There was no way to sugarcoat it: Mike Young and the Virginia Tech men's basketball team were facing a must-win at No. 20 Clemson on Wednesday night. It wasa Quad 1 opportunity for a Hokies team that was fading off the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to Joe Lunardi at ESPN.
Virginia Tech played as well as they could offensively in the first half and took a seven-point lead, 40-33, into the break. Truth be told, the lead would have been bigger if they hadn't missed some layups. The big question in the second half was whether or not they were going to be able to withstand a run from the Tigers and escape with a key road victory.
Despite Clemson making multiple runs at the Hokies, they never let the Tigers get closer than five points and took care of the ball and made their free throws down the stretch to pick up a huge Quad 1 win, 76-66. After the game, Young gave a rather blunt answer about the win and whether it will be one to look back on later next month as one that will help come selection Sunday.
Mike Young gives blunt answer after Virginia Tech beats Clemson
After the 10-point win over Clemson, Young was asked if he thought this win was going to help their résumé next month when the committee selects the 68-team field.
“I do,'' said Young.
He's probably right, but here's the thing: Virginia Tech needs to do a lot more the rest of the season with its six remaining ACC games. For instance, they need to beat Florida State at home on Saturday. This is a game that, if they lose, all but eliminates the win over the Tigers.
Florida State's record is deceiving, as they have been playing very lately and took Virginia down to the wire on Tuesday night before falling by three points at home.
Yes, the win over Clemson is one that could be a difference-maker, but it loses all of its value with a loss at home to FSU on Saturday.