What: No. 15/17 Virginia Cavaliers (15-2, 2-1 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-7, 0-4 ACC)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Date: January 22, 2012
Place: John Paul Jones Arena
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Virginia Sports Radio Network
Spread: Virginia -8, Pomeroy: Virginia 60-51 (84%)
Last Meeting: Virginia 61, Virginia Tech 54
Last Time Out: Virginia Tech 68, North Carolina 82
Series: Virginia leads 81-52
In a game thread intro post that's strangely similar to the Georgia Tech game, I have to say it once again -- this game is a big one. Huge. In front of a sell-out crowd at John Paul Jones Arena, the Hoos will face the toughest 0-4 team in the country, and they'll do so without senior starting center Assane Sene, who will miss approximately six weeks due to a right ankle injury sustained Thursday night while playing Georgia Tech.
The Hokies gave Carolina a good first-half run, before, quite frankly, their talent ran out in the second half and Carolina, more athletic and better conditioned, ran away with the game. But the other three ACC losses were decided by four points or less -- 58-55 to Wake Forest, 63-59 to Florida State and 61-59 to Boston College. Granted, Wake and BC are clearly in the bottom half of the conference so far this season, but that Florida State loss is looking pretty quality right now (if there is such a thing as a quality loss), after FSU beat Carolina and Duke in the same week.
Bottom line: Hokies are hungry for a win, and they're too talented to remain winless in the conference. Virginia comes off a blowout victory at Georgia Tech, but will be trying a whole new rotation tonight without Sene, whose defensive presence will greatly be missed. I think Virginia, even with just eight able-bodied scholarship players, should be able to come out with a solid win, but this is the first sign of adversity that the Hoos will have faced this season. Let's see how they respond.
Leave your pre-, in- and post-game thoughts here, and Go HOOS!