Virginia Tech Basketball: Hokies return home to host Clemson

After two disappointing ACC results over the last 10 days, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team looks to use the home-court advantage that the women had on Sunday against North Carolina State when they return to Cassell Coliseum Wednesday night.

Mike Young's team will welcome Clemson into Blacksburg looking to bounce back from a pair of road losses at Wake Forest and Florida State. Against the Demon Deacons, 23 points beat the Hokies, and against the Seminoles, they blew a second-half lead and allowed a 14-0 run to let FSU take control of the game. They rallied to tie the game on two Sean Pedulla free throws, but then Florida State made three free throws for a 77-74 win.

Virginia Tech vs. Clemson, How to Watch, Preview

The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and FuboTV beginning at 7 o’clock.

It’s Jan. 10, however, this feels like an early-season must-win game for the Hokies, if they want to have a chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament. They sit at 9-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play, but things are not going to be easy against a Tigers team coming in off of two losses last week to Miami and North Carolina. 

Clemson enters the game at 11-3 and the one common opponent the two teams have is South Carolina, a team that the Hokies lost on Nov. 10 in Charlotte and the Tigers beat them by five points a couple weeks later at home.

PJ Hall leads Clemson, averaging 19.5 points a game, and a battle between Hall and Lynn Kidd of Virginia Tech is a matchup to watch. Kidd struggled so badly against Florida State that he was not looking to score around the basket as he had in his previous games as the Seminoles' length bothered him. Sean Pedulla had his best game in a month and getting Hunter Cattoor some early shots to get into a rhythm is a must for Virginia Tech if they have a shot to win the game.