Virginia Tech’s ACC Tournament run ended in heartbreaking fashion Tuesday night in Charlotte, as the Hokies fell to Wake Forest 95-89 in overtime. It was a game full of swings. Virginia Tech erased deficits, battled back repeatedly and forced overtime, but couldn’t make enough plays in the extra period.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the game.

The Good: Rebounding dominance and a resilient fight

Virginia Tech did plenty of things well in this game, especially on the boards.

The Hokies outrebounded Wake Forest 45-28, including 21 offensive rebounds, which created 20 second-chance points and repeatedly extended possessions. That advantage helped Virginia Tech stay within striking distance even when the offense stalled.

Head coach Mike Young pointed to the rebounding margin as one of the more frustrating parts of the loss.

“You outrebound somebody 45 to 26 or whatever that is,” Young said. “You’re supposed to win the game. Unfortunately, we did not.”

Several Hokies contributed to that effort. Forward Tobi Lawal led the team with nine rebounds. Centers Christian Gurdak and Antonio Dorn combined for 15 rebounds, with Dorn seeing extended minutes after Amani Hansberry was sidelined with an injury he suffered against Virginia.

Virginia Tech showed its usual resilience. The Hokies erased multiple deficits throughout the game and were able to force overtime in a game where Wake Forest led for almost 36 minutes.

Young praised the fight his team showed throughout the night.

“It’s been a characteristic of this team throughout,” said Young. “They’ve got a lot to them, and great kids to coach.”

The Bad: A quiet night for Neoklis Avdalas

Virginia Tech needed contributions across the lineup in a tight postseason game, but Neoklis Avdalas struggled to make an impact.

Avdalas finished with five points, shooting 2-for-8 from the field. The Hokies’ assist leader was unable to record an assist against the Demon Deacons. He played 31 minutes before spending the final 7:37 of the second half and all of overtime on the bench.

Young confirmed the decision was performance-based.

“I just thought [Jaden Schutt and Jailen Bedford] were playing better than Neo, so that is how it went,” said Young.

Schutt played his most minutes in a game (29) since late January. He shot 3-for-7 from three and made all six of his free throws, ending the night with 15 points.

This game stands in stark contrast to Avdalas’ previous showing against Wake Forest. In that game from Feb. 21, Avdalas scored 17 points, shooting 6-for-14 from the field. He also recorded eight assists and three rebounds that game.

The Ugly: Turnovers early and execution in overtime

THe biggest issue for Virginia Tech came in two stretches: the early turnovers and in overtime.

The Hokies committed 10 turnovers in the first half, allowing Wake Forest to control the pace despite Virginia Tech’s 25-11 first-half rebounding advantage. Off those 10 first-half turnovers, Wake Forest scored 11 points.

“We had some terrible, terrible turnovers,” said Young.

Although Virginia Tech cleaned that up in the second half, only committing three turnovers for the remainder of the game, the early miscues forced the Hokies to play from behind most of the night.

After battling abck all night, overtime is where the Hokies ran out of answers.

Wake Forest quickly seized momentum in the extra period. Guard Myles Colvin gave the Demon Deacons a five-point advantage less than a minute into overtime, making a floater and a three.

The Hokies struggled to generate offense in overtime while Wake Forest capitalized repeatedly at the free-throw line. When Virginia Tech was forced to foul down late, Wake Forest did not allow any chance of a comeback, making all nine of its free throws in overtime.

“They were hitting shots,” Ben Hammond said. “Their point guard had the game of his life today.”

In the end, Wake Forest made the plays Virginia Tech could not.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones condemned flyers with Jim Crow-era images discouraging voters from supporting redistricting in the state.

The mailers, which Jones told WTOP he first learned about last weekend, featured pictures of the Ku Klux Klan and from the Civil Rights Movement. One such mailer said, “Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”

The flyers encourage people to vote against the redistricting effort.

A group, Justice for Democracy, has been sending out mailers and texts with some clear dog whistles, using varying disclaimers in Virginia (“Democracy and Justice PAC” and “Justice for Democracy PAC”).

Its treasurer is listed as Christopher Woodfin and its address is the same … pic.twitter.com/JvetyKGnbw

— Matt Royer (@royermattw) March 7, 2026

Early voting is underway, as Democrats in the state push for changes to congressional districts that are expected to give them more of an advantage in Congress. They said it’s in response to President Donald Trump encouraging redistricting in Republican-led states such as Texas. Republicans, though, have been critical.

In an interview with WTOP, Jones, Virginia’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers are disturbing, shocking, offensive and deceptive.

“It’s very clear a MAGA-linked group that opposes the referendum is sending these mailers to Black voters, and they’re misusing very, very hurtful imagery from the Civil Rights Movement, even invoking Jim Crow, to weaponize one of the darkest chapters in our history, to scare people into voting no and help Republicans maintain a rigged map for 2026 so they can keep control of Congress,” Jones said.

In a statement, the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the flyers falsely compare redistricting to Jim Crow.

“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia.

The purpose of the mailers, Jones said, is to “suppress the vote. It’s to make sure that people don’t go make their voices heard during this election.”

The flyers said they’re paid for by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC. Former Virginia Del. A.C. Cordoza, a Republican, is listed as the chairman, according to Virginia Board of Elections documents.

“I couldn’t see why they say it’s insulting,” Cordoza told WTOP. “I’m a Black man. I don’t want my Black vote to be taken away.”

The proposed new map, Cordoza said, “ripped apart majority-minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from Northern Virginia.”

Cordoza said he didn’t know how many homes the mailers had been sent to or how much the PAC spent on them.

“I want people to do their research and see exactly what’s happening,” Cordoza said. “We, as Virginians, voted for a bipartisan redistricting commission for a reason.”

Jones, though, said he sits “across the dinner table from people who have had their right to vote denied because of the color of their skin. It’s 2026. I would hope that we’d be past tactics like this, but clearly we aren’t.”

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