Off Pitt Win, Hokies Host No. 13 Miami On Tuesday Night

Three weeks after clashing in the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Virginia Tech and Miami meet again. A sold-out Cassell Coliseum hosts the Hokies and No. 13 Hurricanes this time around, and both clubs could really benefit from a win. Rece Davis and Debbie Antonelli have the call at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Tech (16-11, 6-10 ACC) is 3-2 since losing by nine, 92-83, at then-No. 23 Miami. Meanwhile, the Canes (22-5, 13-4 ACC) have won their last six, a win streak that started against the Hokies. Miami currently sits in second in the league, half a game behind No. 6 Virginia (13-3 ACC). Tech is 11th, half a game behind Boston College (7-10). Here’s a snapshot of the ACC standings:

Mike Young and Jim Larrañaga, who go back to the 2000s to their experiences at Wofford and George Mason, were very complimentary of one another on Monday’s ACC coaches call. Larrañaga recalled a Terriers-Patriots meeting in 2010-11 in Charleston, which Young won in overtime. Young remembered playing Larrañaga’s Hurricanes in 2016-17 in the Miami Heat arena. On Tuesday, the two offensive masterminds go head-to-head again.

Young is 3-4 against Larrañaga since taking over in Blacksburg, but all seven meetings were decided by 10 points or fewer:

Jan. 28, 2020 (away): L, 71-61
Feb. 19, 2020 (home): L, 102-95 (3OT)
Dec. 29, 2020 (home): W, 80-78
Feb. 6, 2021 (away): W, 80-76 (OT)
Jan. 26, 2022 (home): L, 78-75
Feb. 26, 2022 (away): W, 71-70
Jan. 31, 2023 (away): L, 92-83

Miami won last year’s game in the New River Valley on Charlie Miller’s halfcourt buzzer-beater. Interestingly enough, the most recent contest was the largest margin of victory for either side since the first meeting between Young and Larrañaga. 

The Hurricanes are still superb on the offensive end and rank sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency. Last year, the group made a deep run in the NCAA tournament and finished 19th in the statistic. And it was about the same on the defensive end: 122nd in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2023, 107th in 2022.

It’s the best offense in the ACC, though, and it isn’t quite close. At No. 27, Wake Forest is the second-best. In the first meeting, Miami shot 58% from the floor and made eight of its 19 3-pointers. Five of those were from Nijel Pack, who made all five in the second half (and was 5-of-6). 

The Canes have so many options. Most fans know Isaiah Wong, an All-ACC performer for multiple seasons, but Jordan Miller, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar round out the starting five. Four of those five scored in double figures in the first meeting. Omier led Miami with 21, Wong had 18, Pack posted 17 and Miller added 14. 

Tech was sloppy in Miami, too, turning it over 14 times. Larrañaga’s team turned that into 24 points. But the Hokies’ defense wasn’t very good when it needed to be. Omier had his way and Pack had a five-minute burst that turned the game on its head down the stretch. And Young’s crew wasn’t consistent in its playmaking.

Tuesday is another big test. It’s not a Quadrant 1 game – Miami is No. 31 and needs to be top 30 – but it’s a must-win if Virginia Tech wants any opportunity of making the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies will score the ball – they’ve been great in that area all year, especially as of late thanks to Grant Basile – but can they get stops when needed? Against Pitt, that won them the game. It will be the deciding factor against the Hurricanes.