Cal and Virginia Tech have fought into the route, but one of them will claim at least one second match in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
The team meets in the first round Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte, NC
No. 10 Seed Virginia Tech (13-18) has dropped two in a row and three of its last four, including Saturday’s 65-47 setback at then no. 11 Clemson. Tuesday’s winner meets No. 7 Frö Stanford on Wednesday evening.
“Let’s play well,” said Virginia Tech coach Mike Young. “Won at Cal earlier in the year.”
No. 15 Seed Cal (13-18) has lost seven of its last eight matches. Golden Bears nabbed the last quay in the ACC tournament during his first season in the conference.
Golden Bears was at the wrong end of the historic 112-110 four-overtime matchup with Notre Dame on Saturday. Jeremiah Wilkinson’s 36 points led Cal in that matchup, and he was one of three players on the team to log at least 50 minutes playing time.
Wilkinson will have another chance to show what he can do in the tournament. The beginner has an average of 20.4 points since he joined the starting lineup 13 matches ago.
“He’s an incredible point guard,” said Cal coach Mark Madsen. “He is an explosive goal scorer, but also does a really good job of looking for his teammates. He is growing into one of the best point guards in the country.”
Sales problems have haunted hokies and they end up to fix them.
“It’s been a tender place for my team all year,” Young said. “We don’t handle the ball worth a damn.”
Virginia Tech won the regular seasonal meeting 71-68 on January 11 at Cal despite guard Andrej Stojakovic’s 24 points. He has not received so many points in a game since.
Guard Jaydon Young had a team high 14 points for Hokies in the victory, which contained a 42-23 half-time leadership.
Tobi Lawal leads Virginia Tech in points (12.2 points per match) and rebounding (6.8 per match). Lawal (lower bodily injury) missed last week’s home final against North Carolina, but returned to score five points in 24 minutes in the Clemson game.
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