Dismal offense derails Hokies - again

By Mark Berman

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

The Virginia Tech men's basketball team began the ACC portion of its regular season with an abysmal offensive showing.

The Hokies ended it the same way.

Tech again struck out in an attempt to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee, falling to No. 24 Florida State 63-53 on Sunday.

Tech (17-13, 7-9 ACC) was held to its fewest points since a 69-44 loss at Duke in its ACC opener. The Hokies shot a season-low 30.8 percent, their worst since a 25.9 percent outing in last year's loss at North Carolina.

"We just missed open shots," said A.D. Vassallo, who had 14 points. "Shots that we usually hit, we just didn't hit them."

After winning Feb. 25 at Clemson, the Hokies were 7-6 in the ACC and seemingly a win from being a good bet for an NCAA bid.

But the Hokies have dropped three straight, including home losses to Duke and UNC. They never led during any of the three games.

Tech will have to make a big splash in the ACC tournament in Atlanta to revive its NCAA hopes.

"We had it in our hands. We just couldn't get it done," Vassallo said. The eighth-seeded Hokies will face ninth-seeded Miami at noon Thursday. Tech beat Miami in overtime of the teams' previous meeting.

If Tech wins, it will have to knock off top-seeded North Carolina in Friday's noon quarterfinal to have a shot at an NCAA bid.

"We've just got to make sure that we get that one Thursday, and then Friday we've got a good chance to make something happen," Vassallo said. "We had a chance last year and almost took advantage of it."

FSU (23-8, 10-6) locked up the ACC's No. 4 seed and a first-round bye. The Seminoles - likely bound for the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years - did a victory lap around the Tucker Center court, high-fiving their fans.

It was Tech's fourth straight game against a ranked foe - the first time that's happened.

Whether Tech can get hot in Atlanta is the question, considering Hokies have lost 6 of their past 7.

" We played good teams and we had a chance to win and we didn't," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "I'm not sure how many teams play those teams and put themselves in that position we were in. It's disappointing, but that's the reality of playing in this league. We've got to find a way to close out."

The Hokies have shot better than 43 percent from the field in just one of their past eight games.

"Their length bothered us some," Greenberg said. "We weren't as strong and tough with the ball as we needed to be."

The Hokies, who lost in Tallahassee for the sixth straight time, committed 17 turnovers.

Tech went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 45-42 with 7:18 to go. But Toney Douglas scored 12 of his team's next 14 points to build a 59-49 cushion. He sparked the run by sinking a 3-pointer and two free throws to extend the lead to 50-42.