Virginia Tech has a tricky route to get where it wants to be by the middle of March.
That quest will kick into gear Wednesday night with a road game against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Virginia Tech (16-11, 8-8) has made a strong push toward trying to get into the NCAA Tournament conversation, but coach Mike Young isn’t making that part of his discussions with his players.
“Never talked about it,” Young said. “They’re aware. It has always been the next day, the next game.”
The Hokies have won six of their last seven games, though they stumbled at home Saturday in a loss to North Carolina. That concluded a four-game homestand, and the scoring output matched Virginia Tech’s second-lowest total of the season.
“We still have a clear path to that great tournament,” Young said. “Have we made it more difficult? Yeah, we have. Let’s go to Georgia Tech on Wednesday and play a good ballgame.”
So the Hokies’ route includes three road assignments in the last four games of the regular season. After the game at Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech will play at Miami on Saturday, then home against Louisville on Tuesday, and finally at Clemson on March 5 preceding the ACC Tournament.
“Virginia Tech is going to come to play,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said.
Georgia Tech (11-16, 4-12) will be in its third game in five days. The Yellow Jackets began by winning at Pitt, and then there was an unexpected long bus ride to Syracuse because of a problem with an aircraft. The Jackets lost 74-73 in overtime to Syracuse on Monday night.
“We had some great looks at the end,” Pastner said. “It’s just not our year. The ball is not bouncing our way. … Hopefully, it means we get hot over this next stretch.”
With the heavy schedule, the Yellow Jackets might need to rely on depth. Over the past five games, their reserves have outscored opposing bench players 112-41.
Georgia Tech’s Rodney Howard supplied 19 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Jordan Usher had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
“Rodney has continued to just get better,” Pastner said.
Virginia Tech topped the Yellow Jackets 81-66 on Feb. 2 in Blacksburg, Va., when Keve Aluma led the way with 24 points.
–Field Level Media
