BLACKSBURG – Coming off its first home victory of the season last weekend, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will play host to USC Upstate on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC), which has won a school-record 25 home nonconference games in a row, will seek to get revenge from the last time the Spartans (1-2) came into Blacksburg, as USC Upstate won 64-63 on Nov. 9, 2013.
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with Bryant Johnson (play-by-play) and Mack McCarthy (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Properties.
GAME INFORMATION
Wed. | 7 p.m. ET vs. USC Upstate | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, Tech won by 32 points over Coppin State (0-2) in front of a sold-out crowd. In doing so, three freshmen scored in double figures, which is something that hasn't happened at Tech since 2015. Nahiem Alleyne scored a career-high 18 points, Landers Nolley II owned 11 and Tyrece Radford chipped in 10.
In the most recent matchup between the two schools, the Hokies fell by one point to USC Upstate in 2013 in its season opener at Cassell Coliseum to begin the second season of the James Johnson era. Jarell Eddie had a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds, while Cadarian Raines posted 17 points and four rebounds.
Junior P.J. Horne has shown promise from the perimeter this season, already netting four 3-pointers. Coming into this year, the Georgia native had made only three 3s in 57 games. Fellow junior Wabissa Bede is off to a strong start dishing out the rock, with being tied for first in the ACC for assists per game (8.0).
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
• The Spartans will come to Blacksburg with very little rest, coming off a game on Monday when they lost 73-64 to North Carolina Central in Durham, North Carolina in the Global Sports Shootout. In the preseason Big South standings, USC Upstate was tabbed 11th out of the conference's 11 teams.
• Head coach Dave Dickerson enters his second season in Spartanburg, following his stint as an NBA scout for the Utah Jazz. Prior to his time in Salt Lake, he served under Thad Matta at Ohio State as an assistant for seven seasons after his five-year stint as the head coach at Tulane.
• The Spartans are paced by Everette Hammond, who leads the team with 12.3 points and 1.5 steals per game. Last year, Hammond averaged 7.2 points per game, which is the highest returning total this season for the Spartans.
• The top category USC Upstate ranks in nationally is 3-point field-goal defense, allowing just 20 percent made 3s a game, while they are one of the better teams in the land at picking pockets, owning the 25th-best mark nationally with 11.0 steals per game.
