Hokies Pick Up Third Win of Season Against VMI, 88-72

On the back of Zach LeDay’s strong performance, Virginia Tech was able to defeat the VMI Keydets 88-72. The senior forward posted another double-double, which has become sort of a given over the last year or so given that he plays a significant amount.

VMI started off hot, racing out to an 11-5 lead. But Virginia Tech controlled the game after that. After four Hokies put up double digits against High Point, the same amount did so tonight. LeDay led the way with 23/12, and Seth Allen chipped in 15 points as well. Chris Clarke and Justin Bibbs each scored 13 to cap off another 80 point night for the offense.

Even though the Hokies won by a solid 16 points, there were still a few areas of concern.

The free throw shooting has to be more consistent. For most of the game, Virginia Tech’s three-point percentage was higher than their FT%. That cannot happen, especially for a team that has tournament hopes. Virginia Tech finished the game shooting just under 52% from the line, which allowed VMI to slowly crawl back into the game late. Free throw shooting was problematic last year as well.

The second concern was the inability to contain QJ Peterson off the dribble. Peterson is a quick, crafty guard who ended up with 29/8/6 to his name in tonight’s game. He was the only one to really give the Hokies trouble defensively. Unfortunately, the ACC is chock-full of those types of players. Buzz Williams needs to figure out how to stop guards with similar skill sets before it’s too late.

Virginia Tech’s next game is on Thanksgiving Day against the New Mexico Lobos in the Wooden Legacy Tournament.