ACC Basketball power rankings: UNC, Wake Forest rises while Pitt drops

12. Virginia Tech Hokies – 11-8 (1-7)

Two road games against top-20 opponents were always going to be tough for Virginia Tech, who has been reeling big-time. But they got great news with the return of Hunter Cattoor, who was out for the past five games due to an arm injury. The team lost all of those games when he was out and missed his shooting and spacing.

Against Virginia, Cattoor was an effective all-around contributor, scoring 11 points on 3/6 shooting from deep, along with six rebounds and five assists. All five starters were in double figures, with Darius Maddox leading with 13 points. In the end, the defense, which has become a quiet issue as of late, gave up 78 points to the Cavaliers in a 10-point defeat.

The Hokies had previously lost to Clemson by three points a few weeks ago and look to get some revenge on the road. It was a solid and hard-fought game that turned into a brick-fest in the second half. Virginia Tech scored just 19 points in the second half but was in the game in the final seconds but couldn’t make the last attempt of the game for a 51-50 loss. Cattoor has just six points but no one shot well, with the team making 34% of its overall attempts from the field.

The good news is that the Hokies are home this upcoming week. But the next opponent on Monday night at Duke. If they lose that game to extend the losing streak to eight games, they’ll hope to break it at home on the weekend against Syracuse.