Photo Credit: Harley Taylor
After a blowout loss to Penn State, Virginia Tech crashed out of the top 25 while Clemson jumped in at #24. However, those two may be exchanging their ranked and unranked statuses as the Hokies bounced back in a big way at home tonight.
Virginia Tech beat #24 Clemson 66-60 to improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play while the Tigers fell to 5-1 including 0-1 in ACC play.
Mike Young and others have said that the Hokies want to be better about getting to the free-throw line and they did just that tonight going 25-31 from the line while Clemson was 12-14, but the free-throw attempt disparity was quite significant and critical.
Tech did have 17 turnovers, a level that is too high but despite Clemson only having 13, the Hokies still outscored Clemson 17-11 in points off turnovers. Tech also dominated the paint with a 24-14 points in the paint advantage with Tyrece Radford having loads of success getting to the rim leading the way in that regard.
The Hokies' defense had a strong night as a whole holding the Tigers to only 60 points on 38% (19-50) shooting with their interior defense and their 33-25 rebounding advantage proving quite critical.
Tyrece Radford stepped up down the stretch with a pair of big layups late to help secure the win for the Hokies, showing his toughness that may be unmatched by anyone in college basketball. Radford finished the night with 15 points on 5-11 from the field plus 5-6 from the free-throw line while also having 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
Keve Aluma got to the free-throw line a ton in this game and it made a difference as he finished with 13 points including 9 at the free-throw line (9-12) plus 2-4 shooting from the field, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Nahiem Alleyne and Hunter Cattoor continue to prove to be quality scoring options especially Alleyne who has shown great consistency and did so once again with 13 points on 4-7 shooting including 3-5 from 3 plus 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Meanwhile, Cattoor played well going 3-5 from the field including 2-4 from three on his way to 11 points and a team-high 6 rebounds, doing more than just be a quality scoring wing for Tech.
We will have more as this story develops.
