BLACKSBURG – Seeking to get back to its winning ways, the [RV/RV] Virginia Tech men's basketball team will open its ACC slate Tuesday against No. 24 Clemson at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
The Hokies (4-1) will go up against the Tigers (5-0) to begin ACC play for the second straight season and look to keep their perfect record against Clemson in the Mike Young era. Tech, which is 21-16 in the all-time series with Clemson, has won seven of the last eight meetings and is 13-5 in Cassell since 1936.
Guys that have known each other for a long time and are friends off the court, Young and Clemson's Brad Brownell have faced each other four times and are split at 2-2 since '10. Young is 2-7 all-time versus Clemson.
The matchup will be broadcast on ACC Network, with Dave O'Brien (play-by-play) and Chris Spatola (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Network.
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Watch: CLICK HERETech's four-game winning streak came to a halt last Tuesday in the ACC/B1G Challenge, with Penn State running away with it, 75-55. The Hokies came out cold, getting down 17-3 early in the first half and could never quite recover, shooting 37% from the field.
In just his second game of the season, Jalen Cone provided quite the spark off the bench in Tech's last game, a loss to Penn State at home. Cone ripped off eight points and an assist in his first three minutes, then went on to have 11 points.
After not scoring in double figures for two games, Nahiem Alleyne got back to his ways and poured in 10 points vs. Penn State. Doing so in a variety of ways, the sophomore made three free throws, a triple, a mid-range jumper and a layup.
SCOUTING No. 24 CLEMSON
• Clemson, which just entered the AP Top 25 poll for the first time this season, is fresh off a Power Five win on a neutral court, defeating Alabama (3-2) by a score of 64-56 in Atlanta thanks to 31 points from its bench and a 15-0 differential in second-chance points.
• Head coach Brad Brownell enters his 11th season in Clemson, following a four-year stint at Wright State. With the Tigers, Brownell has worked his way up to being the winningest coach in school history, owning 191 victories.
• Clemson is paced by preseason All-ACC selection Aamir Simms, who is averaging 11.6 points and four rebounds per game, and Nick Honor, who ranks seventh in the ACC in steals per game at two a contest on top of his 9.8 points per game.
• Some of the strengths the Tigers possess are holding opponents to shooting a low percentage from the field, sitting 14th nationally and first in the conference in field-goal percentage on defense at 34.9 percent, and points per game at 51.4, which is fourth best in the country.