UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Wrapping up its stay in Bubbleville Sunday, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will face USF at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, closing out its appearance at the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
The Hokies (2-0) will go up against the Bulls (1-1) for the first time in 25 years, which was back when the two schools regularly competed against one another as Metro Conference members.
Tech, which is 4-4 in the all-time series with USF, has won three of the last four contests. In the last meeting, the Hokies won 74-64 in 1995 in Blacksburg.
Tech coach Mike Young is 0-3 against USF's Brian Gregory, facing him when the two were at Wofford and Dayton twice (2003, '08) and when Gregory was at Georgia Tech (2015), while never having faced USF his career.
The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN2, with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Network.
GAME INFORMATION
Sat. | 8 p.m. ET vs. USF | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes | Gameday Central
Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, the Hokies went on a 14-4 run to get the game back in order and would go on to defeat third-ranked Villanova in OT, 71-63. Tech got it done on the glass, out-rebounding the 'Cats by nine, 40-31.
Keve Aluma, coming off a career-high 19 points versus Radford Wednesday, followed suit with another career night against No. 3 Villanova with a career-best 23 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds and had two blocks and an assist.
Coming in off the bench, Nahiem Alleyne poured in 20 points thanks to hitting four 3-pointers. Alleyne, who had two 20-point game last year, earned his first one against the 'Cats, as well as tallying one rebound and one assist.
SCOUTING USF
• USF is coming off a 16-point loss to Rhode Island Saturday, falling by a score of 84-68. The Bulls first game of the season came last Wednesday, with them winning 94-84 versus Florida College in Tampa.
• Brian Gregory enters his fourth year in Tampa, following a five-year stint at Georgia Tech and an eight years at Dayton, his first head coaching job. With the Bulls, Gregory turned in a school-record 24 wins in his second season and eight league wins, the most since they've joined the American (2013).
• USF is led by David Collins, who is averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 assists per game, and Caleb Brown, whose stat line is 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game.
• One of the Bulls' strengths is controlling the glass on the offensive end, ranking third in the American and 39th nationally with 14.5 offensive rebounds a game.
