Virginia Tech ready for No. 16 Florida State (Mar 09, 2017)
NEW YORK -- The restoration of Virginia Tech basketball under coach Buzz Williams is well underway.
With a 99-90 victory over Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday and home wins over Duke, Virginia and Miami, the Hokies (22-9) appear to have a resume worthy of their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007.
Williams' unheralded squad faces a tough task when it meets No. 16 Florida State (24-7), the second seed, in Thursday's quarterfinals at the Barclays Center. The Seminoles received a double-bye for going 12-6 in the conference.
Williams, in only his third year guiding the Hokies, formed a scrappy team that leads the ACC in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage and whose best players come off the bench.
Seth Allen (13.3 points per game) was awarded the conference's Sixth Man of the Year and Zach LeDay, who scored a career-high 30 points against Wake Forest on Wednesday, leads the Hokies in scoring (16.1) despite starting only five games this season.
"I think it's an unspoken symbolism of what we want the culture of our program to be about," Williams said about his star reserves. "We're not in the position we're in. We're not playing on March the 9th if it wasn't for these two guys, and I think the example that they set for their teammates, but for our staff, for our institution, for our department speaks to it's not about them."
Williams came to Blacksburg, Va., after spending six successful seasons as coach at Marquette of the Big East Conference. The move to Virginia Tech seemed a lateral one at best.
"I'm just demented," Williams cracked. "I don't think that it's about me. Only God could have authored and ordained a story like this. So I don't want to take credit. I think that, when you're doing it the way that we're doing it, it's the hardest way for sure, and it requires everyone to be accountable within their role.
"Last year only three teams in the history of the ACC have improved by eight games. We were the only team in the history of the ACC that the eight-game improvement came from last place.
"And then for us to be in the position we're currently in, I don't know how it will transpire down the stretch, but I think that it speaks to the character and the willingness and the effort and the time of all of the people that have been a part."
Florida State is the third-winningest program in the ACC over the last 11 years. The Seminoles won six of their last nine and is the national leader with six wins over teams in the top 25 of the latest RPI.
They are led by All-ACC second team member Dwayne Bacon (16.9 points) and All-ACC freshman Jonathan Isaac (12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds).
The ACC tournament marks Florida State's second visit to the Barclays Center this season -- the Seminoles played two games there at the NIT Tip-off in November.
"I think it definitely gives us a little bit of an advantage," Isaac said. "Just like playing on our home court, we've been there before and a lot of other teams haven't."
