Virginia Basketball at Virginia Tech Game Preview, Score Prediction

Matt Newton | Feb 15, 2025

Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

See our game blog for Virginia at Virginia Tech with score updates and live analysis here: Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Live Updates | NCAA Men's Basketball

Two weeks after the first meeting, the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies will meet again in round 2 of the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum, with the Hoos looking to avenge their first home loss to the Hokies since 2018 by winning in Blacksburg for the first time since 2020.

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Virginia Tech, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction for Saturday's matchup.

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (12-12, 5-8 ACC) at Virginia Tech Hokies (11-13, 6-7 ACC)

When: Saturday, February 15th at 2pm ET

Where: Cassell Coliseum (9,487) in Blacksburg, Virginia

How to watch: The CW

Commentators: Thom Brennaman (Play-by-Play), Mike Gminski (Analyst)

How to listen: SiriusXM 390, SXM App 980 | Virginia Sports Radio Network | Virginia Tech Sports Network

All-time series: Virginia leads 98-61

Last meeting: Virginia Tech defeated Virginia 75-74 on February 1st, 2025 in Charlottesville.

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Game Notes

• Virginia leads Virginia Tech 98-61 in the all-time series that dates back to 1915.
• UVA is 23-34 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and 9-20 at Cassell Coliseum.
• The Hokies have won the last four games against the Cavaliers at Cassell Coliseum and have won two in a row in the overall series, including a one-point victory in Charlottesville on February 1st, Virginia Tech's first win at John Paul Jones Arena since 2018.
• The Cavaliers haven't won at Cassell Coliseum since Kihei Clark hit a buzzer-beater to give UVA a 56-53 win over Virginia Tech on February 26th, 2020.
• Virginia Tech is currently tied for eighth in the ACC standings at 6-7 in conference play, while Virginia is tied for 11th at 5-8 in ACC play.

Scouting Report: Virginia Tech

2023-2024: 19-15, 10-10 ACC (8th)
2024-2025: 11-13, 6-7 ACC (8th)

Given that it's only been two weeks since the first matchup, instead of recapping Virginia Tech's whole season again and going through the Hokies' personnel again, we're just going to dive into what happened in that first meeting and evaluate how both teams are likely to adjust from that game.

You can read our takeaways from the first Virginia-Virginia Tech meeting here: Five Takeaways From Virginia Basketball's 75-74 Loss to Virginia Tech

There were several key categories that were essentially a wash between these two teams in that first matchup. Virginia Tech won the rebounding battle 31-30 and had nine second chance points to Virginia's five. Bench points were 26-22 in favor of the Cavaliers and they outscored the Hokies 26-24 in the paint. Both teams took care of the basketball, with UVA only committing four turnovers and Virginia Tech only turning the ball over seven times. Both teams shot around 50% from the field.

The one major difference was in three-point shooting, as Virginia Tech made more threes than Virginia on fewer attempts. The Hokies shot 11/21 from beyond the arc (52%), while the Cavaliers shot 8/23 (35%) from three-point range. UVA's three-point defense was certainly suspect in that game, but Virginia Tech deserves credit for shooting the cover off the ball. Jaden Schutt knocked down four threes and led the Hokies with 18 points and Tobi Lawal had 17 points. Isaac McKneely had 19 points and seven assists, but shot 2/7 from three, while Andrew Rohde had 12 points and seven assists and Taine Murray had 10 points and six rebounds. UVA got very little production from its front court, which struggled to contain Virginia Tech's versatile forwards, a big factor in Virginia's poor three-point defense.

Virginia Tech led by as many as 13 points and led for more than 35 minutes of game time, but poor free throw shooting from the Hokies allowed the Cavaliers to mount a comeback down the stretch. UVA got back within a point with six seconds to go and then Andrew Rohde had a chance at a game-winning buzzer-beater, but his baseline runner was off the mark and Virginia Tech hung on for its first win at JPJ in seven years.

The easiest thing Virginia can do to have a better outcome this time around is to shoot the three ball better, but the shots haven't been falling for the Cavaliers in their last four trips to Cassell Coliseum. It's far more important that Virginia execute better on the defensive end to minimize Virginia Tech's open three-point attempts. That starts with the way the Cavaliers defend the pick and roll, as the Hokies generated a lot of open threes and a lot of mismatches with screens. Look for Elijah Saunders, who has slowly been working back to 100% after missing three games with an injury, to have an impact in this game after he missed the first meeting between these two teams. With Saunders playing power forward, Virginia should be able to better match up against Virginia Tech in the front court.

What to Watch For in Virginia vs. Virginia Tech

Can Virginia sustain the momentum?
It's been a week since UVA's last game, but the Cavaliers are playing their best basketball of the season over the last few weeks, winning three of their last four games, including an impressive blowout win on the road at Pitt. Had it not been for the one-point loss to Virginia Tech, Virginia would come into this game on a four-game winning streak. Now the question becomes: did the Cavaliers catch lightning in a bottle in those recent good performances or did they figure something out to get themselves pointed in the right direction as we enter the home stretch of the season? One way or the other, Saturday's game should give us a big hint as to the answer to that question.

Cassell Curse?
Ever since Kihei Clark hit that clutch stepback three-pointer to stun the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum in 2020, the Cavaliers have had no success whatsoever playing in that building. UVA has lost its last four road games at Virginia, including a humiliating 75-41 defeat last season in Blacksburg. That was the second-largest win for the Hokies against the Cavaliers in the all-time series, the largest margin of defeat for UVA against an ACC opponent in the Tony Bennett era, and Virginia's third-largest loss against any opponent under Bennett. Can this be the Virginia team that breaks the streak of losses at Cassell?

Commonwealth Clash
After Virginia jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 2024-2025 Commonwealth Clash, Virginia Tech has crept back into it, winning four of the last five matchups in the all-sports competition to make the current score 5.5-3.0 in favor of UVA. Another half-point is up for grabs on Saturday. While the Hoos are expecting to earn some more points in the Clash from their reliably elite spring sports programs, Virginia would prefer to get back in the win column in the Commonwealth Clash right now and avoid getting swept in men's basketball.

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech Prediction

I have no doubts that Virginia can win this game if the team continues to play the way it has the last two times out. But consistency has eluded these Cavaliers all season and I'm not sure if they'll finally find it playing in a building where recent history is firmly against them. Virginia loses another close one to Virginia Tech.

Score prediction: Virginia 64, Virginia Tech 67

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