BLACKSBURG – Seeking to get back to its winning ways, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will play host to Chattanooga on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (6-3), which will play all of its games in December at home, will face the Mocs (6-4), a team it hasn't faced since 2004.
In the 2004 matchup, the Hokies pulled out a 63-59 victory in Blacksburg on Dec. 2. However, Chattanooga leads the all-time series 2-1.
Coach Mike Young is pretty familiar with the Mocs, playing them quite a bit when he was the coach at Wofford, with the two teams being in the SoCon. He is 14-15 all-time against the Mocs and a perfect 4-0 versus current Chattanooga coach Lamont Paris.
The matchup with the Mocs will be broadcast on ACC Network, with Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Debbie Antonelli (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Properties.
GAME INFORMATION
Wed. | 8:30 p.m. ET vs. Chattanooga | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, Tech fell to No. 7/5 Duke (9-1) 77-63 inside Cassell this past Friday in front of a sold-out crowd. The Hokies established an early lead in the first half, taking a three-point advantage at halftime. But the Blue Devils made some adjustments down the stretch and would go on a crucial run to earn their first conference victory of the season.
Despite the loss, quite a few players posted season highs in scoring, including juniors P.J. Horne (15 points) and Wabissa Bede (12) and redshirt freshman Tyrece Radford (12). The Hokies also tallied a season-high 40 points scored in the paint.
Tech is the lone team in the nation to boast four players shooting above 40 percent from 3-point land with a minimum of 30 attempts. It also ranks fourth in the nation and first in the ACC for 3-pointers made per game with 11.3.
SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
• The Mocs are coming off a 99-51 win over Tennessee Wesleyan, an NAIA program, on their home floor this past Sunday. Chattanooga grabbed a season-high 46 rebounds, while holding the Bulldogs to just 19. Matt Ryan turned in a team-high 18 points, four rebounds and two assists.
• Paris enters his third season in Chattanooga, following his seven-year stint as an assistant at Wisconsin where he went to two Final Fours and four Sweet 16s. Paris has showed steady improvement since his arrival to Gig City, improving his conference win total by four games last season.
• Chattanooga is paced by Matt Ryan, who is averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game. Ryan, a grad transfer, has previously played for Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. He sits third in the SoCon for 3-point field goal attempts on the season with 80.
• Unlike Tech's last opponent in Duke, which led the country in blocks, Chattanooga ranks No. 335 out of 353 in Division I with 1.7 blocks per game. However, they play smart defensively with committing the third-fewest fouls in the SoCon and don't make too many mistakes offensively, recording the fourth-fewest turnovers in the conference.
