FSU Basketball Looking to Rebound Against Pesky Virginia Tech Hokies

Florida State is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Virginia earlier in the week, a game it was in control of for most of the time. Had they been able to score any points, they would be riding a four-game winning streak right now.

Instead, they'll have to try to get back on track with a road game against a pesky Virginia Tech team, a team that is seemingly not allowed to play normal games.

This game will be at 2 p.m. EST on the ACC Network from Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Jan 31, 2026; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Mike Young gives his team instructions during the second half against Duke Blue Devils at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech Hokies Breakdown (17-8 Overall, 6-6 ACC)

Virginia Tech is in year 7 under head coach Mike Young, and I was surprised he got this 7th season after an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, going just 13-19. His teams made the NCAA Tournament twice early, but they were trending down, which is a big reason I was not that high on them coming into the season. I ended up coming around on them by the time I did my ACC preview, mostly because I knew the bottom of the league would be awful, but I didn't expect VT to have this kind of season.

FSU and VT have a few results in common, having tight losses to SMU and Wake Forest that came down to the wire, as well as close wins over Cal. However, Virginia Tech has been able to pickoff quality teams like Virginia and Clemson.

The way they lost games early in ACC play was some of the wildest things you'll ever see. Their first three losses in conference play, which were to Wake Forest, Stanford, and SMU, all came by game-winners in the final seven seconds. The SMU game-winner was a half-court buzzer, and they lost that game despite being up by 4 with 7.4 seconds remaining.

Virginia Tech is 2-3 to start conference play. Here are their 3 losses. pic.twitter.com/arn6QE83tV
— Pitless (@pitlessball) January 15, 2026

The Hokies have a pretty solid eight-man rotation. Leading the way in scoring is Amani Hansberry, a transfer who started his career at Illinois, then was at West Virginia last season. He's up to 14.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG, having a great overall year. Most of his scoring comes inside, but he is shooting 33.8% from three on more than three attempts per game.

Sophomore guard Ben Hammond is the second leading scorer, averaging 12.6 PPG and 3.0 APG. He's a small guard at just 5'11", 170 pounds, but he's capable of big performances. Hammond is coming off a performance with 19 points and 4 steals against Clemson. He's also very capable from three, hitting 39.5% of his shots from behind the arc, and is their best free throw shooter.

Neoklis Avdalas is one reason some people were high on the Hokies coming into the season. He was great in non-conference play, but has mostly struggled in the ACC schedule. At 6'9", 215 pounds, his playstyle is very similar to Luka Doncic, and he tries a little too hard to be like Doncic, but he's not the finisher at the rim that Doncic is. That being said, he's a great playmaker. For the season, he's averaging 12.4 PPG and 4.8 APG, shooting 47.2% on 2s and 28.3% on three, but he takes a lot of threes. He can also struggle with turnovers, coughing it up 9 times total in the last three games. I expect Thomas Bassong to guard him.

Jailen Bedford is coming off one of his best games of the season, putting up 23 points on 8/14 shooting in the win over Clemson. He's averaging 11.3 PPG this year, shooting 36.6% from three, but he can get hot in a hurry. In ACC play, he's up to 14.3 PPG.

Tobi Lawal is a super athletic forward averaging 11.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. He's not a threat from three (if he wants to shoot, let him), but he can be really fun to watch if he gets a lob pass.

Off the bench, they have Jaden Schutt, who is a really good shooter (41.9% from three on 5.2 attempts per game), Tyler Johnson as a versatile big wing who can shoot and rebound, and Christian Gurdak, a big man who can really rebound with the best of them.

Virginia Tech isn't really great at anything, but they do a good job of limiting their turnovers while holding opposing teams' three-point shooting down. Any team that can control those two factors can win a lot of games.

Florida State Seminoles head coach Luke Loucks calls a play from the bench. The Virginia Cavaliers defeated the Florida State Seminoles 61-58 at the Tucker Civic Center on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Florida State Seminoles Breakdown (11-13 Overall, 4-7 ACC)

Florida State is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Virginia on Tuesday night, and it's hard to put into words how brutal the loss was. They were leading 54-45 after a 9-0 run with 8 minutes to go, but they made just one field goal the rest of the game, and didn't score after the final media timeout. If that's not proof of a team still learning how to win, I don't know what is.

The offense was mostly horrific. They were able to get to the free-throw line, which is a big reason they were leading to begin with, and that's something that's been trending up the last few games for FSU. But the rest of the offense has to step up; they shot just 29% from the floor and 18% from three. Take out Robert McCray V, Kobe MaGee, and Lajae Jones, and the rest of the team had 8 points on 3/26 shooting. McCray and Jones scored a bunch, but even they were a combined 12/31. Safe to say that won't win a lot of games.

That's also now 3 of the last 4 games they've shot below 40% from the floor in. Because of how many threes they shot, base field goal percentage isn't always the best stat to look at, but even their effective field goal percentage was well below 40% last game.

The big reason they've been able to turn things around recently is their improved defense, though. In the last seven games, they've posted a defensive rating of 101.3. In the 11 games before that, which included a blowout over hapless Mississippi Valley State, their defensive rating was an average of 117.5. To show how big a gap that is, a defensive rating of 101.3 would be a top-75 defense nationally. 117.5 would be among the 15 worst.

Projected Starters

Florida State

G: Robert McCray V
G: Lajae Jones
F: Thomas Bassong
F: Chauncey Wiggins
F: Alex Steen

Virginia Tech

G: Ben Hammond
G: Jailen Bedford
G: Neoklis Avdalas
F: Amani Hansberry
F: Tobi Lawal

3 Keys to the Game

Efficient Offense

Sometimes, it's as simple as this. Florida State's offense hasn't exactly thrived with efficiency when winning, but it is capable of it. The Seminoles will have to be much more efficient than they were the other night when they shot just 29% from the floor and 18.2% from three. They were able to make it a game by getting to the free-throw line, but you still have to make shots when it comes down to it.

Outside of Robert McCray V, Lajae Jones, and Kobe MaGee, the rest of the roster was just 3/26 on Tuesday night. That can't happen. In all of Virginia Tech's losses, its opponents shot at least 44.8% from the floor. FSU has done that four times in ACC play, and they'll likely need to make it across that line in this game.

Force Turnovers

Virginia Tech is generally good at protecting the ball, but they've had some games where they can get sloppy with it. A big reason they lost to Wake Forest is that they had a turnover rate of 25.7%, and FSU can force a lot of turnovers when they need to. Generally, if FSU can at least force a turnover rate of 15%, they should have a good chance. Virginia Tech is 5-6 when they have a turnover rate of at least 15%, and FSU has forced a turnover rate of at least 15% in all but five games.

Who Controls the Pace?

Early in the season, Florida State wanted to play lightning fast. That has not been the case recently, as they've generally playing at paces in the high 60s over the last month with a lot of success. Virginia Tech can play at any pace, but they prefer to be in the 68-70 range on most nights. Whoever controls the tempo will have a great shot at winning this game.

Game Prediction

Virginia Tech is favored by 6.5 points with an over/under of 155.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

Virginia Tech is due for a bad loss. That's just how this season has been for them. And Florida State has been playing well the last few weeks. Given how they lost to Virginia on Tuesday, FSU is either going to win this game by 3 or lose by 15. There's really no in between in my mind. I'll take the 'Noles to bounce back, because I think Thomas Bassong is going to make life very difficult for Neoklis Avdalas.

Florida State 71, Virginia Tech 68

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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