Tale of the Tape: #3 Virginia vs. #20 Virginia Tech

For the second week in a row, Tony Bennett and the 3rd-ranked Virginia men’s basketball team will face a quick Saturday-Monday turnaround when the Cavaliers look for a season sweep of No. 20 Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

UVA (22-2, 10-2 ACC) blew out the Hokies (20-5, 9-4), 81-59, in the latest Commonwealth Clash matchup back on Jan. 15 at John Paul Jones Arena. De’Andre Hunter went for 21, Kyle Guy dropped 15, and Ty Jerome posted a 14-point, 12-assist double-double on a night when the Cavaliers shot 13 for 24 from deep, including 10 of 14 by halftime.

“I feel like when [the Hokies] came here, we shot the ball really well and it was kind of hard for them to keep up,” Hunter said. “I don’t know if we’re gonna hit shots like that again once we go there, but hopefully we do.”

The Wahoos moved up to 3rd in both polls after top-ranked Tennessee was pounded by Kentucky Saturday night. UVA is now second overall according to KenPom (3rd AdjD, 5th AdjO) and third in the latest NET rankings (through Friday’s games). Virginia Tech is listed at 12th by KenPom (9th AdjO, 32nd AdjD) and 13th in the NET.

Virginia has won 11 of the last 14 overall against Tech and six of the last eight at Cassell Coliseum, including a 78-52 win last season, which was the largest scoring margin ever for a Cavalier team in Blacksburg.

The Hokies have played their last five games without senior point guard Justin Robinson, who injured his left ankle Jan. 30 at Miami. It is unlikely that Robinson will be able to play tonight.

Hoops Tale of the Tape Virginia at Virginia Tech

Sophomore Nickeil Alexander-Walker and 6-foot-10 redshirt junior Kerry Blackshear Jr. have helped carry Tech to a 3-2 record in Robinson’s absence, with wins over NC State, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh and a pair of 8-point losses to Louisville and Clemson.

VT coach Buzz Williams has gone with mostly a seven-man rotation over the five-game stretch, with an already thin roster. Alexander-Walker, Blackshear, Ahmed Hill and Ty Outlaw have all logged a ton of minutes, with 6-1 sophomore Wabissa Bede doing his best to fill in for Robinson in the starting five.

Blackshear is coming off of a 29-point, 9-rebound performance in Saturday’s 70-64 win at Pitt, as Alexander-Walker struggled with just 9 points on 2-of-5 shooting in 17 minutes.

The ‘Hoos didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but were able to hold off a pesky Notre Dame bunch Saturday by six. Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter combined for 42 of UVA’s 60 points in the win.

The Wahoo duo will obviously be on the Hokies’ defensive radar tonight and Ty Jerome still doesn’t quite look 100 percent after playing the past three games with a sore back, so it may very well be up to someone else to step up offensively and knock down a big bucket or two here and there.

Either way, Guy and the Cavaliers know that the Cassell will be rocking tonight as Tech continues to fight for a top-four finish.

“[The Hokies] play like a different team when they’re at home, and that’s something that all the other guys told us when we got on campus…,” said Guy. “We’re expecting a hostile environment and excited for it.”

Guy (206 career 3-pointers) needs six more makes from long range to pass London Perrantes (2014-17) for sixth all-time in UVA hoops history. He’s currently 17 triples away from moving past J.R. Reynolds (221) and Sean Singletary (222) into fourth.

On Saturday, the ‘Hoos will travel to Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center for the first of two meetings with the 18th-ranked Cardinals in two weeks. Saturday’s game will tip off at 12 Noon on Raycom.