Winners of five straight games, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team is making a bid to reverse its NCAA Tournament fortunes this season after being the first team left out of the field last March. It is safe to say that Megan Duffy has her team clicking at the right time.
Winners of five straight, the Hokies were at the top of Charlie Creme's ESPN bracketology as the "Last Four In" in his 68-team field projection. That's good for now, but the Hokies can't afford any hiccups over the next couple of weeks, which begins on Thursday night at home against Pittsburgh. That will be followed by a trip on Sunday from Virginia, who is currently in Creme's "First Four out.''
Virginia Tech women's basketball host Pittsburgh on Thursday night
Looking at the records alone, this should be a layup for the Hokies. Virginia Tech is in the midst of a big winning streak and looking for another win at Cassell Coliseum one week after storming back to beat Clemson last Thursday. After a slow start at Wake Forest on Saturday night, the Hokies put together a strong second half to pull away and avoid a bad loss to the Demon Deacons.
Pittsburgh has just one conference win this season, and this is a game Virginia Tech needs to win. Why? Well, things get much more difficult in February for the Hokies in terms of their schedule. They begin the month against Virginia at home on Sunday, before a game against Notre Dame, North Carolina State, a trip to California to play Stanford and Cal, and before hosting North Carolina and Georgia Tech. It's safe to say that Virginia Tech's NCAA Tournament fate should be close to being decided by the regular season final in Charlottesville in March.
Virginia Tech needs to pick up a win on Thursday night against a Panthers team that is struggling.