Collegiate Times

Tech guard Malcolm Delaney drives down the court against Virginia.

Delaney says that while he has been struggling, he doesn’t care how Tech gets the wins — just as long as it gets them.

“I don’t care. As long as we win,” Delaney said. “We don’t care how we win. We don’t have seven McDonald’s All-Americans. That’s what we’ve been (ugly) since we’ve been in the ACC. Teams don’t like playing us. We’re real scrappy. We get lost balls, dive on the floor. That’s what makes us.”

Luckily for Tech fans (and Delaney’s scoring average), he’s had consistent success getting to the foul stripe and converting on his free throws. Delaney averages just over eight free-throw attempts per game and shoots a stellar 84.9 percent from the line.

As a whole, the Hokies have out-shot their opponents at the line in the past six games, including crucial shots made against North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia in the final minutes of those victories.

If Tech comes away with a victory tonight, expect an advantage at the line.

On the defensive side, the Hokies simply need to do what they have been doing.

The Hokies are ranked second in the ACC in scoring defense and won’t hold anything back in aggressiveness tonight. Containing Wake forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who averages 16.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and stands at six feet nine inches tall, will undoubtedly be priority No. 1.

Deacons’ guard Ishmael Smith will also be a threat, averaging 13 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game himself.

But as long as the Hokies can stick to the junkyard dog-like mentality they have possessed in recent games, they might just be all right.

“The league’s good,” Greenberg said. “It’s just, next game. We can’t worry about all the other static. We’ve just got to get the next game.”

If you weren’t lucky enough to land a ticket, ESPN2 will be nationally televising the game.

A win tonight gives the Hokies an opportunity to battle Duke for the league’s top position when they head to Durham on Sunday.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 16 issue of the Collegiate Times.