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Virginia Tech returns home off the back of an impressive Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament set to face one of the program’s longest and more frequent opponents. The Hokies entered the season with a much different lineup than the year before and gone was leading scorer Landers Nolley. Now a week later Tech is ranked 16th in the nation, has the ACC Player of the Week in junior transfer Keve Aluma, and are a much more balanced and experienced squad.
Thursday’s opponent VMI is off to a 2-1 start which included a 21-point loss to Penn State, the Hokies next game. It will be the 138th meeting between the two schools, with Tech winning the last eight in a row, including a 9-point victory last season in Blacksburg. With VT heavily favored going into Thursday it will be interesting to note how the team responds to being ranked and returning to business back at home, how Coach Young continues to spread the minutes among a talented roster, and if we see the return of sophomore Jalen Cone.
Our guy can get it done against the best #StoneByStone | #Hokies pic.twitter.com/jmLkj1EULJ
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 1, 2020
Thursday, December 4, 2020
Matchup: Virginia Tech (3-0 | 0-0) vs. VMI (2-1 | 0-0)
Venue: Cassell Coliseum (Blacksburg, VA)
Time: 8 pm ET
TV: ACC Network / Virginia Tech Sports Network
Radio: TuneIn Radio
Live stats: HokieSports
ESPN Favorite: 95.4% for the Hokies
All-time series: 93-43 in favor of Virginia Tech
After averaging 18 points and five rebounds a game and leading us to a 3-0 start, our guy @AlumaKeve earns the first @accmbb player of the week #StoneByStone | #Hokies
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 30, 2020
Stat Leaders
Scoring: Aluma (VT - 18.0) & Parham (VMI - 18.7)
Rebounds: Mutts (VT - 6.3) & Lewis (VMI - 7.3)
Assists: Radford (VT - 3.3) & Parham (VMI - 3.7)
Tech is back home in Blacksburg for a long stretch now, with their next six games in Cassell Coliseum. If that run goes perfectly, the Hokies would be 9-0, ranked several spots higher, and will have gotten their ACC schedule off to a solid start with wins over Clemson and Miami. That would set up a very interesting January 2nd contest at UVA. But that’s a long way down the road, both from a basketball perspective and avoiding game cancellations. Instead let’s focus on VMI and enjoy the reason as it unfolds.