Sean Pedulla scored 15 points with seven assists, MJ Collins and Tyler Nickel each had 13 points and Virginia Tech picked up a rare road victory by getting past Louisville 80-64 on Tuesday.
Robbie Beran scored 12 points and Lynn Kidd had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Hokies (17-13, 9-10 ACC), who won for just the second time in a true road game all season. Virginia Tech made 13 baskets from 3-point range to tie a season high and shot 44.8 percent from distance.
Virginia Tech helped its cause for a single bye into the second round of next week’s ACC tournament that goes to the top nine teams in the regular-season standings. The top four teams earn a double bye.
The Hokies have won consecutive games for the first time since a three-game winning streak in late January that included a victory at NC State.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield overcame a first-half knee injury to score 19 points and Mike James added 16 for the Cardinals (8-22, 3-16), who lost their sixth consecutive game. Louisville already has clinched the second worst season in program history behind last year’s 28-loss campaign.
Ty-Laur Johnson scored 10 points for the Cardinals, who led 28-18 in points in the paint.
Virginia Tech wasted little time establishing itself, taking a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game and grabbing its first double-digit lead at 14-4 less than five minutes into the contest.
The Hokies had their first lead of at least 20 points on a Beran 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining in the first half for a 44-22 advantage. Virginia Tech led 49-31 at halftime.
Louisville outscored Virginia Tech 33-31 in the second half but never pulled within single digits in the closing 20 minutes.
Louisville’s Zan Payne, son of head coach Kenny Payne, made two 3-pointers in the first half, his first baskets from distance in six seasons as a lightly-used Division I player, including a redshirt season. Payne finished with six points.
–Field Level Media