Virginia Readies For Home Clash With Rival Hokies

By Josh Burton

Following another dismal road showing, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is now 11-5 (2-3 in ACC play). The Wahoos will be looking to get right when they host rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night  (1/17). The game is scheduled for a 7 pm EST tip and will air on ESPNU.

About Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech Hokies are led by Mike Young, who is in his fifth season. Young has gone 83-57 (37-41 in ACC play) while at Tech, highlighted by leading the Hokies to the 2022 ACC Tournament Championship. This season, Tech is 11-5 (2-3 in the ACC) and are coming off a 75-71 loss to Miami over the weekend.

The Hokies like to space the floor and look for threes. They average just over 22 three point attempts per game. Key player Hunter Cattoor left their game against Clemson last week with what Young described as a head injury, and then sat out the Miami game. UNC transfer Tyler Nickel has been picking up the minutes in Cattoor's place, earning the start against Miami following his strong showing earlier in the week. Cattoor’s status for Wednesday night remains uncertain. If he were to miss a second consecutive game, they should line up as follow:

G - Sean Pedulla (6’1” Junior) Averages 16.1 points, 4.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds. Hits 38.9% from three

G - MJ Collins (6’4” Sophomore) Averages 5.3 points per game

G - Tyler Nickel (6’7” Sophomore) Averages 9.1 points hitting 38.2% from three

F - Robbie Beran (6’9” Covid Senior) Averages 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game

C - Lynn Kidd (6’10” Senior) Averages 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game

Wahoo fans might also recognize Beran. The Northwestern transfer was being recruited by UVA before they ultimately got the commitment from Jake Groves.

Before Cattoor’s injury, Tech had mainly been a three headed monster in scoring. Cattoor averages 13.5 points per game. In his place, Nickel scored a career-high 24 against Clemson last week before only getting 6 against Miami.

New Lineup

Saturday's game against Wake Forest saw the Cavaliers try out a new lineup. They started Reece Beekman, Isaac McKneely, Ryan Dunn, Jake Groves and Jordan Minor. In a season-high 22 minutes, it was Minor's most productive game as a Wahoo.  Jordan scored 9 points, was aggressive in getting to the basket while also playing some pretty solid defense.

I am expecting to see a lot more of this bigger lineup Wednesday night, whether Cattoor is able to play or not. Ryan Dunn sliding down to the three spot allows the Wahoos to put more size in both the frontcourt and backcourt. Virginia Tech center Lynn Kidd does all of his damage inside the arc, so this may also be a matchup where first-year Blake Buchanan is needed for extended stretches to help guard him. 

Andrew Rohde was the other player most impacted by the lineup swap, as he came off the bench for the first time this season. This didn’t really change his minutes total, but it is a different role for him and one that he could potentially thrive in as the initiator for the second unit.  Meanwhile, backup point guard Dante Harris could make his return this week from an ankle injury that's kept him sidelined since late November.  

Home Cooking

This year's Cavaliers team has been a very intriguing group to say the least. According to advanced metrics, they have been a top 10 team at home while being a very disappointing sub-250 team away from JPJ. 

Since the exam break in December, the Wahoos have gone 3-4 and rate out at #222 per Bart Torvik. This problem has been severely compounded on the road, where they rate out at #332 during that stretch.  

The Wahoos have seemed to play with more freedom and more joy at home. But this will be their first real test in JPJ in a few weeks. Virginia Tech ranks as a top 70 opponent both offensively and defensively, so the Cavaliers will have to play a very solid game to come away with the much needed win. 

Next Up

Following Wednesday’s clash, the Cavaliers will once again be on the road as they head to Georgia Tech on Saturday night (1/20). Follow along with Locker Room Access!

(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)