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Cavaliers Back on the Road at Virginia Tech Tuesday Night
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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team is on the road for the third time in four games on Tuesday (Feb. 21) when the Cavaliers play an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Virginia Tech. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m.
Virginia is coming off a 71-44 victory over Maryland at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday (Feb. 18). The win improved UVa’s overall record to 20-6 and the Cavaliers are now 7-5 in the ACC. Prior to the victory over Maryland the Cavaliers had lost two consecutive games for the first time this season.
Virginia is ranked 25th in this week’s Associated Press poll.
Virginia Tech defeated Georgia Tech 74-73 in overtime on Saturday. The win improved the Hokies overall record to 15-12 and Virginia Tech is now 4-8 in the ACC.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. It will also be televised by ESPNU and carried on ESPN3.
The game is the second of the season between the two teams. Virginia Tech beat Virginia 47-45 in Charlottesville on Jan. 22. Junior guard Erick Green scored 15 points to lead Virginia Tech in that game and senior guard Dorenzo Hudson added 12 points for the Hokies. Junior guard Jontel Evans, sophomore guard Joe Harris and senior forward Mike Scott each scored 10 points for the Cavaliers.
In the victory over Maryland on Saturday, Scott scored a game-high 25 points and had seven rebounds to lead UVa. Scott’s 25 points are an ACC career high.
Freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon added 14 points, an ACC career high, and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski scored 11 points for the Cavaliers. Sophomore forward Akil Mitchell had a career-high 10 rebounds for Virginia.
The game was tied 31-31 at halftime and UVa out-scored the Terrapins 40-13 in the second half. It is the 11th time this season Virginia has held an opponent under 50 points.
Scott leads Virginia in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 58.9 percent (168-285) from the field and 81.7 percent (107-131) from the free-throw line. Scott ranks first among ACC players in field goal percentage, third in scoring, sixth in rebounding and ninth in free throw percentage.
Harris is also averaging in double figures in scoring for UVa with an average of 11.8 points a game and Zeglinski is averaging 8.1 points a game.
Evans leads the Cavaliers in assists (97) and steals (41). He ranks fifth among ACC players in both assists (3.7 apg.) and steals (1.6 spg.).
As a team, Virginia ranks first in the ACC in scoring defense (51.9), three-point field goal percentage defense (27.8 percent), rebounding defense (28.6) and defensive rebounding percentage (75.0 percent).
Nationally the Cavaliers rank first in points allowed per possession (0.85) and assists allowed per game (7.8), second in scoring defense, fourth in defensive rebounding percentage, sixth in opponents’ assist percentage (41.0 percent), seventh in three-point percentage defense and opponents’ assist-to-turnover ratio (0.60), and 18th in field goal percentage defense (38.7 percent). Virginia has allowed points on just 43.8 percent of its opponents possessions this season and ranks third nationally in that department.
Virginia leads the series with Virginia Tech 81-53, but the Hokies lead 28-16 in games played in Blacksburg. Eight of the last nine games in the series have been decided by seven points or less, including three overtime games.
Green and Hudson lead Virginia Tech in scoring. Green is averaging 15.5 points a game and also leads the team in assists with an average of 2.9 a game. Hudson is averaging 10.9 points a game.
Sophomore guard/forward Jarrell Eddie is averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds a game for Virginia Tech. Freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith is the Hokies’ leading rebounder with an average of 6.8 rebounds a game and he is averaging 6.0 points a game.
Seth Greenberg is in his ninth season as Virginia Tech’s head coach. His Virginia Tech teams have compiled an overall record of 169-118 and have participated in the NCAA Tournament once and the NIT five times. Now in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach, his teams have a combined record of 382-288 with three NCAA appearances and eight NIT appearances. Greenberg has also been the head coach at Long Beach and South Florida.
After the game at Virginia Tech the Cavaliers return home to play North Carolina on Saturday (Feb. 25) at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. and is sold out. It will be televised by ESPN.