MAUI, Hawai'i – Coming off its first setback of the season, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will play in the third-place game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational against BYU on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. ET at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Tech (6-1, 1-0 ACC) is seeking to come out of Maui with a 2-1 tournament record to improve to 5-1 in its last two nonconference tournaments (3-0 at the 2018 Charleston Classic). To do so, the Hokies will have to earn their first-ever win over the Cougars (4-3), with BYU owning a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. BYU won the most recent contest in Provo in the second round of the 2016 NIT.
The matchup with the Cougars will be broadcast on ESPN2, with Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Bill Walton (analyst) on the call.
GAME INFORMATION
Wed. | 11:30 p.m. ET vs. BYU | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, Dayton (5-0) was clicking on all cylinders, shooting 63.6 percent from the field and going on to beat the Hokies 89-62 in the semifinals.
With Tech giving up 80-plus, it snapped its 17-game streak of not allowing its opponents to score north of 80 points, dating back to Jan. 21, 2019 at North Carolina. The last time the Hokies lost by 27 or more points was on Dec. 30, 2014 at West Virginia by a score of 82-51.
Two Hokies scored in double figures against the Flyers in redshirt freshman Landers Nolley II (team-high 15 points) and freshman Hunter Cattoor (career-high 12 points), while junior Wabissa Bede dished out six assists and swiped three steals.
SCOUTING BYU
• The Cougars, like the Hokies, are coming off a loss in the semifinals, losing to Kansas 71-56 on Tuesday. TJ Haws had a team-high 16 points and Kolby Lee tallied 13 points, the lone two players in double figures. The Jayhawks got it done in the lane, outscoring the Cougars 42-18.
• Head coach Mark Pope enters his first season in Provo, following his four-year stint as the head coach at Utah Valley, where he amassed a 77-56 record. He coached the school to its first-ever consecutive 20-win seasons, including a school-record 25 wins last season.
• The Cougars are paced by Jake Toolson and his team-high 15.3 points per game and T.J. Haws (13.0 ppg). Toolson ranks third in the WCC for field goals made this season with 38.
• BYU ranks first in the WCC and 44th nationally 3-point field goal defense percentage, allowing just 27.1 percent of its opponents' triples to go in. On the other hand, the Cougars are 345th nationally in blocks per game with just 1.0 a game.
