Virginia Tech dropped a heartbreaker to #20 Florida State on Thursday night, falling 48-47 in Tallahassee. The Hokies are now 14-12 on the season, and 3-8 in league play. FSU improved to 18-7 overall and 9-2 in the ACC.
Free throw shooting helped Virginia Tech gain a 15 point lead in the second half, and then it cost them the game down the stretch. FSU was just 1-of-8 from the free throw line during the game. Tech went 7-of-16 from the line, including critical misses down the stretch from Erick Green, Dorenzo Hudson, Jarell Eddie and Robert Brown. Bad free throw shooting from both teams was a surprise, as both schools entered the game as two of the best free throw shooting squads in the ACC.
In the final two minutes of the game, Erick Green missed the front end of a one-and-one, Dorenzo Hudson missed both of his free throw attempts, the normally reliable Jarell Eddie missed a free throws, and Robert Brown missed two attempts with 10.2 seconds left that would have iced the game. After Brown’s misses, Michael Snaer nailed a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and Erick Green’s last second three-point attempt barely missed at the buzzer.
The Hokies went into this game with just seven scholarship players, facing a fully healthy FSU team that featured six seniors. C.J. Barksdale was out with a sprained ankle, while Victor Davila was nursing a groin injury suffered in practice this week. That left Tech with just one healthy post player – Cadarian Raines. To make matters worse, Raines exited the game with 10 minutes remaining with a bad case of cramps, leaving Tech to play their 2-3 zone (which they used the entire game) with three guards and two small forwards.
At that point Florida State started to dominate in the paint, but the Hokies still could have won if not for poor free throw shooting down the stretch. Jarell Eddie made three of his four free throw attempts in the final two minutes, but didn’t have an opportunity to close the game. With 10.2 seconds remaining he was fouled by Florida State, getting pushed to the ground. The normally reliable Eddie, an 86% free throw shooter, did not get up. Like Raines, he was down with cramps and had to be helped off the floor.
Eddie was supposed to be at the line, but NCAA rules indicate that the opposing coach gets to pick the free throw shooter when a player goes out with an injury, and FSU’s Leonard Hamilton picked freshman guard Robert Brown, who was 22-of-34 from the line at that point. Brown promptly missed both free throws, FSU drove the length of the court, and Michael Snaer made a tough game-winning three-pointer from the right elbow.
The Hokies were down 25-23 at halftime, but went on a 17-0 run to open the second half and take a 40-25 lead. However, it obviously wasn’t enough.
Erick Green paced the Hokies with 18 points,four steals and three assists. Jarell Eddie added 11 points and seven rebounds before going down with cramps. Florida State had just one player in double figures – Ian Miller with 11.
Virginia Tech returns to action on Saturday when they host Georgia Tech in Cassell Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 3pm, and the game will be televised by RSN. Check your local listings.
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Good attack. Wish we stayed on the attack last night instead of keep away Defense. You’ll be surprised of my athletic level or more importantly how much i live and breathe bball and fball before VT was popular. Before the breakout 90’s when we were on probation. VT is my backyard and yes my Alma Mater. Hey, my critique might sound harsh but how long before you want a better ending to the story? What does it take to get over the hump? To say enough is enough? What gets you fired up to the point that you are not willing to be pushed around anymore and you stand up regardless of the consequences or outcome? I know Eddie was strained but if you watch your game tape, i just wish Eddie was at the free throw line standing instead of standing on the sideline with his teammates clapping and cheering for Brown as he takes his 1st and 2nd free throw. I feel bad for the team loss and for Eddie, and for Brown but one of the last images we are left with is Eddie standing on his feet on the sidelines but not standing at the stripeline.
“Ditto” to roachvb9’s comment!
This is TERRIBLY indicative of everything thats wrong with Va Tech Basketball & Football. We don’t win these BIG-MOMENT GAMES. Its combination of getting outplayed but perhaps more so OUTCOACHED. I love Coach Frank and Coach Seth almost to death but there’s something philosophically wrong with our (coach’s) approaches and the players we recruit. Not all the time but alot of the time. Coach Hamilton coached a MASTERFUL GAME-hats off to him. He didn’t loose his cool when his troops were getting outplayed early in the game. He inspired them to dig deep and stay in control. He didnt draw an unnecessary technical or make an unnecessary attempt to rugby fake a punt when your Defense is playing lights out or go for a punt block when your offense is going to receive the ball in good field position and probably go down the field with a score that would start a classic VT avalanche of scores on our opponent. It’s like we are reaching some kind of glass ceiling lately….mostly due to idiotic, uncharacteristic play calling and play action. HOW IN THE WORLD, does Jarrell Eddie not find the will to take his own free throw shots with the game on the line. You dont defer that responsibility!! You take that destiny into your own hands. Love or Hate him but Malcolm Delaney would have NEVER NEVER let his dead body been pried from that basketball floor at that defining moment until he shot HIS shots. Seth should have made sure Eddie understood this is your shot. Where is our toughness? Where are the leaders for this team? Where is the heart that Delaney brought to the court every game and engraved into his team and into the hearts of Va Tech fans everywhere! Both programs and Coaches need to get that Nasty shoulder-chip back! We gotten to comfortble and our progress will be forever hinder until we address that fact that we have been taking constant backward steps every single year. Where is our prove you wrong attitude. Where is our Heart?
Coaching has nothing to do with free throw shooting. We had our best shooters at the line and they choked. Erick Green the front end of a 1 and 1 twice! DH missed two! And Brown who is not one of the better FT shooters missed two! Eddie did what he could. If Eddie could have took those last two FTs he would have.
If you’re used to using your legs, some, in your normal free throw shot, and you’re cramping up and CAN’T use your legs…..how far do you think your FT% drops?
I would have loved for Eddie to have shot those as well, but for better or worse (and clearly, it turned out to be worse), he wouldn’t have been able to use his normal form, and therefore deferring the shots was the right play that just ended badly, in what I do agree is fairly typical (cursed) VT basketball fashion.
Oh for Christ’s sake. Grow up. This is a team full of freshmen that was without two of it’s three leading post players, lost the third one during the course of the game, and STILL almost beat the #20 team in the country on the road. They played their hearts out and that’s all anyone can ask.
You have absolutely no idea what the situation was with Jarrell Eddie at the end. I’m sure he wanted to be able to take those shots at the end more than anyone. But if he was cramping to badly to even be able to stand upright, it would have been pretty stupid to have him at the line, wouldn’t it?
When you have multiple guys having to be removed from a game because they’re cramping up after having given every ounce of energy they’ve got, question their “heart” is just absurd.
Honestly, dumbassed posts like yours take a lot of the fun out of VT athletics for me., I’d be willing to bet you’ve never played anything more than a pick-up game of basketball in your entire life.
Amen! Maybe not even a pickup game! Video games are a little different than real life.
The effort was there last night, we just missed our opportunity to close it out. We are a very young team and our ceiling will be really high next year.