Mike Young reacts to big game from Grant Basile

Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young did not think Grant Basile played a complete basketball game against Pitt on Saturday, and he is not wrong. But he also knows that the graduate transfer Wright State has elevated his game in recent weeks and his performance in the 79-72 victory was crucial to the victory.

Basile scored a game-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

He was somewhat surprised by the Panthers’ decision to put center Federiko Federiko on Basile, who was able to take advantage of the matchup in situations.

“The five first half turnovers is, was, atrocious,” Young said after the victory. “He recognized that. He’s really a smart basketball player. He had zero rebounds at the half. But he’s put together a really good ACC league level of play for us. He’s gotten better here. There’s been a real uptick over the last two and a half, three weeks, maybe a month. Just kind of hit his stride a little bit and playing really good basketball. Proud of him. 22 today, holy cow.”

Grant Basilie discusses win over Pitt

Grant Basile leads Mike Young’s Virginia Tech team in points per game at 16.7 and is second in rebounds at 5.6. Saturday was his fourth straight game with 20-plus points.

“Our guys have been doing a great job of getting me some good looks,” Basile said after the win. “When you have guys that shoot the ball the way that Hunter [Cattoor], Sean [Pedulla], those guys do, they draw a lot of attention. The way Justyn Mutts passes. You saw some of the dimes he had tonight. Mylyjael [Poteat] played a huge role off the bench tonight. He was fantastic. We have a lot of really good basketball players and no one cares who gets the attention, so it’s been awesome.”

As a whole, it was an impressive win for the Hokies, who are 16-11 and 6-10 in conference play. Pitt is one of the conference leaders, and Virginia Tech needs some notable wins to help its NCAA Tournament resume.

“I think they’re leading the league in threes. That was a big point of emphasis. They only had one in the first half. I’m not sure how many they ended with, but our guards did a great job of getting to shooters and helping inside. Getting back to shooters. They were awesome tonight,” Basile said.