Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Falls In Tallahassee 86-75

An opportunity lost.

Coming off an inspiring second half comeback against Syracuse, the Hokies failed to build off the positive momentum in a frustrating 86-75 loss to Florida State on Tuesday evening. The Hokies hung with the uncharacteristically hot-handed Seminoles through halftime thanks to Adam Smith's 17 first half points, but were unable to close the gap any further after the break.

It was a difficult loss for the Hokies, who looked to have a legitimate shot at earning their first ACC win of the season against an up-and-down Florida State squad (9-6, 1-1).

The Seminoles followed up their upset victory over in-state rival Florida with an absolute dud against Mississippi State on Saturday. Four days after FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton publically called out his team for their lack of urgency, the 'Noles came out of the gates swinging against the Hokies.

After scoring only 55 total points against Mississippi State, the Seminoles scored 53 points in the first half Tuesday. The discussion entering Tuesday's game centered around how the Hokies would fare in their second game without junior center Joey van Zegeren against one of the tallest lineups in the nation. Shockingly, it was the Seminoles' perimeter shooting that got them going early.

Seminole guard Devon Bookert, arguably the 'Noles' strongest outside shooter, punished the Hokie's zone defense by burying four first half triples.

The bigger surprise was freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who consistently broke down perimeter defenders to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Averaging 11.7 ppg entering Tuesday's game, Rathan-Mayes was on fire from the field and finished with 22 points on 8-14 shooting.

It wasn't necessarily a surprise that Rathan-Mayes and Bookert would put up points on an inconsistent Hokie defense. What caught everyone off-guard was the offensive efficiency that catapulted them to a 53-45 halftime lead.

The 'Noles shot 73% in the first half, including 7-10 from distance. They only missed seven shots in the opening frame. Seven. Compare that against their season averages of 47% from the field and 25% from three and you begin to wonder where the sudden shooting prowess came from.

"We really struggled in the first half," said Buzz Williams. "We probably set a school record for defensive field goal percentage. Those are hard numbers to overcome."

Maybe it was luck. Or maybe the Hokies are that bad.
"They went on a run there where they scored ten consecutive times, and that's hard," added Williams.

While part of the lights-out shooting surely had to do with the game's up-and-down pace, the Hokie defense didn't help matters. Virginia Tech continuously changed up their defensive sets to try and derail the Florida State offense, using 1-2-2 half and full court sets, in addition to a traditional man-to-man look.

Even with the varying defensive looks, the Hokies continued to get beat off the dribble by multiple Seminole players. Help defense was slow, allowing easy lay-up opportunities for the 'Noles. When help defenders did arrive, they often struggled to recover against kick-outs and ceded far too many open looks from three-point range.

The Seminoles came back down to earth in the second half, shooting 8-26 (30.8%) from the field and finishing the game at a more human 52%.

Everyone could sense the dropoff was coming after halftime, but the Hokies failed to capitalize. Despite herculean efforts down the stretch from guards Justin Bibbs and Adam Smith, the Hokies failed to cut the lead to less than 6 in the second half.

Bibbs finished with a career high 25 points to go with three boards and two assists; Smith added 24 points and four rebounds, including five three-pointers.

Where the high octane first half masked the height disparity between the two teams, the more controlled pace of the second half brought it to the forefront. The Hokies struggled to defend along the perimeter, at times more closely resembling swinging gates than lockdown defenders. Seminoles freshmen Rathan-Mayes and Robbie Berwick abused the Hokie guards with quick crossovers, creating uncontested drive after uncontested drive.

When the Hokies played solid defense and forced contested shots, they struggled to win loose balls against the significantly larger FSU lineup.

It was not for a lack of trying. You could see guys like Shane Henry and Will Johnston scrap against the 'Noles, only to find themselves on the floor and empty handed.

That type of physical play against bigger opponents wears on a team over time, and it began to show over the final ten minutes.

Williams continued to toy with different personnel groupings to gain an upper hand; whether it was a 5-guard lineup to outrun the 'Noles or a "bigger" lineup to challenge for rebounds, they consistently struggled to assert their authority on the game.

You have to give Buzz credit, though. Rather than play a reactionary style of basketball to stop the bleeding, he continued to try and find ways to gain the upper hand and play his game.

As the Hokies enter the "Murders' Row" of their 2015 schedule, a number of things will need to improve in order for them to remain competitive against the ACC's best.

The Hokies desperately need to figure out a way to deal with the absence of Joey Van Zegeren. JVZ's suspension has understandably limited what this team can do in and around the paint on both ends of the floor. Guys like Satchel Pierce and Shane Henry are hesitant to provide help defense around the rim in order to keep themselves out of foul trouble. Compounding things is the aforementioned physical toll the team is taking trying to make up for the height difference over 40 minutes.

"We are going to be size deficient and we can continue to address it as best as we can but its tough to get doubled up on the glass," Williams said after the game.

I wouldn't be surprised to see more of Christian Beyer against teams like Louisville and North Carolina. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up for in effort and tenacity, and there were times Tuesday where it felt sorely needed. You can't coach a mean streak into someone, and that is what makes me nervous about Satchel Pierce. He still looks doe-eyed at times, and I worry the extended minutes he has seen of late are too much too soon for the freshman center.

It will also be important for at least one more scorer to step up to take the load off of Smith and Bibbs. Consider the pedigree of the next four coaches the Hokies will face: Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Mike Brey and Tony Bennett are each highly successful coaches that will design ways to remove Smith and/or Bibbs from the equation from the outset.

18 of the Hokies 30 second half points came from Smith and Bibbs, and no other Hokie scored more than six points total (Wilson and Johnston). We've seen (a healthy) Jalen Hudson score in bunches this season, and Ahmed Hill has shown flashes of his scoring ability.

Against the Seminoles, 28 of 58 shot attempts were from three-point range. When you pair that with Tech's 23 free throw attempts to FSU's 35, it speaks to how the Hokies literally operated around the taller 'Noles lineup. Consistently shooting from distance makes it considerably more difficult to challenge for rebounds, and the lack of penetration allowed the FSU defense to apply greater pressure away from the basket.

As defenses continue to overextend and pressure the perimeter offense in the absence of a post threat, look for guys like Hudson and Hill to use their driving abilities to create chances. Both have shown an uncanny ability to finish with contact and should be unafraid of the athletic bigs the Hokies will go up against in the coming weeks.

The next four games will pose major challenges for this young Hokie team. But with every challenge comes an opportunity for someone to step up. For a team looking to discover exactly who and what they are, the upcoming stretch could prove to be a pivotal moment in this team's growth.