Virginia Tech Women's Basketball hosts NC State in an early-season ACC showdown

The first two games in ACC play for the No. 13 Virginia Tech women's basketball team were considered a warm-up for the first huge conference battle of the season, Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies beat Pittsburgh (91-41) and Wake Forest (82-73) in their first two games, but now they get their first big test in ACC play when they host third-ranked North Carolina State.

Virginia Tech vs. NC State, How to watch, preview and prediction

This game will be broadcast of the ACC Network at noon and will be available on FuboTV.

This is the second Top 10 team that Virginia Tech will have played this season after losing to Iowa and LSU in November. The loss to Iowa was at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, while the LSU loss was in Baton Rogue as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge on Nov. 30.

This will be the first ranked opponent to come to Blacksburg this season where the Hokies are 7-0. Wake Forest gave Virginia Tech a tougher battle than people thought they would on Thursday night in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but the Hokies' top players, Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoor took over the game in the fourth quarter and allowed to pull away from the pesky Demon Deacons.

NC State survived an overtime battle at home against No. 22 Florida State, 88-80, Thursday night to remain undefeated this season. The Wolfpack have wins over Connecticut and Colorado this season as ranked teams as well as the Seminoles. This will be the toughest challenge Kenny Brooks and his team faces this season at home.

This game will come down to which team can handle the pressure as NC State has shown that they beat the two teams on their schedule to date, while the Hokies have lost both of theirs. The win over Wake Forest was the final Quad 3 game that Virginia Tech will play this season as the remaining ACC games are either going to be Quad 1 or 2 games.

As far as the game against the Wolfpacks goes, the Hokies' two star players, Kitley and Amore, will be vital to staying out of foul trouble and being on the floor as much as they can. Matilda Ehk and Cayla King and their 3-point shooting will be key, as will Carys Baker off the bench. Looking to get their first win over a ranked opponent in 2023-24, expect the Hokies to squeak out a close game at home.