Terance Mann, No. 14 Florida State Earn 73-64 OT Win vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech

The No. 14 Florida State Seminoles continued to finish their regular season strong with an overtime win over No. 15 Virginia Tech Hokies 73-64 on Tuesday night in Tallahassee, Florida.

Virginia Tech entered the locker room with a 33-19 lead at halftime, but Florida State came roaring back and tied the game at 41 with 12:06 left to play.

Florida State's comeback was fueled by starting the second half 4-of-7 from three, but it was Hokies senior guard Ahmed Hill's triple that tied the game at 61 with 13 seconds in regulation—sending the game to overtime after Seminoles senior guard Terance Mann missed a three-point attempt as time expired.

In overtime, Florida State sophomore guard M.J. Walker hit from behind the arc to put the game out of reach with just 1:14 left.

Hokies junior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. fouled out with 2:46 left in regulation, limiting his contributions to nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Seminoles sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele pitched in 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Hokies sophomore guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 19 points.

The game held high stakes. With the win, the Seminoles secured a top-four seed in the ACC tournament beginning March 12, which also gives them a double-bye. The Hokies have now lost 12 games in a row at Florida State.

Prior to the game, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton commented that "the world is not going to end if we don't get the double-bye. The most important thing is to keep winning basketball games and getting better (in preparation for the NCAA tournament)," per STATS (h/t CBSSports.com).

The Hokies have been without their senior point guard Justin Robinson since Jan. 30 because of an injured foot. In Robinson's absence, Virginia Tech has gone 5-4. Virginia Tech upset No. 3 Duke on Feb. 26 but couldn't win the game they needed to in order to gain an advantage heading into the ACC tournament.

FSU's Experience, Perimeter Play Will Make for Tough Out in March

Tuesday night marked senior night for the Seminoles, and it's no coincidence that one of the school's best senior classes came out with a win. Seniors Mann, Christ Koumadje, David Nichols, Phil Cofer and PJ Savoy have posted 109 total wins, 55 regular-season ACC wins and 16 wins over ranked teams, per Chaunte'l Powell of the Orlando Sentinel.

Ahead of Tuesday night's win, junior guard Trent Forrest told Powell what this senior class means for the program moving forward:

"As it continues to go on, I feel like they were the foundation for what Florida State is going to be in the next coming years...those guys just did so much and helped changed the culture. I feel like they'll be legacy guys for a while."

The Seminoles' past, present and future are coming together at just the right time. While the future looks bright for Hamilton's program, it's this season that can be the culmination of what Hamilton has been building since 2002 in Tallahassee and last season that set the stage.

Last season, the 'Noles made it to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993. During that run, Hamilton said he believed his program was built to "win a game by committee," per Caroline Darney of SBNation, and that strategy has gained even more validity this season.

This year's squad has already surpassed last year's in the regular season by tying a program-most 12 wins in the ACC.

Kabengele is the team's leading scorer on the season, and he came off the bench on Tuesday night. Overall, the Seminoles bench outscored the Hokies' 37-2. As a whole, the Seminoles can be a live-by-the-three, die-by-the-three kind of team. However, it's their experienced depth that can offset the consequences when the three-ball isn't falling.

The Seminoles have won 11 of their last 12 with their only loss coming at No. 8 North Carolina on Feb. 23, and this latest win over Virginia Tech in a lot of ways can serve as a foreshadowing to Florida State's upcoming opponents in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

What's Next?

The Hokies (22-7) close out the regular season on Friday at home against Miami, while Florida State's (24-6) final regular-season contest will be at Wake Forest on Saturday.