Virginia Tech Falls in the ACC/SEC Challenge, Downed by Auburn 74-57
It was deja vu all over again for Virginia Tech as their shooting woes followed them from Orlando in their 74-57 defeat against Auburn this past Wednesday night.
After a strong start to their season and winning their first two games of the ESPN Events Invitational, the Hokies have now taken losses to No. 19 FAU and Auburn by margins of 34 and 17 points, respectively. In these two matchups, shots have just not been falling for Virginia Tech, as they have been shooting just below 22% from beyond the arc.
Tech’s matchup against Auburn, especially, was none too favorable for Mike Young and Co., as they shot at a 27.5% clip from the field, the second worst shooting performance in the Mike Young era at Virginia Tech.
The slow start to the game really dug the Hokies into a deep hole that was impossible to climb out of, going down 18-4 just around the 13:30 mark in the first half. Shots were not falling, and Virginia Tech got into foul trouble very early, which followed them for the rest of the game.
The Hokies climbed back within six points late in the first due to some timely defense but ultimately were playing with men down, as youngsters Jaydon Young and Brandon Rechsteiner saw plenty of playing time due to the foul troubles.
Although it was a tough loss, we saw some great play from Young, who finished the game with nine points, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range. He notched 24 minutes and showed great court awareness throughout his playing time.
The second half was the same story as both teams didn’t really ever get going on offense too efficiently, but ultimately the Tigers pulled away from the Hokies with ease, winning by 17 points, which felt like a lot more to Tech.
What's Next
It may seem like the sky is falling for Virginia Tech, who moved to 5-3 on the year with two back-to-back blowouts away from home. Just remember that it is still early in the season and the team is still learning how to play with each other. We have seen this season that this team can indeed shoot the ball efficiently; it just hasn’t been that case as of recently.
The schedule for Virginia Tech lightens up the next couple of weeks as their next opponent is the Louisville Cardinals back at home in Blacksburg this Sunday to open up ACC play, followed by some non-conference opponents at home as well throughout the middle of December.
