The Hokies looked like the VT team of 2008-09, getting dominated inside and falling behind early and the result was their third loss of the season, losing to the struggling noles in Tallahassee. Tech is now 0-5 at fsu since joining the ACC, one of only two places Tech hasn’t won at. nc state is the other, of course.
The Hokies dug themselves a big whole early. They led 2-0 but never led or tied the rest of the game, falling behind 15-5. A quick three by Delaney and then three-point play got the Hokies within 4, but then the offense dried up again. fsu led 32-25 at the half. Jeff Allen spent most of the half on the bench. He picked up two early fouls and went to the pine. Going against Greenberg policy, he came back in with six minutes left in the first half and promptly was called for an offensive foul, his third.
In the second half Allen hit a quick three (his first and only points of the game) to cut the noles’ lead to four, but then Jeff picked up his fourth foul and it was back to the bench.
With Allen out, the noles dominated inside. fsu had an early 18-7 advantage on the boards, helping them build their lead. Tech could not score inside to save their lives. fsu had nine blocks, including five from Chris Singleton. Tech’s big men – Allen, Davila, Thompson, and Raines – finished 3 of the 17 from the field. That doesn’t cut it.
The Hokies did a nice job on defense, forcing the noles into 23 turnovers and holding fsu to 40% shooting. But VT still lost and poor offense was the reason. 58 points may sound pathetic, but keep in mind they had just 47 with 45 seconds left. Late fouls/gimmie buckets padded the stats. Delaney had 23 points and Hudson added 19 but no one else had more than 5. Tech shot just 35% from the floor against the No. 1 team in the nation in FG% defense. And VT was 9/22 on threes, but just 10/33 on two-point shots. The noles dominated the paint.
Delaney had his usual solid 20+ point game and added 7 assists but was banged up. It looked like he tweaked his groin in the second half. He made a steal and then a great behind the back pass to Hudson for a dunk that closed the fsu lead to 44-42. Delaney hobbled to the bench but gutted out the rest of the game. A miss by Hudson on a three could have given VT the lead on the next possession but it was all noles after that. Malcolm missed four free throws on the night and foul shooting killed the Hokies. fsu was one of the worst teams in the league but shot much better than VT from the line. VT finished a miserable 11/21 from the line.
This is two of three games where Allen has been MIA. Not a good sign in a league of talented big men.
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