Virginia Tech at No. 2 Virginia, 4 p.m. NBC29
Today's game at John Paul Jones Arena looks like a mismatch. Virginia is coming off a 70-34 road win at Wake Forest where the defense and finally, the offense, was back clicking together. The Cavaliers are 26-1 and 14-1 in the ACC. The Hokies come in at 10-18 and just 2-13 in the conference.
However, if you're a close observer of the ACC this year, you probably know of a few reasons for caution regarding this game.
Virginia Tech's record might be bad, but the Hokies have challenged many good teams this year, a theme I've noticed from several of the bottom-feeding ACC teams. Every team seems to have done something impressive this season, and many have looked better than their record. Georgia Tech was beating Louisville by double digits before bowing out last Monday (in general, I feel bad for the Yellow Jackets, owners of 11 single-digit ACC losses). Wake Forest was one basket away from winning at Virginia and also played Duke tough at home. Boston College lost to Pittsburgh in OT, Miami in double OT, and has lost six other ACC contests by single digits.
Virginia Tech is no different. Most recently, on Wednesday, the Hokies took No. 4 Duke to the wire in Blacksburg but lost, 91-86, in overtime. And, of course, Tech also almost pulled off an upset of Virginia at home back on Jan. 25. The Cavs bolted out to a 24-13 lead but the Hokies had closed to within 30-27 at halftime and kept the momentum going in the second half, opening up a 43-33 lead
with 10:34 left. Virginia finally made its winning push after that, closing on a 17-4 run to take it, 50-47.
The Hokies have had a number of close calls this year but seemed to be losing steam before the Duke game. A good stretch for Tech that started with an overtime win over Pittsburgh and three straight losses by single digits culminated with a 65-63 win over Georgia Tech. After that, though, Virginia Tech lost three straight games by 16 or more points. All of those contests came on the road, a possible reason for the blowouts. It will be interesting today to see how much fight the Hokies put up against their rivals on their home floor. Knowing Tech, and knowing Buzz Williams' personality, the fight will be there. Can the Hokies back it up with good play? That's the question.
Taking a look at the Duke game, Virginia needs to defend the 3-point line better than the Blue Devils. The Hokies hit 12 3-pointers, three each from Ahmed Hill, Adam Smith, and Jalen Hudson. Justin Bibbs hit two. The Hokies, who own the country's 23rd best 3-point percentage at 39.2, hit five against Virginia earlier this season while UVa hit six. Virginia has not made more than five in a game since. The 3-pointer is the great equalizer and hopefully the Cavs can disturb the Hokies' rhythm from beyond the arc. If the game is close, you can surely bet the Hokies are hot from 3.
One more thing to keep an eye on for this game is injuries. Obviously, for UVa, will London Perrantes play? He certainly wasn't missed at Wake Forest, but you know there will come a game if he doesn't play where the 'Hoos will miss their main floor general. And Justin Anderson is still out and he's had some big games recently against Tech. Additionally, Virginia actually hasn't played a full strength Tech squad in awhile. Not that this one really is, given its dearth of quality players (post player Joey van Zegeren left the team mid-season), but this one seems to be healthier. Last year, Virginia avoided playing against Adam Smith (Virginia Tech's leading scorer this year at 13.6 ppg) in both games and in this season's first meeting, Justin Bibbs (second-leading scorer this year at 12.5 ppg) was out with a concussion. Both will be playing in this game and both will surely give a Tech squad looking for an upset a lift. Overall, I think we are looking at another tough game between rivals that have played some thrillers recently.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10.
Today's game at John Paul Jones Arena looks like a mismatch. Virginia is coming off a 70-34 road win at Wake Forest where the defense and finally, the offense, was back clicking together. The Cavaliers are 26-1 and 14-1 in the ACC. The Hokies come in at 10-18 and just 2-13 in the conference.
However, if you're a close observer of the ACC this year, you probably know of a few reasons for caution regarding this game.
Virginia Tech's record might be bad, but the Hokies have challenged many good teams this year, a theme I've noticed from several of the bottom-feeding ACC teams. Every team seems to have done something impressive this season, and many have looked better than their record. Georgia Tech was beating Louisville by double digits before bowing out last Monday (in general, I feel bad for the Yellow Jackets, owners of 11 single-digit ACC losses). Wake Forest was one basket away from winning at Virginia and also played Duke tough at home. Boston College lost to Pittsburgh in OT, Miami in double OT, and has lost six other ACC contests by single digits.
Virginia Tech is no different. Most recently, on Wednesday, the Hokies took No. 4 Duke to the wire in Blacksburg but lost, 91-86, in overtime. And, of course, Tech also almost pulled off an upset of Virginia at home back on Jan. 25. The Cavs bolted out to a 24-13 lead but the Hokies had closed to within 30-27 at halftime and kept the momentum going in the second half, opening up a 43-33 lead
The Hokies have had a number of close calls this year but seemed to be losing steam before the Duke game. A good stretch for Tech that started with an overtime win over Pittsburgh and three straight losses by single digits culminated with a 65-63 win over Georgia Tech. After that, though, Virginia Tech lost three straight games by 16 or more points. All of those contests came on the road, a possible reason for the blowouts. It will be interesting today to see how much fight the Hokies put up against their rivals on their home floor. Knowing Tech, and knowing Buzz Williams' personality, the fight will be there. Can the Hokies back it up with good play? That's the question.
Taking a look at the Duke game, Virginia needs to defend the 3-point line better than the Blue Devils. The Hokies hit 12 3-pointers, three each from Ahmed Hill, Adam Smith, and Jalen Hudson. Justin Bibbs hit two. The Hokies, who own the country's 23rd best 3-point percentage at 39.2, hit five against Virginia earlier this season while UVa hit six. Virginia has not made more than five in a game since. The 3-pointer is the great equalizer and hopefully the Cavs can disturb the Hokies' rhythm from beyond the arc. If the game is close, you can surely bet the Hokies are hot from 3.
One more thing to keep an eye on for this game is injuries. Obviously, for UVa, will London Perrantes play? He certainly wasn't missed at Wake Forest, but you know there will come a game if he doesn't play where the 'Hoos will miss their main floor general. And Justin Anderson is still out and he's had some big games recently against Tech. Additionally, Virginia actually hasn't played a full strength Tech squad in awhile. Not that this one really is, given its dearth of quality players (post player Joey van Zegeren left the team mid-season), but this one seems to be healthier. Last year, Virginia avoided playing against Adam Smith (Virginia Tech's leading scorer this year at 13.6 ppg) in both games and in this season's first meeting, Justin Bibbs (second-leading scorer this year at 12.5 ppg) was out with a concussion. Both will be playing in this game and both will surely give a Tech squad looking for an upset a lift. Overall, I think we are looking at another tough game between rivals that have played some thrillers recently.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10.
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