CLEMSON, S.C. — For the first time under Mike Young, Virginia Tech beat a ranked team on the road in its 76-66 conquest of No. 20 Clemson on Wednesday.
“I’m proud of our team,” Young said after the win. “… I think the story of the game: We guarded well, certainly in the second half. You score 76 points on the Tigers, you’re getting something done.”
It was a résumé-boosting victory for the Hokies (17-8, 6-6 ACC), who dropped three of their previous four games and needed a quality win to inject life into their NCAA Tournament hopes. And they did that and more against the Tigers (20-5, 10-2), winners of 13 of their last 14 and the league’s second-place team.
“It feels great,” Tech guard Jailen Bedford said. “We needed this win. A top-20 win like that, coming back from a two-game losing streak, it meant everything.”
It was Tech’s 12th victory over a ranked opponent in Young’s seven seasons. However, it was the program’s first on the road since Feb. 2, 2019, at No. 23 NC State, the infamous 47-24 game under Buzz Williams.
Does Young think the performance will help the Hokies’ résumé come Selection Sunday?
“I do,” he said with a smile.
In one of its most complete games of the season, Tech shot 52 percent from the field (26-for-50) and 52 percent from 3-point range (11-for-21) against a top-15 Clemson defense.
“This game showed what we can do, where we can go,” Tech guard Ben Hammond said. “… I would say we got our groove back. Us moving that ball, it shows we can win against these big, top teams. We’ve got to continue to do that, and we’ve got a big one coming up here in Florida State.”
The Hokies spent the last two days adding layers and wrinkles to their offense in hopes of getting back into a rhythm. Young felt like the ball stuck too much in their last four games, where they shot below 43 percent and experienced some cold spells.
Those practices paid dividends against the Tigers, beginning with the good looks they generated. Few were bigger than Amani Hansberry’s play with 2:08 left. He drove baseline and kicked it to Bedford, who drained a corner three to put Tech up eight.
“We tweaked some things,” Young said. “We took Sunday off. It’s hard to tweak a whole lot this time of year. You’re kind of who you are, but we thought the ball was sticking in too many places, too many people catching it and surveying, and against a team like Clemson, you’re dead. It’s like a snake, they’re going to strangle you. The ball’s got to flow, and there’s got to be a cut here, there’s got to be a ball screen here.
“I thought we got the Tigers churned up a little bit, we got Hansberry in the post with a guard, we got big on the perimeter with Hammond and spraying it other places on the floor. I just thought we had a better flow to our offense, which again, you’ve got to. They’re really, really good defensively.”
Bedford led the way with 23 points, 16 of which came in the first half. He was the Hokies’ early spark, knocking down six of his first 10 field goals and scoring their opening eight points. He finished 4-for-5 from three.
It’s the fourth 20-point performance away from Cassell Coliseum for Bedford, who dropped 25 at Wake Forest, 22 at SMU and 24 at Louisville.
“I don’t know how, I don’t know why. I just like coming into people’s arenas and just giving them the belt,” Bedford said.
Then the rest of the team balanced things out, beginning with Hammond. After a scoreless Saturday at NC State, he got to his spots and was 5-for-11 at Clemson, including a 3-for-6 clip from long range. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the game’s waning moments, too.
Tobi Lawal chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds, while Hansberry added seven points, seven boards and three assists. Neoklis Avdalas also posted eight points, four assists and three rebounds.
Tech knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half on 11 attempts (63.6%), three of which came from Bedford. Lawal was also 2-for-2. On top of that, Hansberry sent the team into the locker room with momentum as his triple at the buzzer fell through the bottom of the net. That came after Young called his use-it-or-lose-it timeout with 10 ticks remaining.
Though the Hokies dipped from a 59.3 percent first-half clip (16-for-27) to a 43.5 percent mark in the second half (10-for-23), they got to the stripe more. After attempting just one free throw in the first half, they were 12-for-12 after intermission and finished the game 13-for-13.
“We had a great two days of prep,” Hammond said. “Just trying to not let the ball stick and moving the ball. They have a great defense. Being stagnant against them is not going to work well, so moving the ball well. … Just being unselfish.”
While the offense was clicking, Tech also imposed its will on the defensive end, particularly in the latter stages of the game. Clemson has the deepest bench in the ACC and one of the best in the nation, evidenced by its 35 bench points, and Brad Brownell likes to go 10 deep.
However, the Hokies limited the Tigers’ balance. Sure, they received huge contributions from three players in Carter Welling (19 points), Ace Buckner (16) and Nick Davidson (16). They were a combined 20-for-29 for 51 points (but only made eight of their 13 foul shots).
The rest of the team was held in check, though. Tech kept the other seven guys quiet, including RJ Godfrey and Jestin Porter, the squad’s two leading scorers on the season.
Those two combined for 11 of the other 15 points, with Chase Thompson adding three and Dillon Hunter making one free throw. Add in Butta Johnson and Jake Wahlin, though, and outside of the main three scorers, the rest of the Tigers were 5-for-26.
“I thought we fought,” Young said. “Technically, we weren’t perfect. We missed a couple of 3-point shooters, which our team has been very good in that regard. They made five, that’s great. They typically make eight. We fought. We fought on the glass. Not perfect, but great.”
The Hokies’ defensive presence showed up as the game wound down, which has not been the case this year, given their struggles late in contests. But after making 53.6 percent of its shots in the first half (15-for-28), Clemson fell to 37 percent in the second (10-for-27). Moreover, over the final six minutes, it was just 2-for-11.
“I thought our second-half defense was quite good,” Young said. “We had some really boneheaded plays in the last eight minutes of the game. Fortunately, so did Clemson, which is uncharacteristic of both teams, but get out of here with a significant road win, and we needed it bad.”
Virginia Tech was the better team for 40 minutes — the first time that descriptor has fit since the New Year’s Eve win over Virginia in 55 minutes of action — and was ahead for 28:28. It snatched up a 32-31 lead on a three-point play from Bedford with 2:47 remaining in the first half and never looked back. At halftime, it was 40-33.
The Tigers tried to make things interesting to start the second half, scoring six quick points and calling timeout at the 17:45 mark after falling on a loose ball. The Hokies responded swiftly, though, with back-to-back baskets from Hammond and two foul shots from Bedford. What was a three-point game quickly ballooned to a 10-point margin.
Tech answered Clemson’s punches at other moments, too. After Porter, Welling and Godfrey tried to construct a run with 10 minutes to play, Hammond put defenders in the spin cycle before burying a three and silencing the Littlejohn Coliseum crowd.
When the Tigers replied via a Buckner trey, the Hokies had a 6-0 run of their own. And when four quick points from Welling pulled the home side within 69-64 with 2:36 left — a spot that’s been Tech’s danger zone this year — Hansberry’s brilliant pass broke Clemson’s defense and found Bedford, who knocked down an “enormous” three, in Young’s words, to take the Hokies home.
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“It wasn’t even drawn up,” Bedford said. “I was hoping he threw it, and I made it. I appreciate him for giving me the easy look like that.”
The result was arguably the biggest road win of Young’s tenure. The Hokies still have six games to go and have to close the season out on a high, beginning with Florida State (11-13, 4-7) at home on Saturday. However, Wednesday night’s outing at Clemson was evidence that they are capable of being an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.
In a way, it was the blueprint for success, and if they can recreate that performance, effort and intensity over the next month, they’ll find themselves dancing.
“[It’s] huge,” Young said. “We’re not going to belittle what was accomplished, but I told them, ‘We’ve got another scary team coming in here on Saturday to our place in Florida State, who’s playing good basketball.’ Watched some of the UVa game last night.
“But a season takes a lot of interesting turns. Some good, some bad. Tonight was a great turn. Now let’s make the most of it. Let’s get home and let’s play a good ball game against the Seminoles and find a way to win again, but big. Big, man. Big.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 76, No. 20 Clemson 66