Two of the hottest teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference have lifted themselves from mediocrity and into the NCAA Tournament discussion.
The Virginia Cavaliers (16-9, 10-5 ACC) ride a four-game winning streak into Monday night’s game in Blacksburg against the host Virginia Tech Hokies (15-10, 7-7), winners of five straight games.
Virginia Tech’s run has been fueled by an offense in high gear. During the surge, the Hokies have shot 52.1 percent from the field, including 48.8 percent (61 of 125) from beyond the arc.
Ball movement has helped Tech get quality shots. In Saturday’s 71-59 win over Syracuse, the Hokies had 20 assists on 23 made baskets with just four turnovers.
Against the Orange zone, Justyn Mutts showed his passing skills from the high post as he notched just the second triple-double in program history, tallying 12 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
Tech’s turnaround came after three straight losses. The last was a stunner, coming on a buzzer-beating shot from half-court by Miami on Jan. 26 that dropped the Hokies to 10-10.
“We backed ourselves into a bit of a hole,” coach Mike Young said. “Every night is huge for our team. I feel it. Our team feels it. There’s got to be an edginess about any team. I have sensed quite some time now a readiness, an edginess about our play.”
Rival Virginia’s run has included victories over Miami and Duke. Reece Beekman had 10 assists against the Hurricanes. Two days later, he dropped the decisive 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to stun the Blue Devils.
Saturday’s 63-53 win over Georgia Tech was less dramatic as Jayden Gardner scored 26 points and Kihei Clark added seven of his 15 points in the final 2:32.
“We’re touching on some good basketball and of course it feels good to string together a couple wins,” Clark said. “But I think in practice and leading up to this game we kind of lost sight of what got us here.”
Virginia leads the series with Tech, 96-57, and has won five of the last six meetings, including a 54-52 on Jan. 12 when the Cavs scored the final six points.
–Field Level Media
