After Charlie Moore stunned Hokie fans with a half-court buzzer beater in their first meeting, Virginia Tech stunned Miami fans with a 12-3 run in the final 100 seconds to close out a stunning 71-70 victory over the Hurricanes thanks to a clutch, game-winning three from Darius Maddox with 10.3 seconds to go.
The win came on a day where Tech's offense was inconsistent between being brilliant with 21 assists on 29 made shots and awful with 18 turnovers compared to 7 for Miami leading to a 25-15 points off turnovers difference in favor of Miami.
However, Tech did enough to clean it up and get the win with a blend of scoring from Keve Aluma and his team-high 18 points from inside plus 17 points from Sean Pedulla, 13 points from Darius Maddox, and 10 points from Hunter Cattoor out of the backcourt. Kam McGusty was one of five Hurricanes in double figures leading the way with 15 for them while Isaiah Wong had 14 and Charlie Moore had 12.
With that said, here are my postgame thoughts from the Hokies' miraculous 71-70 victory at Miami.
1. The Stars of the Future Make It Happen Now
There's no doubt that Darius Maddox and Sean Pedulla are poised to be the stars of the future for Virginia Tech basketball, but they proved to be difference makers in this game to help will the Hokies to victory.
Maddox once again played a big role early in the second half with multiple buckets similar to what he did against Georgia Tech. Unlike the Miami game, Maddox's performance in the early second half didn't give the Hokies the lead but it helped Tech stay right there despite a litany of turnovers.
Then, Maddox showed his clutch gene at the very end with a gutsy three that seemed ill-advised given the situation yet the former Oak Hill standout drained it with 14.6 seconds to go, a three that will be as remembered as any from this season so far.
Pedulla also played big down the stretch as the freshman point guard ran the show himself with a couple big, quick layups in the closing minute that showed great tenacity and high level awareness knowing that Tech needed quick twos more than an open three. The play of Pedulla in those moments proved quite crucial to Tech even having the opportunity to pull off the crazy finish in the final 20 seconds headlined by the Maddox 3.
There were some youthful moments from both players from a couple bad turnovers by Pedulla to a soft foul from Maddox on an easy bucket that seemed to swing the game back away from Tech early in the wild final minute in Miami. However, what's clear is that when Maddox and Pedulla are on form, they are difference makers and have also earned the confidence of Mike Young to play in closing minutes of tight games against other talented ACC teams.
The future is bright with Pedulla and Maddox at the helm, but the Hokies don't have to wait for the future to see the two young guards make winning plays and shots at the end of games.
2. The Highs and Lows Of Ball Movement
At some moments, Virginia Tech's ball movement was absolutely brilliant. Other times, their ball movement was, ummm, not so good.
It was a roller coaster of a game in the ball movement department for the Hokies with the good being really good as the Hokies had 21 assists on 29 made buckets. That likely contributed to the fact that Tech shot an insane 22-27 from inside the arc, balancing out their 7-23 shooting from three-point range.
However, the bad was very bad for Tech with the Hokies having 18 turnovers with Miami only having 9 turnovers (though 7 were in the second half). The Hurricanes took advantage turning that into a 25-15 points off turnovers advantage, the type of difference that should normally be more than enough to lead to defeat for Tech regardless of the numerous great moments.
The fact is that when you have 18 turnovers with your opponent only having 9 and that opponents turns that advantage into a 25-15 scoring advantage, you will rarely win any basketball games.
However, today was one of those days with Tech's defense playing a big role down the stretch along with their impressive offensive efficiency inside the arc bailing the Hokies out along with those moments of brilliance and a gutsy, game-winning three from Maddox off the great deflection on the in-bounds by Hunter Cattoor.
It's rare when you can have 18 turnovers and beat another NCAA Tournament-caliber team, but that's exactly what the Hokies did today.
3. A Significant Win For The Resume
Entering today, only 3 teams in the top 60 of the NET did not have a single Quad 1 victory: Houston, Washington State, and Virginia Tech. That number is now down to 2.
This is a massive win for the look of the Hokies' resume as this is a surefire Q1 win that will show that the Hokies can actually win some big games. Of course, Tech has some other quality wins over teams either in the field or right on the bubble in Notre Dame, St Bonaventure, and UVA; but this is the first one of those victories that actually lands in the Q1 category.
Of course, beating Miami isn't exactly a great signature win but in terms of looking at blind resumes, it's a critical step forward that puts Tech on a much stronger footing looking ahead. This win, being a road victory at a Miami team that was ranked 60th in the NET entering today, should also boost the predictive metrics that have been a strength of Tech's resume from the Hokies' own NET to their KenPom, BPI, and more.
This came on a day where the back of the bubble started to thin with Dayton suffering a devastating Q4 loss to La Salle while UVA's buzzer-beat home loss to Florida State falls into Q3. Not only does this win boost Tech, but some of Tech's bubble competition just took on some serious water that may have sunk their at-large bid hopes today.
Additionally, Tech may be a win against Louisville or at Clemson away from clinching a seed of no worse than 7 with Tech's seeding peak likely at 6. Locking up the 7 seed at worst would mean that Tech wouldn't have to potentially face a rested Duke in a quarterfinal after playing the day before. Duke is by far the last team you want to face rested when you played the day before in this year's ACC Tournament.
The Hokies still have plenty of work with two must wins ahead not because they can really boost the resume, but because a loss would do the type of harm that may require Tech to at least reach the ACC Tournament final to have any chance. Today though, Tech did exactly what they needed to truly make the next two must wins and pick up that crucial Quad 1 victory.
