Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies beat Florida State with unreal shooting performance

Virginia Tech was due for some good fortune on the hardwood after Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to the Miami Hurricanes at the buzzer. Miami drilled a desperation 3-point attempt from midcourt to stun the Hokies. It was the latest bit of bad luck for Virginia Tech’s basketball team in ACC play.

Things looked even worse with a trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State Saturday. As most know, the ‘Noles have been tough on the Hokies in recent years. The Seminoles had won six straight over the Hokies, including two overtime losses, dating back to Tech’s last win over FSU in the 2016 ACC Tournament.

Could the Hokies overcome their recent woes this season and their bad luck against Florida State all on the same day?

Yes, in an overwhelming way, as Virginia Tech made 18 of its 25 3-point attempts in an 85-72 win over Florida State.

The Hokies were so good Saturday; they didn’t need big performances from Keve Aluma or Justyn Mutts. Heck, the Hokies didn’t need big days from Nahiem Alleyne or Storm Murphy either. It was all about Hunter Cattoor and freshman point guard Sean Pedulla.

Cattoor made nine of 11 3-point attempts for a career-high 27 points. Pedulla was right behind him, drilling six of his seven long-range attempts. Pedulla scored a career-high 20 points off the bench in 23 minutes played.

Aluma scored just four points for Tech, as he spent time in foul trouble. Mutts scored 10 points, while Murphy and Alleyne contributed seven and five, respectively.

Can we finally start playing Pedulla and sophomore Darius Maddox more, please? Maddox had a solid game Wednesday against Miami in limited playing time. Pedulla is an ACC player, whereas Murphy still has his struggles, especially with turnovers.

This win improved the Hokies to 11-10 on the season and 3-7 in ACC play. After a tough stretch, the Hokies have a chance to pick up some wins. Georgia Tech, two games against Pittsburgh, Syracuse and back-to-back home games against Virginia and North Carolina make up Tech’s next six games. All six games are winnable. In fact, five of those six games will be from the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum.

It would be nice to see the Hokies go on a run and come away with at least five wins in this stretch. That could go a long way in determining their postseason destination.

Virginia Tech is back in action Wednesday as it hosts Georgia Tech.

Meanwhile, enjoy this graphic from Aluma.