Virginia Set for Hokie Rematch
Rivals meet in Blacksburg Saturday afternoon when the Virginia Tech Hokies host the Virginia Cavaliers. Both teams enter on a bit of a roll, each winning three of their last four games. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 PM Eastern, televised on CW Network.
It’s the second meeting between these teams this season, with the Hokies holding on for a 75-74 win at UVA on February 1st. Virginia Tech currently sits in 8th place in the ACC standings at 6-7, while the Cavs are a game behind at 5-8.
About Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech is led by head coach Mike Young in his sixth season at the helm in Blacksburg. He’s twice taken them to the NCAA Tournament. The highlight of his tenure to date was a surprise run to the ACC Tournament title in 2022. He has a mostly new team this year, following heavy roster turnover in the offseason.
The Hokies enter with an 11-13 overall record, 6-7 in ACC play. They’ve played well of late, winning three of the last four. More impressively, all of those wins were on the road. Coach Young has done a nice job pulling a young team together, improving as the season has gone along. The full season metrics still aren’t friendly, 154th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, about 50 spots behind UVA. They’re a little better on offense than defense, according to the adjusted efficiency numbers.
Virginia Tech’s Personnel
The Hokes have a very young squad. Six of their top nine are underclassmen. They’ve been starting with the following group.
G - Ben Hammond (5’11’ Freshman, 5.0 points and 2.0 assists per game)
G - Tyler Johnson (6’5” Freshman, 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game)
G - Jaden Schutt (6’5” Sophomore, Duke transfer, 9.1 points per game, 36% from 3)
F - Toibu Lawal (6’8” Junior, VCU transfer, 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game)
F - Mylyjael Poteat (6’9” Graduate, 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game)
Charleston transfer forward Ben Burnham (7.3 PPG) is shooting 46% from deep this season. Sophomore point guard Brandon Rechsteiner (7.0 PPG) leads the team in assists. And sophomore guard Jaydon Young (6.3 PPG) rounds out the backcourt rotation.
Hoos For Real?
Virginia is coming off their best week of the season, picking up wins over Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech. It’s not so much who they beat, those teams have losing conference records, it’s that they did it in dominant fashion. They’ve certainly shown improvement, and legitimately looked good in those wins. But the schedule becomes much more difficult now. UVA will likely be an underdog in the next five games. We’ll see if the pattern holds or if last week was just a high point in the ebb and flow of a season.
The coaching staff has made some adjustments that seem to have helped. Particularly on defense, where they’re done a lot more switching. But the biggest improvement has been on the offense end. The Hoos have scored 70+ in four straight games, something they had only done twice prior in ACC play. Several individual players have stepped up their game of late. No one more than Dai Dai Ames. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 27 points in the win over Pitt, then followed that up with an 18-point performance against Georgia Tech.
The rest of the season takes on extra meaning because of Virginia’s coaching vacancy. If they can finish strong and show that the program is headed in a good direction, it could give a real boost to the chances of Ron Sanchez having the interim tag removed. The next couple weeks will go a long way in determining whether he’ll be considered for the job.
Up Next
The Wahoos have a short turnaround after this one. They’ll be back home on Monday night when the #3 ranked Duke Blue Devils pay a visit. That’s an 8:00 PM game on ESPN.
Be sure to tune in for the pregame show, starting 30 minutes before tip as always. Available on the Locker Room Access Facebook page and YouTube channel.
(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)