Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies’ NCAA hopes take another hit in loss to Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 77-70, Wednesday in Atlanta. It's the Hokies' second loss in their last three games, dropping them to 15-11 and 5-10 in ACC play.

Much like since ACC play began, the Hokies allowed an opponent have one of their best shooting nights of the season against Tech's defense. Georgia Tech entered Wednesday’s game averaging seven made 3-pointers per game. Against the Hokies, Georgia Tech made a season-high 11 3-pointers, shooting 50% from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, another trend in many of Virginia Tech’s losses this year was its poor shooting from 3-point range. The Hokies hit only six of 23 from outside, which was 26%.

Sophomore point guard Sean Pedulla continued his recent struggles from the outside, making only one of eight from beyond the arc, and five of 17 from the field, scoring 11 points.

Senior forwards Grant Basile and Justyn Mutts continued their recent trend of outstanding plays. Basile scored 21 points, his eighth game of the year over 20 points, after scoring 33 points apiece in the last two games. Basile was 10 of 21 from the floor. Mutts flirted with yet another triple-double, scoring 19 points and leading everyone with 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Hunter Cattoor also scored 11 points for the Hokies.

Things do not get easier for Virginia Tech. Pitt is up next on the schedule. The Panthers are tied with Virginia atop the ACC at 12-3 in league play. From there, the Hokies play Miami and Duke. That’s a brutal three-game stretch for a struggling team. The Hokies have a win over Duke and took Miami to the wire, but it’s difficult to see things playing out similarly this time around.

Sure, if the Hokies are shooting well, they can take down anyone. But too often this season, they have struggled to knock down shots consistently. That 5-10 conference mark could look a lot worse soon.

As for Virginia Tech’s NCAA hopes, those seemingly ended with last week’s loss to Boston College.