The Virginia Tech Hokies needed a strong performance on Saturday against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, after back-to-back losses put them two games under .500 in ACC play. Fortunately for the Hokies, everyone showed up on Saturday, as they dominated the Demon Deacons in an 82-63 victory.
Last month, it was Wake Forest who handed the Hokies one of their last-second losses in conference play, drilling a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to shock Virginia Tech in Winston-Salem. A major problem for Tech in the first
meeting was turnovers: the Hokies turned it over 19 times. Neoklis Avdalas turned it over seven times and Amani Hansberry had six turnovers.
In Saturday’s win, VT turned the ball over only five times. Avdalas led the Hokies with 17 points, alongside Tobi Lawal, dished out seven assists and did not turn the ball over. Avdalas and Lawal were two of six Hokies to score in double figures, joined by Hansberry (13), Ben Hammond (12), Jailen Bedford (10) and Christian Gurdak (10).
It was another solid effort from Virginia Tech’s defense, which held Wake to 38% shooting from the field, and the Demon Deacons made only six of 30 attempts from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Tech shot 51% from the field and made 11 of 28 3-point attempts. A persistent issue for the Hokies is free-throw shooting. It reared its ugly head again on Saturday, as Tech made just 9 of 16.
Virginia Tech has three games remaining: at North Carolina, home vs. Boston College and at Virginia. The Hokies (18-10, 7-8) need to win at least two of those three games to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament. Winning all three would put them in an outstanding position, but winning on the road in Chapel Hill and Charlottesville will be tough.
Tech is off for seven days until it faces the Tar Heels next Saturday night. UNC could still be without superstar freshman Caleb Wilson, who recently fractured his non-shooting hand.
