No. 6 UVa (17-3, 9-2 ACC) at Virginia Tech (13-9, 3-8)

Noon, ESPN2

As the calendar has now turned to February, the Cavaliers will be looking to keep their winning ways alive and sweep their third season series in ACC play. UVa travels to Blacksburg for a rematch with the Hokies this Saturday, putting a seven-game winning streak on the line and looking to stay at the top with 10-2 Clemson in the ACC standings.

The Wahoos won the first meeting between the in-state rivals, taking down Tech 78-68 at JPJ on January 18. Since then, the Hokies lost a tough one-point game at Clemson before sweeping a two-game home stand with impressive wins over Duke and Syracuse. They had a chance for another big statement win on Tuesday, but couldn’t keep up with Miami and lost 92-83 in a game that was close until the final couple minutes.

After this weekend’s game, UVa will have just three road trips remaining (at Louisville, BC and UNC) and five more home games to play. A road win in Cassell Coliseum, something the Hoos haven’t been able to get since their 56-53 win in 2020 on a late Kihei Clark 3-pointer, would put the Cavaliers in great position for the stretch run, with some pivotal games coming up next week against NC State and Duke, both at home.

In the first meeting, UVa rode a hot start to take out its in-state rivals. The Hoos took it to Hokies from the tip-off, grabbing an 11-2 lead in a hurry. Tech would battle back, going on an 11-0 run and taking a 24-23 lead before UVa closed out the half strong, going into the locker room up by nine after an emphatic Reece Beekman slam right before the buzzer. The Hokies kept it close for a while in the second half, but eventually UVa pulled away, leading by as many as 14 in a 10-point win.

Despite a 3-8 ACC record, Tech has the metrics profile that looks more like an ACC contender than a team five games under .500. The Hokies are 53rd in KenPom, 15 spots ahead of first-place Clemson. Tech is 37th nationally in offensive efficiency, ranking 33rd in D1 in effective field goal percentage. The Hokies are good inside the arc, making 54.6 percent of their twos. VT has several capable outside shooters and make 3s at a decent 35.4-percent clip. Tech also does a great job taking care of the basketball, ranking 23rd nationally in turnovers allowed per possession.

On defense, Tech ranks 75th nationally in efficiency. The Hokies don’t force many turnovers, ranking 264th nationally, but they don’t let opponents get to the line much and force them into lower shooting percentages like 32.3 percent from beyond the arc. They are coming off of a rough defensive night at Miami, though, where they gave up 92 points. The Canes scored 29 in the final 10 minutes of the game and shot 66 percent on two-point field goals while also making eight 3s.

In the January meeting, Tech had a balanced scoring attack, with no player over 13 points, but five in double figures. Junior guard Darius Mattox led the way, scoring 13 points and knocking down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. His outside shooting success was emblematic of Tech’s success with the long ball in the game, making 12 of 27 attempts from range in the losing effort.

Hunter Cattoor knocked down three 3s in what was his first game back from injury, scoring 11 points in 34 minutes of action. Leading scorer Sean Pedulla was held to 10 points, 5.5 below his average, and it’s safe to say that Clark got the better of the matchup between the two. Senior wing Justyn Mutts chipped in 10 points, while transfer wing Grant Basilie had 12 points despite going just 4-for-11 from the floor. Outside of those five, Tech got just 12 points from the remainder of its roster, with freshman guard M.J. Collins adding eight of them.

For UVa, Clark was the game’s MVP, scoring 20 points and dishing out five assists with just one turnover. The diminutive guard had some success touching the paint and scoring around the rim, making 5-of-9 two-point field goals. The rematch between Clark and Pedulla will be a fun watch on Saturday, as Pedulla will certainly look to prove a point after Clark took it to him at JPJ. Armaan Franklin hit a couple 3s and scored 15 points in the win, while Jayden Gardner (12 points), Beekman (11) and Ben Vander Plas (10) all got to double figures.

Despite UVa’s recent form and the strong showing in the first meeting between the two, expect a tight one in Blacksburg that could come down to the final few possessions.

Like UVa, Tech has a good home-court advantage and plays much better there, as the Hokies have had some success against the Hoos in their home building. And while UVa is playing for higher aspirations right now, Tech is the more desperate team as it looks to do whatever it can to sneak towards the NCAA Tournament bubble and perhaps put itself in a position to make another ACC Tournament run.

Still, we’re going with the Cavaliers to get this one done. This one has all the makings of a toss-up (KenPom gives UVa a 53 percent chance to win), but UVa has done a great job closing out games of late and playing mature basketball.

If the Hoos can get enough shots to fall, like they did in the first meeting, and don’t let the Tech get their crowd into the game by going on a big run, this is game they can snag away from home.