It's going to be a busy Thanksgiving for the Virginia Tech men's basketball team. The Hokies picked up a first-round win on Wednesday night over Colorado State in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, 66-64. It wasn't pretty, but they aren't going to be, but they will have to be much better on Thursday afternoon in the semifinals.
Colorado State made the NCAA Tournament last year and will likely make it again this year. That was a huge win for the Hokies. Now, they'll get another NCAA Tournament team on Thursday when they play Saint Mary's after the Gaels edged Wichita State late Wednesday night, 70-65. Saint Mary's is another team that plays in the 68-team field almost yearly and challenges Gonzaga every season in the West Coast Conference.
Virginia Tech faces a huge NCAA Tournament résumé opportunity against Saint Mary's
Against Colorado State, Mike Young and his team avoided disaster with star freshman Neoklis Avdalas when he rolled his ankle early on, but he came back to score 13 points to back Jailen Bedford's game-high 17. Virginia Tech struggled on the boards, and they will have to be much better against Saint Mary's height and talented frontcourt if they are going to play for a championship on Friday.
The win over the Rams on Wednesday was another close win that will pay big dividends down the line. They picked up an overtime win over Providence earlier this month and then a two-point win over Colorado State. Virginia Tech's front line is going to be huge against the Gaels. Tobi Lawal got into early foul trouble against Colorado State and struggled the rest of the game. Amani Hansberry is going to be a big rebounder against Saint Mary's, as well as freshman Christian Gurdak. Tyler Johnson will also have to play big and help on the boards.
Young and his team got one win in the Bahamas, and a second over the Gaels would look really good come Selection Sunday in March as a Quad 1 or 2 win. They need to take advantage of those games this season as they won't have many chances once ACC play begins.