Three Takeaways from Virginia Tech's 85-71 Loss Against No. 23 Louisville

Kaden Reinhard lays down three big takeaways from Virginia Tech basketball's ACC defeat.

Jan 24, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Jailen Bedford (0) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Isaac McKneely (10) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

On Saturday, the Hokies faced their first road-ranked contest of this season's campaign against the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals. Tech, even with a 49-point second-half, dropped the contest, 85-71, against Louisville. Here are three big takeaways from the contest.

Final from Louisville pic.twitter.com/YrXgF3mrTl

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 24, 2026

No. 1: The first and second halves were night and day

Both the Hokies and the Cardinals struggled to find their offensive groove early on, with both sides matching each other's lackluster 1-for-7 mark from the field to open the contest.

The scoring through 13 minutes had limped to a closely contested, 18-17 advantage for Louisville. The Cardinals still struggled with their offensive efficiency to end the half, but they were able to end the half on a 19-5 run.

The Hokies struggled to penetrate offensively in the first half, penciling in a mere 3-for-20 half inside-the-arc. Yet, Tech had success from range, netting a 5-for-13 affair as a team, led by UNLV transfer guard Jailen Bedford, who had gone 3-for-5 in the half from deep.

The Hokies relied heavily on the three-ball in the second half, nailing a stellar 58.6% (17-for-29) of their shots from distance. Unfortunately, Louisville got red hot as well and nearly matched Tech's mark with a 17-for-31 affair in the second half.

Nine three-point baskets were hit between the starting lineup trio of Amani Hansberry, Ben Hammond, and Bedford in the second half, which helped the Hokies outscore the Cardinals by a single point in the second half.

The three-point prowess helped deplete Louisville's advantage to a second-half low of eight. A successful and-one from junior forward Sananda Fru nipped the momentum and allowed the Cardinals to comfortably end the game with a double-digit lead.

No. 2: Jailen Bedford clawed to keep the Hokies in the contest

Through the first-half lull, and into the second-half surge, Bedford remained prominent for the Hokies on the afternoon he surpassed 1,000 career points.

JB 🤝 1K pic.twitter.com/PXq7oOFsXl

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 24, 2026

At halftime, Bedford had accumulated half of the team's total points at 11 on a 4-for-10 outing from the floor. Following a deep connection from Jaden Schutt with eight minutes of action in the first half, Bedford was the only Hokie to score. It wasn't until nearly five minutes had elapsed in the second half before freshman center Antonio Dorn snapped Bedford's scoring skid.

Bedford looked even better in the second half, shooting a much more efficient 4-for-5 from the floor, 3-for-3 from distance, while also facilitating three assists in the half after failing to do so in the first.

No. 3: Outside of the first-half ending lull, this was a close contest

Tech played neck-and-neck with the Cardinals for 33 minutes in Louisville. The seven minutes that weren't? The 14-point swing to end the first half in the final seven minutes of action, which also happens to be the final score difference.

At first, it was the Hokies' defense sticking toe-to-toe with Louisville, as Bedford nabbed two steals in the first 10-minutes of play to help Tech force an eventual eight first-half turnovers.

Turnovers caused problems of their own for the Hokies, with four turnovers of their own in the scoring drought to end the half.

Tech's offense was the bright side in the second-half, except Louisville nearly matched the offensive output, shutting the door on any stellar Hokie comeback. Tech head coach Mike Young and the Hokies can pick out many positives from this contest and improve on the first-half problems as they'll return to Blacksburg to face Georgia Tech on January 27, at 8 p.m.