, who swept the regular-season series with their state rivals and won for the sixth time in their last eight visits to Cassell Coliseum.Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Hokies (20-6, 9-5), who played their sixth game in a row without floor leader Justin Robinson (injured foot). Ahmed Hill added 16 points, but the Hokies made just 3 of 27 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.The game was tied at 32 after Hill's 3-pointer to open the scoring in the second half, but the Cavaliers gradually built their lead to 48-38 with about 11 minutes to play. The Hokies scored the next five points, rousing a sold-out crowd, but Virginia turned up its defense and held the Hokies scoreless for six possessions over the next 4 1/2 minutes and opened its largest lead at 56-43 with 5:51 to play.Hill broke the drought for Virginia Tech with a steal and dunk, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker followed a Virginia miss with a basket in traffic, but Jerome answered with a driving bank shot for the Cavaliers and their lead was 58-47 with 4 minutes to play. Three-pointers by Guy, his sixth of the game, and Braxton Key rebuilt the Virginia lead to 64-54 with under a minute left.BIG PICTUREVirginia: The Cavaliers appeared extremely loose in pregame warmups, but again were hurt by turnovers (eight) and sloppy play in the first half. They also played the last 12-plus minutes of the half without Hunter because of foul trouble and appeared out of sorts at times without their scorer most capable of making his own shot. They finished with 13 turnovers.Virginia Tech: The Hokies have struggled mightily at times without Robinson, but Blackshear has emerged as more of a go-to offensive performer in his absence. That can only help if and when Robinson returns from his left foot injury. The Hokies finished with just nine assists on 23 field goals.UP NEXTVirginia: The Cavaliers play at No. 18 Louisville on Saturday.Virginia Tech: The Hokies go on the road to play at Notre Dame on Saturday.---Follow Hank Kurz Jr. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 17, 2019Fourth-ranked Virginia and No. 22 Virginia Tech worked through some glitches to pick up victories Saturday against a couple of teams in the bottom cluster of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.Neither team figures to be able to get through Monday night's game successfully with significant shortcomings when the teams collide at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va."I think that we are never going to apologize for a win, no matter what it looks like," Virginia guard Kyle Guy said after a 60-54 triumph against visiting Notre Dame.Virginia Tech went on the road for a 70-64 victory at Pittsburgh.With those out of the way, the second showdown of the winter between the Cavaliers (22-2, 10-2 ACC) and Hokies (20-5, 9-4) is set.Both teams are contending near the top of the standings, with Virginia sharing second place and Virginia Tech in a fourth-place tie.Virginia won 81-59 at home against the Hokies on Jan. 15, a matchup that then involved two Top 10 teams.Since then, Virginia Tech has played some stingy defense, using what's often referred to as a matchup zone. That will require good ball movement in order for the Cavaliers to find openings.In the Notre Dame game, that became an emphasis because the Irish were using a zone set-up."When you don't shoot the ball particularly well, that challenges you when people are packing in a zone," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "You want to be aggressive and make the right play." Guy and De'Andre Hunter have both reached the 20-point mark in back-to-back games for Virginia. Hunter, a redshirt sophomore swingman, delivered his third career double-double as he also collected 10 rebounds in the Notre Dame game."I just wanted to be more aggressive," Hunter said. "I felt like I was floating a little bit and I just got in the right spots and my teammates gave me the ball." The Hokies have been receiving big boosts from redshirt junior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr., who poured in 29 points at Pittsburgh. He has scored in double figures in five games in a row, with 68.4-percent shooting in the past two games."We have to play through him," Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. "... He's our best passer. He's our best playmaker, and he has the highest basketball IQ on our team." The Hokies are 5-0 in ACC games when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.Virginia Tech has played five straight games without injured point guard Justin Robinson, going 3-2 in those outings. That has created more playing time for Jonathan Kabongo, who didn't play in the first meeting with Virginia."It says a lot about him and a lot about the encouragement of his teammates," Williams said. "I think it's hard as a player -- I was never a player -- but sit over there and never get to play and all of the sudden you're forced into this sort of role." This marks the second week in a row that Virginia follows a Saturday home game with a road game two nights later against a ranked team. A week ago, a loss to Duke was followed by a 69-61 victory at No. 8 North Carolina.Virginia is 6-2 against nationally ranked teams this season, with both losses come to Duke.Virginia is 92-56 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 21-30 mark in Blacksburg, The Cavaliers are 5-2 in their last seven visits.--Field Level Media
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