0-5, that was the record between Mike Young's Virginia Tech and Boston College, which enters tonight's game against the Eagles. Regardless of who was on Team BC or who was coaching it, it looked like the Eagles had the Hokies' jersey numbers for the first four years of the Mike Young era.
That changed tonight as the Hokies took care of business at home and ultimately won against the Eagles.
Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 76-71, improving to 12-7 on the year (including 4-4 in ACC play), while the Eagles improved to 12-8 on the season (including 2-6 in ACC play). It fell to
It was a first-half and second-half story for the Hokies, with Virginia Tech shooting 17-for-28 (60.8 percent) from the field in the first half, 6-for-12 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 on free shots. -Slow line. Tech regained its composure in the second half, shooting 9-25 (36.0%) from the field, while BC found its rhythm offensively, shooting 16-29 (55.2%) from the field.
However, Sean Pedula ultimately proved to be the closer, scoring seven of the Hokies' final 11 points. Before tonight's performance, Pedula was the closer who saw the junior point guard make big shots to lead Tech to wins over Boise State, Iowa State and North Carolina State. This isn't the first time.
Part of the story revolves around how sharp Tech was on defense, especially at forcing turnovers. On the night, BC had 15 turnovers, most of which happened in the first half, and the Hokies turned that into 19 points, but the Hokies only had 11 turnovers, and BC turned that into 10 points. . According to Torbic, the BC team that entered tonight's game ranked eighth in offensive turnover rate.
Tech also did a great job at the free-throw line, going a perfect 16-for-16 from the free-throw line. It was the Hokies' best free-throw shooting night since March 4, 2009, when they won 17-17 against North Carolina. This free throw shooting was in stark contrast to BC, where the Eagles missed multiple free throws on one-and-ones on the front end and went 5-9 at the line.
One area where Tech struggled tonight was near the rim, where BC outscored the Hokies 35-22 on the offensive glass, including 5-of-13, which turned into an 11-4 second-chance point advantage. BC outscored the Hokies 44-28 in the paint despite Lynn Kidd and Maylijael Poteet combining for 18 points.
Tech's backcourt stars played a key role in the game, with Hunter Kattore scoring 17 points on 4-6 shooting, including 3-5 from 3-point range, and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. He led the Hokies. He also added three rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block on what was a strong night for him on both ends of the floor. His strong performance came on a night when he became the record holder for most games played in a VT men's basketball career.
Turnovers were once again an issue for Sean Pedula as he had six points on the night, but the Hokies' points came when Tech needed to score 16 points on 5-13 shooting, including seven of his final 11 points. The guard made some big shots. He also had six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.
MJ Collins had one of his best offensive games of the season with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, three assists, one rebound, one steal, and just one turnover in 33 minutes. Lynn Kidd had 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block, becoming the fourth Hokie to reach double-digit points.
Robbie Beran went 3-5 from 9 from the field with two rebounds, two assists and one steal, marking his fifth straight game with eight or more points. Mailijael Poteet came off the bench with eight points, four rebounds and one block, and Tyler Nickel had five points and three assists with no turnovers.
Tech will be missing most of its bench, with Tech announcing before the game that Mekhi Long would be out with a knee injury, Brandon Rechsteiner would be out with an eye injury and John Camden would be out with an illness.
While this win may not be a resume boost in the traditional sense, it maintains the strength of Virginia Tech's resume of not having a bad loss outside of the top two quadrants. Given the Hokies' strange struggles against the Eagles, combined with the fact that they were finally able to get over the hump against BC, I'm happy with this turn of events, even if it makes things a little more dangerous. There are many things you can do.
