What a difference a couple weeks makes! Both teams were dead in the water and now seem to be in just about the exact same position with respect to tournament prospects. Virginia has the better wins, Tech has fewer bad losses.

I disagree with some of the narrative going around that this is effectively an elimination game for either team. For Virginia, the magic number is likely 21 (3-2 reg season + 2 in ACCT or 4-1 +1). For VT, a similar finish seems to be necessary.

A few things I'll be paying attention to:
-Cassell is going to be on fire. Can VT ride that energy to an early lead? Playing from behind is especially tough for Virginia this year given slow pace (as always) and three point shooting deficiencies.
-Can Storm and Pedulla continue their improved play of late against perimeter defenders the quality of Beekman, Clark, and Franklin?
-Virginia doesn't need huge performances from their big man duo of Shedrick and Caffaro, but they can't afford some of the clunkers they've produced earlier in the season. Their improved play has been the number one reason for the four game winning streak for the Hoos.
-Which bench provides more production? More opportunities for Maddox and Pedulla, in particular, have clearly been valuable. Virginia played a walk on 14 minutes in Cameron, so the bench outside of Shedrick, is a non-factor. It's important for Virginia to stay out of foul trouble to have a chance at a W.

Should be a good one. Interested to see what the line will be. I'd think KenPom would have VT as a 6 point favorite, though Vegas will likely knock it down a couple points given recent play and perhaps VT having slightly inflated computer numbers. VT -4 would be my guess.