The Good, the Bad and the Ugly from Virginia Tech’s 95-89 Loss to Wake Forest

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.