NIT at Blacksburg

A quick note on the NIT. The Rebs wil head to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech tomorrow night. The game will be televised on ESPN and broadcasted by our own Ron Franklin. This is going to be a tough matchup for the Rebels. VA Tech is a tough team that has had a good record recently and give alot of effort. The Rebs have had little time to prepare and have spent alot of time traveling. I don't look for the Rebs to win this one.

(UMAA Game Notes)
SCOUTING THE HOKIES Virginia Tech advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT with wins over Morgan State and UAB in the first two rounds. The Hokies boast an overall record of 21-13 under the direction of ACC Coach of the Year Seth Greenberg and earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT following a strong finish to the regular season which saw them win four of their last five contests. Virginia Tech won its first-round ACC Tournament game over Miami before losing 68-66 to North Carolina in the second round. VT is 14-2 at home this season, with its lone losses to Duke and Miami. Junior forward and Puerto Rico native A.D. Vassallo tops the team with 16.9 points per game and has drained a team-high 81 3-pointers. Senior forward Deron Washington adds 12.8 ppg and 6.6 rebounds per contest, while freshman forward Jeff Allen chips in 11.9 ppg and a team-high 7.7 boards per game. The Hokies get over 35 percent of their scoring from freshmen. The team averages 70.1 ppg and allows 64.2 ppg.

OLE MISS-VIRGINIA TECH SERIES Wednesday’s NIT matchup is the third meeting between the two schools all-time. They have split the first two encounters, with Ole Miss prevailing 70-66 in a holiday tournament in New Orleans in December 1980 and Virginia Tech earning a 61-59 victory in the 1982 NIT in Oxford, Ole Miss’ only home NIT loss ever.