ACC Tournament Round 3: Hokies Edition

After demolishing the Hurricanes at the Cassell less than a week ago, they get another opportunity to do so. The Hokies were able to defeat the Seminoles 96-85 in a foul fest which was more of a free throw contest than basketball game in the second half. Virginia Tech continued their hot shooting as they made nearly 54% of their shot attempts Wednesday night/Thursday morning. For a team that probably won't get the opportunity to have a Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament, they're making every game count right now.

Everything you need to know about the Hurricanes you can find in these two links:

My preview for the initial game, which the Hokies lost 65-49.

My preview for last Saturday's game, which the Hokies won 77-62.

My recap if you want to read it as well.

There's not much more I can say about this game. Undoubtedly, the Hokies will face a much more motivated Miami squad this time around, so the game will likely be much closer. But the Hokies need to keep doing what they've been doing on this win streak to get to the semifinals. It's actually really simple: get buckets in the paint and force the other team to get their points from the perimeter.The Hokies and Seminoles both made 8 three-pointers in last night's game, but the Hokies only took 18 attempts behind the arc as opposed to FSU's 29. If they can do that against Miami, they should be in good shape, but they have to fix their issues on the offensive glass. They allowed 17 offensive boards to an average rebounding FSU team, and Tonye Jekiri will pose even more of a problem. The Hokies have played plenty of "small ball" during this run, so they're usually undersized. I don't think Buzz will do anything tactically, but the Hokies will need to put emphasis on boxing out. Other than that...

Get points in transition while limit the oppositions' opportunities on the break. Make free throws. Keep fighting on the glass. And hope Bibbs keeps lighting it up from three.

Prediction: Predicting losses here has been good for the Hokies, so I'll pick them to lose again. To be frank, I have no idea what's gonna happen tonight, so it'll be a fun one.

Hokies go on to the NIT (hopefully) after dropping this one against the Hurricanes, 74-69.

Here's what the bracket looks like right now. If you're in NOVA or DC, GO TO THE GAME!! It was great hearing those "Let's Go Hokies" chants from the TV broadcast, and the team sure appreciated it as well.