TALLAHASSEE, FL — Virginia Tech was driving, and they were doing it quickly. Their opponent’s previous advantage of 1, courtesy of a Naheem McLeod dunk, had transformed into a double digit lead for the Hokies and spectacle of three-point shooting. With 4:42 remaining, all eyes confined onto Hunter Cattoor. The game was far out of reach, but the repercussions of such a shot were imminent. Score, and Cattoor would tie a school record of nine three-pointers made by a player in a game. He received the ball, quickly turned his body to the basket, and plopped up a pitch-perfect three-point shot, giving his team a sixteen-point lead — its biggest thus far of the night — and a total that Florida State wouldn’t find the groove to match.
“I was just feeling it,” Cattoor said after the game. “We had good spacing on offense. We knew that they switched everything, so basically our key was just to … penetrate and … get other guys open.”
Cattoor notched 27 points in total, a career high, en route to Virginia Tech’s 85-72 victory over the Seminoles. He joins Justin Robinson for the most made three pointers by a Hokie in a single game (2019 vs. Syracuse).
“Once you start getting in the zone like that, you do feel that,” he said.
Sean Pedulla also served up 21 points, registering six of Tech’s eighteen three-pointers — a team high in ACC play. The freshman’s 21 qualified as the most of his career, and he assisted in providing the Hokies with the 13-point cushion down the stretch.
“It was just rhythm,” Pedulla said. “I felt good in warmups. The first couple shots went down and I was like, ‘Hey, if I’m open, I’m going to keep shooting it.’”
Under the two guards’ leadership, Virginia Tech captured its first quadrant 1 win of the season. The team currently sits at 11-10 — well out of the tournament race — but will have numerous chances to register wins against lower tier NET-ranked ACC teams including Georgia Tech (No. 153), Pittsburgh (No. 192) and Syracuse (No. 93).
“A great level of resolve,” Tech head coach Michael Young said. “What transpired on Wednesday (a 78-75 buzzer-beater loss to the University of Miami) was disheartening and just a kick in the kneecaps for all of us. But come right back on Thursday and they’re right back in the gym, recognizing things that went wrong.”
In terms of team shooting, Virginia Tech formulated a 32-for-52 performance (61.5%) on field goals and knocked down 72% (18-for-25) of its three-point shots. Florida State went 26-for-52 and 5-for-13 in those same two categories, respectively.
Still, the ‘Noles managed to hang with the Hokies for the majority of the match despite a halftime deficit of 39-31. The game saw a myriad of lead changes — eight in total, including four in the second period of play — before Tech started to shoot at a near 70% from behind to arc. Pedulla and company dotted the exclamation point in the final twelve minutes with a 32-18 run.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games and we haven’t been able to finish,” Pedulla continued. “Today we did a good job of finishing off the game.”
Among those absent for FSU on Saturday was Malik Osborne. Osborne, a redshirt senior and the team’s top forward, is expected to miss the rest of the 2021-22 season due to an ankle injury. Reports suggest that he has dealt with the issue since early January and will likely need surgery at some point in the near future.
“I’m not very sure we are going to have very much of Malik until we decide,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “It is just one of those things that we have got to make a decision on. I imagine that we’ll be doing that shortly. … I don’t see him getting any better. We could be making a decision to shut him down and go ahead and operate on it.”
Anthony Polite carried the slack for his squad with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds. Center Naheem McLeod also encapsulated a strong showing, scoring 15 while going 7-for-7 on field goals.
Overview
Florida State (now 13-7, 6-4 ACC) is in desperate need of a bounce back following two straight losses vs. bottom-feeder ACC teams. The ‘Noles have widely been considered a lock for NCAA Tournament eligibility, but a formula of recent disappointments alongside a weakening ACC could make the ride a bit bumpier down the home stretch. They play Clemson (11-9, 3-6 ACC) next, followed by home games against Wake Forest and Pittsburgh.
Virginia Tech, meanwhile, still finds itself towards the lower end of the conference and in wanting of consecutive wins towards the end of the season to earn a chance at tournament eligibility. The Hokies reaching the tournament does not qualify as an impossible feat just yet — they’ll have their chances against the likes of weaker conference opponents — but the common inconsistencies and close losses found earlier in the year must remain a thing of the past. Their next competition is on February 2nd at 9:00 p.m. ET vs. Georgia Tech.
Florida State Key Stat Leaders
Points: G Anthony Polite, 17 points (5-8 on FG and 5-6 on FT)
Rebounds: G Anthony Polite, six rebounds (2 OREB and 4 DREB)
Assists: G Jalen Warley, six assists
Steals: G Jalen Warley, four steals
Blocks: G Jalen Warley, five blocks
Virginia Tech Key Stat Leaders
Points: G Hunter Cattoor, 27 points (9-12 on FG and 0-0 on FT)
Rebounds: F Justyn Mutts, five rebounds (3 OREB and 2 DREB)
Assists: G Storm Murphy, five assists
Steals: G Darrius Maddox, three steals
Blocks: G Hunter Cattoor, two blocks
(Featured image by Miguel A. Olivella Jr.)