Fresh off a heartbreaking loss at Clemson, the Virginia men's basketball team hits the road again today, traveling to Blacksburg to face in-state rival Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers (10-5) have lost two in a row and desperately need a win against the Hokies as they creep closer to the post-season.
Although Virginia has the better team on paper, Virginia Tech (7-8) is playing some of its best basketball of the season, beating Providence this past Saturday and leading then-No. Connecticut at halftime last week. While the Cavaliers have won the last six installments of this heated rivalry, this year's game presents a compelling matchup of two teams moving in opposite directions.
Last year, Tech sprinted to a 43-27 halftime lead in University Hall before falling to a furious Virginia comeback, 69-61. Though the Cavaliers pulled off the win, team members have not forgotten the intensity Tech brought to the game.
"I was on the bench for the game last year and I'm not going to look past them because I saw how hard they played," Virginia guard Todd Billet said. "It's a big rivalry and they came out trying to beat us by about 40, so the effort has to be there, especially on the boards."
To win, Virginia must first improve its interior defense. Against Clemson, the Cavaliers gave up 46 points in the paint and allowed the offensive rebound that led to Tiger forward Olu Babalola's game-winning free throws. While no one can question the talent of Virginia's post players, lately they've lacked the intensity needed for successful defenders.
"We made a lot of big plays, but we couldn't dig down and get the defensive stop that we needed at the end," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We weren't as hungry as we needed to be."
Virginia Tech boasts Terry Taylor as its best post player. A senior from Chesapeake, Taylor averages 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Against Connecticut, he scored 16 points, including 14 in the first half. He currently weighs 292 pounds and should be quite a load for Virginia's big men to handle.
Tech's two leading scorers do their damage from the outside. Junior guard Bryant Matthews leads the Hokies in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting over 36 percent from three-point range. In Saturday's win over Providence, Matthews went 4 of 7 from beyond the arc en route to a 26-point outburst.
Matthews' backcourt mate, Carlos Dixon, also has proved capable of lighting it up from the outside. Dixon averages 14.7 points per game and shoots over 40 percent from downtown.
Though Virginia Tech isn't known for basketball, Tuesday's contest should prove a stiff road test for a struggling Cavalier team. Virginia is 1-4 on the road this season, a statistic that will not bode well come NCAA tournament selection time. During the Pete Gillen era, the Cavaliers consistently have struggled away from the cozy confines of U-Hall. If they wish to be dancing in March, they need to reverse that trend starting Tuesday.
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