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After being out-played for nearly the entire game, the Hokies used a late 9-0 to cut FSU's lead to one with four seconds left and make this one look closer than it actually was. The Hokies shot poorly across the board and got not help from its big men to drop to 1-2 in the ACC and 13-3 overall.
Whether or not the Hokies were paper tigers going into ACC play with a 12-1 record remains to be seen, but in their first three conference games they have produced two good halves out of six. Their next two conference games against a struggling Boston College team at home and on the road against an underrated Virginia team will give us a better read on this team.
We knew Tech would have a hard time scoring inside against Chris Singleton and Solomon Alabi, but Tech's big men were especially bad against Florida State. Jeff Allen, Victor Davila and J.T. Thompson combined to shoot 3-for-16 from the floor, forcing the Hokies to rely on perimeter scoring. Tech shot a somewhat respectable 41 percent from behind the arc, but could never get over the hump against the Seminoles.
Several Tech fans were calling foul on the officials in this game on The Twitter. While the fouls given were close to even, the Noles shot 10 more free throws than the Hokies did. It may not have mattered, though, as Tech made only 11 of its 21 free throws. Malcolm Delaney was 8-for-12 from the line and the rest of the team was 3-for-9.
Delaney was once again the lone bright spot for the Hokies, leading the team with 23 points. Allen had another terrible game looking at the box score as he finished with three points and three rebounds while being limited to 17 minutes thanks to foul trouble. At this point I have to wonder if Allen is injured or just useless.
The good news is the Hokies played pretty good defense for most of the game. From what I can tell based on the radio, the box score and The Twitter, it was a very sloptacular game. The Hokies have now lost all five trips to Tally they've made since joining the ACC. There and NC State are the only two arenas the Hokies haven't won in since joining the league.
Tech gets its chance to take out its frustrations Monday against NC Central. The Eagles are 0-15 against D1 opponents this season, but only lost by three to High Point in their last game against a team from college basketball's top division.