The Virginia Tech Hokies lost to the Miami Hurricanes 82-74 on Saturday, wasting a huge opportunity to improve their standing in the NCAA Tournament.
With Saturday's loss, Tech falls to 13-9 on the season and 5-6 in ACC play. It will be the second consecutive year for the Hokies after winning three straight. Both Monday's game against Duke and Saturday's game at Miami would have been Quad 1 wins for the Hokies.
Miami jumped out to a six-point lead in the first half, but the Hurricanes missed 12 consecutive field goals and were called, giving the Hokies a 35-25 lead.
Miami's Matthew Cleveland made a 3-pointer with 8:23 left, giving Miami a 23-21 lead. The Canes then missed their next 12 shots and scored just three points the rest of the first half, all from the free throw line. That's right, Miami scored three points in the final eight minutes.
The Hokies would carry that momentum into the second half. The Hurricanes shot much better, but Tech's offense matched the Hurricanes as well. The Hokies held a 7-10 lead for the first eight minutes of the second half, but Miami began to turn things around.
Virginia Tech guard Tyler Nickell made a jumper with 8:47 left to put VT ahead 59-51. Miami scored nine straight points over the next two minutes to take a one-point lead. The Hokies quickly responded, with Hunter Kattore and Sean Pedulla scoring six straight points to put Tech up 65-60.
The Hurricanes answered, scoring six straight points to take the lead. Kattoa answered, giving the Hokies a 67-66 lead with 3:29 left. Norchad Omie put the Canes back on top and they never looked back. The Hurricanes led by eight points with 1:07 left in the game when Tech scored from the field. That latest drought proved too tough for VT to overcome, as the Hokies struggled to slow down Miami, going nearly three minutes without making a basket from the field. .
This Virginia Tech team has very little margin for error. If things go well, you can beat most teams, but pretty much everything has to go well. A few things didn't go their way for Tech on Saturday, and they were unable to beat a talented team on the road.
Pedulla led the Hokies with 21 points, and Kattoa was right behind him with 19 points. Robbie Beran and Tyler Nickel each contributed 10 points. Lynn Kidd led the Hokies with 11 rebounds, but scored just six points. Tech relied too much on its jump shot and once again failed to produce in the paint. The Hokies were 11 of 30 (36.7%) from beyond the arc and 48% from the field. The Hokies, one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country, struggled on the ground Saturday, missing seven of 14 attempts.
Omaia and talented freshman Kishawn George each scored 16 points for Miami, while Cleveland led the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hokies have a week off before playing at Notre Dame next Saturday. The chances of winning Quad 1 are narrowing. North Carolina has a chance, but the Heels are arguably the hottest team in the country right now.
