The Hokies' season finale comes with a trip to Charlottesville as they look for one last statement win to add to their resume.
Virginia Tech (19-22, 8-9 ACC) is coming off a controlled win against Boston College. Any win helps the Hokies, but their win against Boston College wasn’t a needle mover, unlike what this game against No. 13 Virginia can be for Tech.
Virginia (26-4, 14-3 ACC) has won four of its last five coming off a 75-70 win against Wake Forest. Prior to that, the Cavaliers were dismantled against No. 1 Duke in Durham. Virginia is 15-1 at home but has had some close calls lately, sneaking past Wake Forest and Miami.
This is the second matchup this season for the Commonwealth Clash after a 3OT thriller in Blacksburg on New Year’s Eve. The Hokies came out on top 95-85 to open ACC play, led by Ben Hammond's 30-point game, while Neoklis Avdalas, Amani Hansberry, and Christian Gurdak each put up 17 points.
For Virginia, Malik Thomas and Thijs De Ridder had 26 and 22 points, respectively, and played a big part in stretching the game into three overtimes. The Cavaliers were also dealing with foul trouble, as Dallin Hall fouled out and De Ridder and Johann Grunloh each had four.
Here are the key storylines for Saturday's game.
Key Players Return
These teams' last meeting was 66 days ago, and the two look very different since then. Both teams have had over two months to gel and play through a full ACC schedule. Additionally, both sides will have healthy rosters compared to their first meeting. Virginia Tech was missing Tobi Lawal, Tyler Johnson, and Antonio Dorn in January. Lawal is averaging over 12 points and eight rebounds per game and will bring a needed defensive presence for the Hokies. Time will also tell how much Johnson will be played in his third game back, but if the Hokies can get him for 15 minutes, he should bring a positive impact in a multitude of areas.
The Cavaliers were missing Jacari White last time, who is averaging nine points on the season and is one of the better defensive players in the conference.
Both teams will have their full arsenal for this game and will change much of what the teams will want to do on both ends of the floor.
Rebound Battle
When the Hokies won the first matchup, they outrebounded the Hoos, 60-54. It may not seem like a lot, but that edge helped Virginia Tech score 22 second-chance points. Gurdak was able to haul in 19 boards himself, and Hansberry had 15.
Virginia doesn’t have that one go-to guy that gets a rebound but has multiple players who are willing to go get a board. The Cavaliers are ranked first in the ACC in rebounds with 36.7 per game, and De Ridder leads the team with just over six per game. Nationally, they're 12th. The Cavaliers have also gotten improved minutes from 7-foot Johann Grunloh, who is coming off a nine-rebound game against Wake Forest.
Can the Hokies slow down Thijs De Ridder?
One of Virginia Tech's primary struggles this season has been slowing down dominant big men. That came to light against North Carolina’s Henri Veesaar, and even Boston College’s Boden Kapke, who had a great performance against the Hokies; the pair scored 26 and 25 points, respectively.
Thijs De Ridder is another one of those offensively gifted big men in the ACC. On average, he pulls down 6.2 rebounds and scores 16 points on 58% of his field goals. The Belgian big man can also hurt teams with a 3-pointer or two per game.
Hansberry and Gurdak will have their hands full with De Ridder. The addition of Lawal should help protect the paint in this matchup. The Hokies won’t be able to stop De Ridder entirely but slowing him down would do a lot to help find a way to win.
Prediction: No. 13 Virginia 78, Virginia Tech 68
I think the Hokies will keep up with the Cavaliers, but Virginia’s talent and home court advantage will be crucial in the end.
De Ridder will be a hard player to try to slow down, so expect him to tally points in this game. Virginia also has a multitude of guards who can take over, and Jacari White will want to make his imprint on this game versus the Hokies.
Neoklis Avdalas has been back in good form, and I expect that will continue. The presence of Lawal will be huge: expect him to have a double-double with some defensive highlights this game.
