Virginia Tech’s NCAA Tournament hopes are alive and well. Thanks to Darius Maddox, that is.
Fresh off of a thrilling 76-75 overtime victory over Clemson in the second round of the ACC Tournament, the seventh-seeded Hokies (20-12, 11-9 ACC) escaped disaster. And with that, a trip to the quarterfinals awaits.
There waiting for them? No. 2 seed Notre Dame (22-9, 15-5 ACC). Seen as a threat to take home the league crown, the Fighting Irish have plenty to prove.
While for Virginia Tech, a win, it could be in. A loss, prepare to host NIT contests inside Cassell Coliseum.
You talk about the definition of a must-win game? This is it for the Hokies. How will they respond? March, let’s see what you can concoct this time around.
What To Know - Virginia Tech
You never know what you’re going to see when tournament time comes around.
For Maddox and the Hokies, it was a buzzer-beating three that not only kept their season alive, but earned them a trip to the quarterfinals where they’ll endure a pretty favorable matchup.
When Tech and Notre Dame met earlier this season back in mid-January, the Hokies were already playing with a sense of urgency. 0-4 in the ACC and desperate for a big-time victory to put wind in the sails of the 2021-22 campaign. That’s what Mike Young’s team was dealing with.
Turns out, they got exactly what they needed.
In the 79-73 win, four members of the maroon and orange tallied double figures. Justyn Mutts’ 24 points led the way, while Nahiem Alleyne (22), Keve Aluma (17) and Storm Murphy (12) each added double-digit scoring of their own.
The performance still stands as one of Tech’s most impressive this season. 59% from the field, 50% from three and outrebounding the Irish, 28-25, certainly will catch your eye at first glance on the stat sheet.
It’ll be a tall task for Virginia Tech, but the formula is there to replicate a similar performance. Now can it do so with its backs against the wall? We'll see.
What To Know - Notre Dame
What a year for head coach Mike Brey and company up in South Bend.
Originally picked to finish eighth in the ACC, the Irish have rattled off quite the program-saving season, and are very much in the mix to take home league supremacy.
A big reason for that? Blake Wesley.
The All-ACC Second Team member averaged 14.8 points per game in the regular season, and can really flex his muscles on the offensive end.
The South Bend native put up 15 points earlier this season in the loss in Blacksburg, while Dane Goodwin (14.0 points per game) added 13 points to complement Wesley at the guard position.
Paul Atkinson Jr. (12.6 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game) can be a force down low, even showing so against the Hokies earlier this year with a team-best 19 points inside Cassell Coliseum.
Notre Dame has to feel it has as good a shot as any to leave Brooklyn as champions of the ACC. But getting past the seventh-seeded Hokies, will be no easy task for a team that still finds itself teeter-tottering on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Prediction
This just feels like the game where after emerging from the dead, stealing wins over Miami and Clemson and winning nine of its last 11 to close out the regular season, Virginia Tech completes the cycle, and positions itself to slide into the field of 68.
The matchup is there for the Hokies down low. Aluma will carve up the Irish on the inside, and the maroon and orange will move onto to the ACC Tournament semifinals, likely taking a bid to the big dance with them.
