For the third straight game, the Virginia basketball team had chances in the final minutes to grab a win. The third time wasn’t the charm in this case. The Cavaliers dropped their third straight game despite pushing top 10 Florida State to the brink, 54-50. UVA has lost three straight games for the first time since February 2017.

Virginia now stands at 11-5 and 3-3 in the ACC with another road game up Saturday night. The Hoos are at Georgia Tech for an 8 p.m. tipoff. What can the Wahoos learn from the loss in Tallahassee? Turnovers seem like a good place to start. Let’s dive back in for another Double Bonus article.

Oh, Those Turnovers

Turnovers have been a storyline for this year’s team throughout the season and Wednesday night’s game at FSU simply added a chapter. The Cavaliers committed 18 turnovers in the loss, the 14th time in 16 games that they’ve had double digit turnovers. That means they’ve already matched or surpassed the double-digit turnover games for three of the past five years despite being just past the halfway point of the season.

Against Florida State, it would be easy to argue that the turnovers led directly to the loss. UVA closed both halves, after all, with turnover flurries that accounted for 9 of the 18 total. At the end of the first half, Virginia committed six turnovers in the final 3:47 that helped fuel an 11-0 FSU run. At the end of the second half, the Hoos had three turnovers in the final two minutes; the teams entered those two minutes tied, but the Seminoles closed with a 7-3 surge to win.

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