It was an up and down month of February for the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team. I know, that’s not breaking any news. The Hokies did enough to continue on their path to qualifying for the ACC Tournament despite facing some road blocks.
On Saturday, Virginia Tech plays the first of their final three regular season games when they host Syracuse at Cassell Coliseum as the calendar flips to March. After a home game against North Carolina and a road game at Clemson, Mike Young and his team are likely off to Charlotte for the ACC Tournament. Here are three things we learned in February.
Bench scoring was a surprise
There have been too many games this season where the Hokies have not had much, if any, production from their bench. That was not the case in some games, and none bigger than the production they got from their bench at Miami on Feb. 22.
In Virginia Tech’s 81-68 victory over the Hurricanes, they got 53 points from their bench with Jaydon Young leading the way with 27. Ben Burnham added 14 and Patrick Wessler chipped in with 10 in place of Mylyjael Poteat who left late in the first half with an injury. In a loss to Louisville three nights later, it was another big game for the bench despite the loss to the 19th-ranked Cardinals.
Turnovers are still an issue
If there is one area where the Hokies have been consistent this season, it’s turning the ball over. Against Louisville, they turned the ball over 22 times in a five-point loss. There were some costly ones down the stretch, including Brandon Rechsteiner throwing a pass into the stands in the final seconds with the Hokies looking for a game-tying 3-pointer.
Turnovers are going to happen, but the number of unforced ones this year is stunning. Young has been patient for the most part, knowing it’s part of a young team going through growing pains. That makes the loss to Louisville more frustrating knowing cutting down on the turnovers could have produced a season-defining upset of a Top 25 team.
Virginia Tech hit rock-bottom against Boston College
There have been a number of times where you could point to a game and say, “That’s officially rock-bottom this year.’’ Well, I think we have officially had the biggest rock-bottom moment in 2024-25 against Boston College.
Playing in front of an arena that had a YMCA atmosphere, the Hokies scored 11 first-half points against an Eagles team on pace to miss the conference tournament. They finished the game with 36 points, the lowest BC has allowed in an ACC game since joining the conference. Sure, you can give Boston College credit for their defensive effort, but make no mistake about it, the Hokies played with no energy, stood around on offense and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. That was rock-bottom and if it wasn’t, I don’t want to think about what it is.