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.
Hudson was a game-time decision Wednesday against NC State and had his leg in a boot for the three days before the game. He still managed to tally 21 points and four assists against the Wolfpack.
“It just shows the toughness of our team. He didn’t practice or shoot around this morning. He begged to play,” Delaney said about Hudson after Wednesday’s game.
A similar effort against the Yellow Jackets would be a real boost for the Hokies.
Meanwhile, Greenberg has made various attempts throughout the season to deal with Allen’s foul issues but may have found something that works.
“Once he picks one up I just sit him for two or three minutes, let him get a deep breath, and then I put him back in,” Greenberg explained.
This prevents teams from going right back at Allen, trying to get a second foul on him and send him to the bench for the rest of the half.
Allen’s presence will be especially crucial against Georgia Tech’s talented post players.
The Hokies will have to pay special attention to junior forward Gani Lawal, who is averaging 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and freshman forward Derrick Favors, who is averaging 11.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
As a whole, Georgia Tech has a balanced scoring attack with six players averaging between five and 10 points per game. The Yellow Jackets are fifth best in the ACC, scoring 74.5 points per game.
“When we take care of the ball like we’ve done the past couple of weeks, we’re pretty efficient offensively,” Hewitt said.
The Hokies must play tough defense and pressure the ball to prevent the Yellow Jackets from finding a rhythm.
“We’re going to have to figure out how we’re going to defend them in the full-court and the half-court and try to be as fresh as possible,” Greenberg said.
“We’re going to go to Georgia Tech and play hard. We know it’s their senior day but we like playing on the road and that’s a game we can win,” Delaney added.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on Raycom Sports and ESPN360.