It took a little while to get going, but once the Virginia Tech men's basketball team got going against Charleston Southern in their season opener on Monday night, they coasted in the second half to a 98-67 win over the Buccaneers.
Freshman Neoklis Avdalas had an impressive opener for the Hokies with eight points and nine assists in his college debut, with some beautiful passes. His scoring will come around as the season goes along. Veteran coach Mike Young also had two players record double-doubles in forwards Tobi Lawal and West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry. Lawal had 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Hansberry had 19 points and 13 boards. They are going to be a tough combination this year for the Hokies if they can play like that.
Things will get tougher on Saturday afternoon when Virginia Tech takes part in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off against Providence in Uncasville, Connecticut, at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Virginia Tech men's basketball looks for second of season in New England
The Hokies will play a Friars team that beat Holy Cross, 89-79, in their opener. Providence has some talented young players, led by 6-foot-4 combo guard Corey Floyd, Jr. Kim English is in his third season in charge of the Friars, who are looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament in March.
As far as Virginia Tech goes, a huge key to victory will be taking care of the basketball. In their win over Charleston Southern, they had just seven turnovers to go along with 19 assists. That's an assist-to-turnover ratio that will make Young very happy. However, a set-up in competition will test those stats on Saturday afternoon.
Antonio Dorn, who missed the Virginia Tech opener, is eligible to play against the Friars, but it will be hard for Young not to go to freshman Christian Gurdak, who impressed in his college debut on Monday night. New Hokies, Jailen Bedford and Izaiah Pasha, will be a big part of the rotation this year; both are coming off good openers.