Men’s Basketball Recap Week 2: Hokies Struggle vs Penn State, Upset by Jacksonville

Friday night in Baltimore simply didn't go the Hokies' way. The team turned the ball over 24 times which directly lead to 28 Penn State points. Virginia Tech is a young team that at this point had only played four real games together, so notable things like turnovers were bound to be up especially against a decent Big Ten school in Penn State. The great thing about having a new team is improving along the way, and Virginia Tech has shown signs of that early on.

On the bright side, Mylyjael Poteat poured in 15 points. He shot 4-8 from the field and a solid 7-9 from the charity stripe. So far this season Poteat has been the go to guy for the Hokies. His numbers are way up from last season, averaging a bit over 13 per game. This is what you want to see from a guy that everyone knew would be the leader of this squad during a season with such a fresh roster. Poteat's early season success could prove helpful during ACC play as his confidence continues to grow inside the paint.

All in all, it's how a team responds from a rough loss that tells the whole story. Wednesday evening against the Jacksonville Dolphins could just be the springboard the Hokies need into some huge non conference tests including Michigan and Vanderbilt in the coming weeks.

A thunderous Jaydon Young dunk, a 39-29 lead for the Hokies at the break, all was going swimmingly during the opening 20 in Cassell Coliseum. This was until disaster struck, starting with a Jacksonville 8-0 run during the first four minutes of the second half which included forcing three Virginia Tech turnovers. From that point on, the Hokies looked lost on the court. They proceeded to have seven more giveaways en route to being outscored in the second half 45-25.

Tobi Lawal starred in the first half for the maroon in orange in which he exploded for 12 points and looked unstoppable. When Jacksonville head coach Jordan Mincy was asked about his game plan against Lawal in the second half he said he "asked his frontcourt 'how tough are you guys'". Boy did they answer. Lawal took only two shots in the second half, making one dunk. This was quite the contrast to his first half performance, 12 points on 5-7 shooting. When asked about the teams' collective performance after the game, Lawal answered by saying "we're still learning", and that improvement "comes with effort and experience" where the Hokies clearly lack the latter with nine new players coming into the squad this season. 

This was not the bounce back Virginia Tech was looking for, but the season is only five games old and there's still a lot of basketball to be played, and still a lot of growing to be done for this young squad. With a coach like Mike Young, no team is ever down and out. Fans and players alike need to buy into that sentiment and continue to put one foot in front of the other heading to Fort Myers, Florida.

November 25. vs Michigan

November 26. vs Xavier OR South Carolina

 December 4. vs Vanderbilt