Virginia Tech at Virginia Odds, Prediction & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Tuesday,January 31, 2017 9:39, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Due to some odd scheduling, we will know the best ACC basketball team in the state of Virginia very soon as Virginia Tech visits the No. 9 Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday night. The teams then play again on Feb. 12 in Blacksburg. UVA is a solid favorite in NCAAB odds for Wednesday.

Virginia Tech at Virginia Odds, Prediction & TV Info

When: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 8 PM ET
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville
TV: ACC Extra
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Virginia Tech / Virginia
Opening NCAA Basketball Lines: Virginia favored by TBA

Why Bet On Virginia Tech?

The Hokies are off an 85-79 win over Boston College on Sunday. Seth Allen and Justin Bibbs each scored 18 points. The win marked the Hokies’ third in the past four games, and they moved to 16-5 overall, 5-4 in the ACC. Tech’s win also marked the 200th head coaching victory for Tech head coach Buzz Williams, who has amassed those 200 over stops at New Orleans, Marquette and Tech.

The Hokies never trailed vs. BC, hitting 10 of their first 11 shots from the floor, including five 3-pointers in building an 18-point, first-half lead. BC cut the lead to 66-65 on a 3-pointer by Ky Bowman with 9:17 left before the Hokies went on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead to 73-65 on a Justin Robinson basket with 5:20 remaining. They weren’t threatened again. Allen and Bibbs combined to hit 11 of 16 from the floor, including six 3-pointers, for the Hokies, who scored on seven of their final 10 possessions. Allen hit 5 of 7 from the floor, while Bibbs hit 6 of 9.

Bibbs is currently 10th all-time in three-point field goal percentage in the ACC, having reached the 150 made three-pointers plateau with his three made three-pointers in a recent win over Georgia Tech. He is currently tops at Virginia Tech, as the existing school mark is 40.9 percent, set by Brian Chase from 1999-2003. Allen is tied for the lead in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage in league games this year.

The Hokies are second in field goal percentage in ACC games and all games this season among ACC schools. Two Hokies, Allen (2nd) and Zach LeDay (4th) are in the top five in the league in field goal percentage and Chris Clarke would be, but he is slightly below the minimum to be ranked. Tech is shooting 48.3 percent from the field in ACC play and 48.8 percent in all games.

Why Bet On Virginia?

The Cavaliers (16-4) blew a double-digit lead and lost at No. 1 Villanova 61-59 on Sunday. The Cavaliers enjoyed their biggest lead at 45-32 on a 3-pointer by Devon Hall with 13:46 remaining. Virginia dropped to 1-29 when facing the nation’s No. 1 team, including 0-15 on the road. Villanova (20-2) led for a total of 87 seconds before freshman Donte DiVincenzo scored on a tip-in as time expired. “I wish it had come two seconds later,” UVa coach Tony Bennett said.

The game may have been won at the free-throw line, where Villanova was 20 of 24. UVa, which did not have a free-throw attempt in the second half, was 3 for 3. The Cavaliers shot 50 percent from the field, compared to the Wildcats’ 42.3. UVA had a 30-20 advantage on points in the paint Villanova’s 10 fast break points tied for most against UVA this season (at Clemson).

“Guys might be down right now, but we’re fine,” junior forward Isaiah Wilkins said. “We’ll go back out, we’ll get ready for Virginia Tech on Wednesday, and we’ll keep pushing.”

The last-second loss to the reigning NCAA champion Wildcats ended a 10-game stretch in which Virginia played on the road seven times. Ten regular-season games remain for UVA — all against ACC foes — and six of them will be at John Paul Jones Arena, starting Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers are 2-3 vs. ranked opponents in 2016-17, defeating then-No. 6 Louisville and No. 14 Notre Dame and losing to then-No. 25 West Virginia and then-No. 20 Florida State.

UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (53.3 ppg), second in turnovers per game (9.7), fifth in assist-to- turnover ratio (1.56), ninth in scoring margin (+16.4), 12th in field goal percentage defense (38.5%),13th in 3-point field goal percentage (40.4%), 14th in field goal percentage (49.6%), 16th in turnover margin (+3.9) and 20th in fouls per game (15.9).

London Perrantes leads UVA in scoring at 12.3 points per game, marking the lowest scoring average to lead any UVA team in a single season (Malcolm Brogdon 12.7 ppg in 2013-14).