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Thursday night in the final game of day three at the ACC Tournament, Virginia Tech returns to the court following their second extended break in the season due to COVID-19. Everyone will be well aware of how flat the Hokies were in their first return as they were routed by Georgia Tech. Hopefully, ACC Coach of the Year Mike Young has learned from that experience and has VT ready to go from the tip-off.
The last time the Hokies made it to the ACC Tournament semi-finals was a decade ago. In 2011, Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech in the opening round, before a final shot winner over Florida State in the quarterfinals. Tech fell to eventual champions Duke the next day.
Tech will take on 6-seed UNC after they crushed 11-seed Notre Dame in Wednesday’s results. VT’s only meeting with UNC this season was canceled, but the Tar Heels are coming off big wins over Duke and the Fighting Irish. Here’s what you need to know ahead of Thursday’s late game.
The ACC Tournament awaits for us and we'll be ready #StoneByStone | #Hokies
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 9, 2021
Thursday, March 11th, 2021
Match-up: Virginia Tech (15-5 | 9-4) vs. North Carolina (16-9 | 10-6)
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, NC)
Time: 9:00 pm ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: TuneIn Radio
Live stats: HokieSports
ESPN Favorite: 60.1% odds for UNC.
All-time series: 15-69 in favor of the Tar Heels.
We got five!
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 9, 2021
Five of our players make the ACC All-Academic Team #StoneByStone | #Hokies pic.twitter.com/Troh44kI2W
Stat Leaders
Scoring: Aluma (VT - 15.9) vs. Bacot (North Carolina - 11.7)
Rebounds: Aluma (VT - 8.0) vs. Sharpe (North Carolina - 7.8)
Assists: Bede (VT - 3.1) vs. Love (North Carolina - 3.8)
At the moment Virginia Tech appears to be safe to make the NCAA Tournament, likely between an eight and ten seed. A win on Thursday should lock their spot in, but a bad performance might push the Hokies farther down the line and into a tougher round one match-up.
Notre Dame needed to win the ACC Tournament for any chance of making it into the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina entered the conference tournament a bit behind the Hokies in the seeding, in the 9 to 11 seed range. Wednesday’s win likely has them as a lock for the NCAA Tournament now, but after that result, they probably are thinking an ACC Title is still within reach during this up-and-down season.
Prediction
North Carolina - 85
Virginia Tech - 78