Collegiate Times

Jeff Allen throws down a dunk during Tech's win Wednesday.

The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team will look on Saturday for its first 10-win season in Atlantic Coast Conference play since 2007 when it takes on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, Ga.

After picking up a 71-59 win on senior night over NC State on Wednesday, the Hokies will look to spoil the Yellow Jackets’ senior night on their home court.

If the Hokies (22-7, 9-6) want to virtually lock up an NCAA tournament bid regardless of their performance in the ACC tournament, which begins Thursday, they will need to win on Saturday.

“We don’t want to live on the bubble like the last two years ... We just want to control our own destiny,” said Tech junior guard Malcolm Delaney.

In addition to NCAA implications, a Hokies victory secures a first round bye in the ACC tournament.

A bye would be extremely beneficial to Tech for two reasons. For one, the Hokies won’t have the opportunity to damage their resumes by slipping up against a much lesser team, such as Miami, in the first round.

Secondly, with Delaney seemingly getting knocked around every game along with guard Dorenzo Hudson’s recent ankle injury, it will give a banged-up Hokies squad a day to relax.

“With some guys being beat up on our team, we might need the extra day of rest,” Delaney said.

The Yellow Jackets (19-10, 7-8), who have been ranked as high as No. 17 earlier this season, have shown signs of fatigue in recent games. The Jackets have lost four of their last six conference games but could seal an NCAA tournament berth with a victory against the Hokies.

Georgia Tech has had a huge turnaround from last season in which it compiled a 12-19 record and earned only two regular season conference victories.

Their dramatic rise has been fueled by a recruiting class ranked seventh nationally by ESPNU that arrived on campus this past fall.

However, it seems that the Yellow Jackets’ youth is catching up to them as the grind of the ACC schedule has continued.

As Georgia Tech’s head coach Paul Hewitt pointed out, Maryland and Duke, the teams atop the conference, are the most experienced.

This will be no easy game for the Hokies as the Yellow Jackets are 14-1 this season at their home court, Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

“We could play really well and lose or we could play really well and win,” said Hokies head coach Seth Greenberg.

The two biggest factors for the Hokies will be Hudson’s health and forward Jeff Allen’s foul situation.

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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 5 issue of the Collegiate Times.