Through their first seven ACC games, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team has been in every game. Their four losses have been by a combined five points. Even most of their wins have been rather close in the second half, except for their win over Notre Dame last Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center, the odds were stacked against the Hokies, who entered the game as a 13.5 underdog at DraftKings, and to compound matters, the 23rd-ranked Cardinals were getting their star back, Mikel Brown Jr, back in the lineup for the first time since mid-December. All of that, along with a brutal 18-5 run by Louisville to close out the Hokies in the opening half, put them behind the eight-ball at the half, 37-22, and Virginia Tech was never able to recover.
Multiple Virginia Tech mistakes costly in blowout loss against Louisville
Where shall we start? How about the multiple missed layups by the Hokies? It happened in both halfs and it was costly. Not sure what it was, but they missed a ton of shots around the basket that they usually make. On the road, against a good team, you can't miss as many as they did. It just wasn't one person; it was a handful of players.
The 18-5 run by Louisville to end the half was as frustrating as there has been in ACC play in the final four minutes. Not once, but twice, the Cardinals missed shots, and the Hokies failed to secure a defensive rebound that turned into a back-breaking 3-pointer.
If it wasn't for Jailen Bedford, it could have been a lot more ugly than it was. The UNLV transfer has scored 24 points, 6-for-8 from behind the 3-point line, but aside from Jaden Schutt knocking down three treys, it wasn't much offense from anybody else. Amani Hansberry had just 12 points, Tobi Lawal had just two points, and freshman Neiklis Avdalas had just two points. That isn't going to win any games on the road for Virginia Tech.
The Hokies were 16-for-30 from behind the arc, and truth be told, that was the reason the final score was as close as it was. However, whenever they needed a stop, they couldn't get one, and the Cardinals came up with a big basket.
Virginia Tech returns home for a pair of home games, beginning Tuesday night against Georgia Tech, before fifth-ranked Duke comes to Blacksburg next Saturday afternoon.