The month of January was one of the more frustrating ones in a long time for the Virginia Tech men's basketball team. Heartbreak was endured multiple times, and instead of being on the bubble and needing some big Quad 1 wins over the next six weeks, they could be safely in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field.
After failing to pick up a big win over Duke on Saturday afternoon at home, 72-58, the Hokies now have a week off as they look to make some noise in what is turning into a very big month of February. Let's look back at the last 31 days for Virginia Tech.
Free throws, free throws, free throws
Ok, so free throws are free points, basically, with the clock stopped. It can be beneficial in several ways. You can ice a game with free throws, or you can make a comeback with the clock stopped. In the case of the Hokies, well, just make your free throws.
In their losses to SMU and Stanford, knocking down a couple more free throws, and the outlook on the season in ACC play is totally different than what it is now. There is no doubt about it. If Virginia Tech misses the NCAA Tournament, they won't need to go look far and wide as to why.
Virginia Tech has no injury luck
Injuries have been a big story for the Hokies this year. Since ACC play opened on New Year's Eve with their triple overtime win over Virginia, Young has yet to field his entire roster for a conference game. Sophomore forward Tyler Johnson is the latest one out of the lineup, and there was some thought that he was going to return against Duke on Saturday, but he was ruled out again. There is growing hope that he can return following Tech's bye this week when the Hokies visit North Carolina State next Saturday.
Virginia Tech faces monster February
At 16-7 overall and 5-5 in the ACC, there is little wiggle room for error for the Hokies the rest of the season. They are on the outside looking in on the NCAA Tournament bubble by Joe Lunardi at ESPN, but there are some Quad 1 opportunities looming. Securing two would be extremely helpful for Virginia Tech's hopes of playing in the big dance next month.