BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Virginia Tech men's basketball team faces its second ranked test in a row Friday night against No. 25 Xavier.
Tech (5-1) will take the court against the Musketeers (4-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday in the third-place game of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Last time out, the Hokies suffered their first loss of the season in a battle against No. 9 Memphis. Nahiem Alleyne contributed a season-high 21 points, two of which rocked the rim inside the Barclays Center, but the Tigers' suffocating defense proved too much for Tech in its first early-season ranked contest.
Friday's matchup will be the 14th meeting between Virginia Tech and Xavier. The Musketeers hold a 9-4 advantage against their former Atlantic 10 foes. In the last game between the two sides, the Hokies dropped a heartbreaker as Xavier nailed a buzzer-beater shot from half court to win the game in overtime.
Up next, Tech will travel to College Park, Md., to face Maryland on Dec. 1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Friday, November 26 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
vs. No. 25 Xavier
Series: Musketeers lead 9-4
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Rich Hollenberg
Analyst: Fran Fraschilla
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Tim Bickford
THE SERIES
• Virginia Tech is 4-9 all-time against Xavier.
• The matchup between the Hokies and Musketeers dates back to Dec. 18, 1993, and the two teams are former Atlantic 10 rivals.
• Xavier won the last meeting between the two, 63-62, with a half-court buzzer-beater on Nov. 21, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Xavier, which enters Friday's game ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll, was ranked one other time when the former A-10 foes clashed. That game was contested on Jan. 17, 1998 when the Musketeers, ranked 18th at the time, defeated Tech, 77-66 in Cincinnati.
• The Hokies have been ranked twice in series history, with both games coming during the 1995-96 season and both resulting in Tech wins.
A WIN WOULD...
• Give the Hokies a 6-1 record to the close the month of November - their best start since 2019-20 (also 6-1).
• Move Tech to 6-1 following a loss over the last two seasons.
• Mark the fourth straight season where the Hokies recorded a Top-25 win in November.
• Improve Tech to 2-6 all-time at Barclays Center; other win came in the second round of the 2017 ACC Tournament - a 99-90 win over Wake Forest.
RELYING ON OUR EXPERIENCE
• Upperclassmen have accounted for 77.6 percent of the Hokies' scoring this season.
• All five starters are averaging over eight points per game.
DEFENSE ON FULL DISPLAY WEDNESDAY VS. MEMPHIS
• For the first time this season, the Hokies failed to shoot above 40 percent from the floor.
• Coach Young credited Memphis' length, athleticism and depth for holding Tech to a season-low 33.9 percent shooting.
• The Hokies held their own on the defensive side, as well, limiting Memphis to a season-low 39.3 percent shooting.
• Additionally, Tech held 2022 NBA Draft prospect Jalen Duren to a season-low six points on 3-of-7 shooting.
REBOUND, REBOUND, REBOUND!
• Tech will need to rebound much better than it did against Memphis in its last time out.
• The Hokies lost the rebounding battle with the Tigers by 12 (45-33). It was the first time Tech had a double-digit rebounding deficit since March 19, 2021 against Florida (-14) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Xavier will present a serious challenge on the boards. The Musketeers average 14.4 offensive rebounds per game.
• Against Memphis, Justyn Mutts (12) and Keve Aluma (11) combined for 23 of Tech's 33 rebounds. It was the first time Tech had two players record double-digit rebounds in the same game since Mutts and Aluma did so at Notre Dame on Jan. 27, 2021.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE KEVE
• Keve Aluma recorded his first double-double of the season vs. Memphis - 14 points and 11 rebounds.
• He led all Hokies with six double-doubles during the 2020-21 campaign.
• Aluma has reached double-figure scoring in four of Tech's six games. However, the Memphis game was the first time this season the Berlin, Maryland native recorded double-digit rebounds.
TECH SEEKS SIXTH RANKED WIN UNDER YOUNG
• Under Mike Young, the Hokies have registered five victories over AP ranked opponents, which includes four last season.
