Hokies Stunned at Home with 92-69 Blowout Loss to Florida State

Despite double-digit outings from each of its five starters, Virginia Tech was unable to overcome being outscored 53-27 in the second half of Saturday’s contest.

“The loss was a bad combination of missing shots and the way the team was playing,” said Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young. “Part of it I hated. I feel bad, we needed to give [Florida State] more. Everything the Seminoles touched there in the second half went well for them offensively.”

The Hokies have been on a roller coaster throughout conference play for the 2025-2026 season. After a triple overtime win against Virginia at to start conference play, three one-score losses all in the month of January, solid wins here and there, and a tough stretch of losses to good Louisville, Duke, and NC State teams, the Hokies finally had a big-time win go their way Wednesday with a double-digit victory over No. 20 ranked Clemson.

Tech would have a chance to capitalize on their momentum Saturday in a must-win matchup against Florida State. With the Seminoles positioned in the bottom half of ACC rankings heading into the Valentine’s Day contest, Tech would need the win against the Tallahassee team in order to keep its reputation and March Madness hopes intact.

Both teams came out swinging Saturday afternoon. After Tech took an early 21-13 lead via a Tobi Lawal dunk from under the rim, the Seminoles fought their way back to eventually tie the game up at 34 points apiece with 4:18 left in the first half.

The two squads would trade off shots until halftime, where the Hokies would take a 42-39 lead into the break.

Both Lawal and Ben Hammond got off to hot starts against Florida State. Hammond totaled 11 points in the first half after going 4-4 from the field – and going 3-3 from beyond the arc – to keep the Hokies in the contest. Lawal, who tallied 10 points in the half, primarily got his scores from within the paint, as seven of those points came from either under the rim or from the line.

Despite leading in the first half, Tech was unable to stop Florida State’s momentum into the second half as the Seminoles surged out to a 59-51 lead less than halfway through the half. Florida State would then definitively extend its lead, in part from made shots and Tech foul trouble, to double digits throughout the final 10 minutes of the game.

After a promising first half, the Hokies would take the 92-69 loss after being outscored 53-27 in the second half alone. Moreover, four Seminoles – Chauncey Wiggins, Lajae Jones, Robert McCray V, and Martin Somerville – each scored 17 or more points in the contest. Somerville, who came off the bench, tallied a team-high 23 points on the afternoon.

Despite the loss, each of the five Hokies’ starters scored double-digit points Saturday. Lawal and Hammond tied for the team-lead with 16 points each, Jailen Bedford followed suit with 13 points, and Amani Hansberry and Neoklis Avdalas each checked in with 10 points. Despite this group totaling 65 points on the afternoon, the aforementioned quartet of Seminoles outscored the Hokies starters by 11 points despite having one less player in that total.

The Hokies will trek down to South Florida Tuesday to take on Miami in another big-time in-conference matchup. The Hurricanes, who have won four of their last five contests against ACC opponents – one of which against No. 11 ranked North Carolina – prior to their Feb. 14 matchup against NC State, are currently projected as a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

After what was a great win against Clemson, Tech’s blowout loss to Florida State in Cassell was a shocker to say the least. With any progress made towards a March Madness bid after the Clemson win now being nullified by the Florida State loss, the Hokies are now once again back on the outside looking in as the 2025-2026 regular season comes down to the wire.