Virginia Tech fell to their second straight ACC opponent on Saturday, this time it was the Florida State Seminoles who seized the day against Mike Young's side.
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It is not often you will find a Hokie side that is turnover-ridden. For years, coach Young's sides have been able to keep their turnovers to a minimum, and often, their low giveaway rate would save them when they were under the Kosh. Saturday evening was a different story, 16 turnovers from the Maroon and Orange spelled a heartwrenching 77-74 loss to the Noles.
Half number one was a tightknit slugfest that found both sides unable to keep any lasting momentum as the largest lead sat at just eight.
Much like in early 2022 when Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla raided the scoreboard with a combined 48 points, the two once again found their rhythm leaving the first 20 with 19 points between them.
An oddity on Saturday was the lack of action for center Lynn Kidd. Kidd finished the night with just two points and eight boards and found himself in early foul trouble as he reached four with 8:40 to go in the second half.
Kidd's foul trouble was not the only second-half issue for the Hokies. Tech amassed 10 second-half turnovers. which brought their game tally to 16, the third-highest this season.
While the Hokies have been constantly reliant on their starting five to drive them to success. FSU was more than happy to spread the wealth. 41 points were scored from the Seminoles bench, while just 14 were scored from the Hokies side. This has been a problem evident all year for the Hokies and as ACC play wears on, it will be key for the Blacksburg side to mark up those numbers.
Despite a late Hokies run, FSU was able to ice the game with near-time expiring free throws leaving just 1.2 seconds for the Hokies to heave a potential game-tying three-pointer.
Needing a score with just over a second is never preferred. Especially when you have all 94 feet separating you and the basket. It doesn't help when an odd clock mishap prevents Cattoor from being able to even put up a half-decent attempt. That isn't where the problem lies though. Many may point to the ref's "controversial" decision to call a foul on Sean Pedulla which sent Taylor Bol Bowen to clinch the game at the line, but the game was lost with the Hokies sloppy ball handling and inefficient paint defense. Inside the paint was the spot for the Noles as they converted 42 of their points inside the blocks.
The road only gets steeper for Tech, as the Clemson Tigers will be venturing to Cassell Wednesday in an attempt to sink the Hokies to 1-3 in conference play.
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