Make no mistake about it, Megan Duffy knew that when she boarded a plane for Northern California, her team had a golden opportunity to erase the memory of their two losses to Notre Dame and North Carolina State. Trailing at halftime to an undermanned Stanford team on Thursday night, the Hokies put together a dominating second-half performance to pick up a huge 12-point Quad 1 win, 79-67.
Now three days later, the Hokies have a chance for another NCAA Tournament résumé-building win when they visit California. The Golden Bears are fighting for their tournament life as well and are coming off a win over Virginia on Thursday night.
How to watch Virginia Tech women's basketball at California
With a scheduling looming that has North Carolina visiting Cassell Coliseum on Thursday night, this is a rather big game for the Hokies. The Golden Bears have won four of their last five games, including three in a row. They also own an 11-point win over Notre Dame at home two weeks ago. That's a win that will look very good on Selection Sunday.
Sweeping a California trip is very difficult to do on either the men's or women's side. It is just very difficult. Not many teams have done it. If Virginia Tech can do it, then they set themselves up for not only the NCAA Tournament, but also seeding for the ACC Tournament. This result could come into play for seeding purposes in the conference tourney next month.
Winning their 20th game of the season would be huge for the Hokies. On Friday, after their win over Stanford, the Hokies were the last team in the field with a bye and a No. 10 seed, according to Charlie Creme of ESPN. A win over the Golden Bears could move them up a line or two with help from other results. Regardless, Virginia Tech is hoping to flip its February luck this year after struggling last year and missing the NCAA Tournament.