When the Virginia Tech men's basketball team hosted Virginia on New Year's Eve afternoon to open ACC play, it was a game that a lot of people circled on their calendars. As it turned out, both teams had injuries at the time and were missing some key players.
That didn't stop the two teams from putting on a game for the ages in what was a triple overtime win for the Hokies. Since that game, the two teams have headed in opposite directions. Virginia Tech is 8-9 in the ACC and 19-11 overall, while the Cavaliers are 14-3 in the ACC, 26-4 overall, and clinched a double-bye for the ACC Tournament next week.
The two rivals will meet in Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon in the final regular season gaem for both teams ahead of the conference tournament. Virginia is going to be a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks, while Virginia Tech needs a win to just keep its slim bubble hopes alive. After Virginia edged Wake Forest at home on Tuesday night, head coach Ryan Odom said out loud what a lot of fans from both bases are thinking.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom speaks for both fanbases about scheduling of the two Commonwealth Clashes
When Virginia made the trip to Blacksburg in late December, it was winter break for students. When Virginia Tech makes the trip to Charlottesville on Saturday for a noon tip-off, it'll be spring break for the students. Odom was 100% correct in his assessment of the scheduling of the two games.
"We're certainly going to have to be ready to go and hate that it falls on spring break for both, winter break for Virginia Tech, and spring break for Virginia,'' said Odom. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it is what it is. Nobody's fault, just the way it fell. And we're going to make the most of it. So, we need as many Virginia fans in here as we can get."
Mike Young would say the same thing that they would make the most of it if the roles were reversed. However, if you're going to have to rivals like this go against each other, why not schedule the games when the students are both on campus at both schools? It was for the women's games, why not the men? The environment of both teams playing at home is completely different when students are on break than when they are not.
Knowing how well Virginia draws each game, they will still sell out John Paul Jones Arena, but man, if the ACC could ever schedule the two games closer together with students on campus rather than on breaks, it would have a different, more rivalry feel to it. I know, it's like the football game on Thanksgiving Weekend, but during basketball season, it doesn't feel right with the way the games are scheduled.