As Virginia Tech prepares for its Friday night opener in the ACC tournament, containing 3-point shooters is at the top of the defensive list.
In three of their last five games, Hokies opponents have hit 10 or more shots from beyond the arc.
“We had defended the 3 pretty well,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. “Actually, going into the last few games, we were defending the 3 probably almost as well as anyone in the league.
“We put a lot of emphasis [on that, and] that’s the frustrating thing for me. Chasing screens and getting your hands above the ball [as defenders], is something we work on every single day.”
Nine of Clemson’s first 25 points in Sunday’s 75-74 Tigers win at Cassell Coliseum came from 3-point range. Clemson led 26-11. In the previous Hokies’ game, Virginia hit four 3s in the first six minutes while going ahead 16-5. The Cavaliers won 69-56.

The “fine line” of which Greenberg often speaks when discussing the difference between winning and losing in the ACC was easy to see in Sunday’s 75-74 loss to Clemson at Cassell Coliseum. Tech missed two dunks - Coleman Collins and Deron Washington - and Clemson got a banked-in 3-pointer to beat the shot clock from guard Vernon Hamilton.