Upset over No. 4 Virginia shows improving Va. Tech no ACC pushover

Virginia Tech came close on numerous occasions but hadn’t beaten No. 4 Virginia in their last seven meetings prior to Monday night when the Hokies finally broke through defeating the Cavaliers 70-68 at their own game.

The Hokies matched UVA’s defensive intensity and played together offensively, knocking down nine of 17 3-pointers to earn the biggest win to date for coach Buzz Williams in his second year with the program. Forward Zach LeDay and guards Seth Allen and Justin Bibbs combined to make all of the Hokies 3-pointers.

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The Hokies were picked to finish 14th in the 15-team ACC at the start of the season but suddenly appear capable of more than that. The victory over Virginia combined with an earlier win over North Carolina State already equaled the Hokies regular-season, ACC-win-total from last season.

Even after Monday’s victopry, no one will be expecting a big leap up the standings by the end of the season, but it’s now obvious that the Hokies are a more formidable opponent than they had been.

The upset ended Virginia’s 11-game winning streak and when the Cavaliers look back at this one they’ll regret not defending the perimeter better and failing to take care of the ball. They managed to lose despite double digit rebounding advantage, in part, because they committed an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers.

But give the Hokies credit for knocking down shots and for forcing some of that sloppy play from a team that often frustrates opponents with its discipline and refusal to beat itself with the kind of careless mistakes the Cavaliers made at times Monday.

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Virginia needed a hot-shooting night from London Perrantes to avoid a much larger margin of defeat. Perrantes knocked down seven of nine 3-pointers and finished with 22 points. Anthony Gill had 17 and Malcom Brogdon scored 15 as the only real offensive threats for Virginia.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo