No. 20 Virginia Tech Hokies defeat No. 8 Virginia Cavaliers

In a battle of cross-state rivals, Wofford Transfer Keve Aluma’s career night helped lead No. 20 Virginia Tech to a 65-51 home win over ACC opponent No. 8 Virginia on January 30. 

Keve Aluma’s well-rounded 29 point, 10 rebound, and 4 assist effort helped propel Virginia Tech (13-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a strong 19-0 run in the second half which resulted in a win over the conference leading Virginia Cavaliers (11-3, 7-1). The win helped the Hokies improve to 4-1 in their last 5 games, overtaking second place in a competitive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). 

Although Virginia Tech Coach Mike Young described his team’s effort as a “great win for us” — he largely downplayed the performance saying, “Let’s hit the break. It’s late January. They’re not putting a crown on anybody’s head in January. We’ve got a lot more to look forward to.” 

For the chronic box-score observers out there, upper-classmen Jay Huff and Sam Hauser were the headliners for the Virginia Cavaliers, combining for almost half of the teams scoring output on a combined 23 points (5/10 3PA), and 9 rebounds on an efficient 53% from the floor. The Cavaliers loss brings their record in the last 10 games to a more than respectable 80% winning percentage (8-2). 

The headline for this game is that Virginia Tech took advantage of an inefficient shooting night by the Cavaliers going on a 19-0 run in the second half. When taking a closer look into the box-score it’s clear that the cavaliers didn’t do themselves any favors statistically. The Cavaliers were uncharacteristically outrebounded (30-24), only took four free-throw attempts (3-4) to that of Virginia Tech’s 14 (12-14) and accrued nearly double-digit turnovers (9) in the loss. The story here is that it is extremely difficult to win games in one of college basketball’s premiere conferences (ACC) when you don’t generate free throw opportunities on a night where shots are not falling. The result of not getting to the free throw line on an off-shooting night is that it lessens your margin of error on the defensive side of the ball. The Hokies took advantage of this, making half their shots (22/44) against Virginia’s elite team-defense. 

The Cavalier’s loss was an uncharacteristic one, however, the Cavaliers will put this late-January loss behind them. With hopes to improve each and every time they touch the floor, Tony Bennett and his team will likely use this performance as a learning lesson. Going forward this Cavalier team has aspirations to play in March but will direct their focus to respecting their opponent one game at a time as they continue to hold the top spot in the Atlantic Coast conference. 

Virginia travels to N.C. State in Raleigh, North Carolina on Wednesday.

As for Virginia Tech: The Hokies put pressure on the Virginia Cavalier big men, shot a high volume of free throws, and shot 61% in the second half. They improved to 8-2 in their last 10 games and sit just behind their in-state rival Virginia Cavaliers at second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hokies hope that their impressive play thus far can parlay them into a top-6 seed come march. 

Virginia Tech travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.