memphis, 3-11 against Maryland, 1 against Wake Forest. -7 and 1-10 against Dayton.

Undoubtedly, this is abnormal for Allaine, who shot about 39% from the field in the first two seasons in Blacksburg, but this poor shooting state is definitely worrying, especially considering his The importance of the role played by the offensive end.

Allaine also showed great growth in other areas. Both assists and rebounds set career highs. So Allaine's entire season was not a bad season, but his shooting did not meet his standards.

However, if Allaine can't change his shooting percentage quickly, Mike Young may need to rely more on Darius Maddox's playing time when the Hawke needs to come back in the second half.

There is no doubt that considering the performance of ACC so far, especially the conference may win 4-5 bids in a shocking downturn in a year, this is another missed opportunity for the Hokies, they desperately need this Chance.

Although Tech may still be the third or fourth best team in the league, the lack of important non-conference victories is a problem with their resumes, regardless of whether they are seeded in the NCAA tournament or whether they are in a bubble. Maryland seems to be righting their ships after beating Florida, and the Navy has a solid NET in the first NET ranking of the season, but even if the non-conference intensity of the schedule is solid, this is a weak non-conference resume. .

When they face Saint Bonaventure in Charlotte this Friday, technology does have a bigger chance and it feels like they must win.

Bonnies defeated Marquette and Clemson 8-2. They won the pre-Thanksgiving game in Charleston. Although they lost to Northern Iowa and UCONN, there is no doubt that Bonnies is a solid NCAA tournament. , After winning the Atlantic Top 10 last year and almost everyone returned, it may become a very high seed.

The fact is that Friday's victory over Bonnies will be a landmark non-conference victory and may make Maryland the most important victory. Bonnie has never had their biggest star in Kyle Lofton's veteran team. His status is still unclear this Friday, but if he returns, Bonnie should return to the season. The level of the top 25 in the pre-match.

If they lose, this game will not be a bad loss, but it will be another missed opportunity and nothing. In many ways, the failure to win a victory in Dayton created a must-win opportunity for Hawke's resume in Charlotte this Friday.