Hokies open ACC Tournament against Clemson Wednesday nightHokies open ACC Tournament against Clemson Wednesday night
Men's Basketball

Hokies open ACC Tournament against Clemson Wednesday night

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Virginia Tech, the No. 7 seed, will begin its run in the 2022 New York Life ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 10 seed Clemson. The two teams will square off for the second time in five days after the Tigers claimed the regular-season finale 63-59 on Saturday at home.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Wednesday, March 9 | 7:00 p.m. ET
Barclays Center
vs. Clemson
Series: Virginia Tech leads 22-17
Game Notes: Virginia Tech

TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Dave O'Brien
Analyst: Cory Alexander
Sideline: Andraya Carter

Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Tim Bickford
Analyst: Mike Burnop


THE SERIES

  • Clemson snapped Tech's three-game winning streak in the series last Saturday, defeating the Hokies 63-59 in the regular-season finale for both squads.
  • Tech leads the all-time series, 22-17.
  • Over the last nine games in the Clemson series, Tech has posted a 7-2 record.
  • The Hokies are 13-12 against the Tigers as ACC foes.
  • The two sides have met only once in the ACC tournament. Tech won that matchup 68-63 on March 8, 2012 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
  • Mike Young earned his 300th career win as a head coach on Nov. 5, 2019 - a 67-60 victory at Clemson.


A WIN WOULD...

  • Mark the Hokies' 10th win in their last 12 outings.
  • Improve Coach Young to 4-1 against Clemson as head coach of the Hokies.
  • Keep Tech unbeaten at 2-0 against Clemson in the ACC tournament.
  • Move the Hokies to 4-2 all-time in the second round of the ACC tournament.
  • Advance Tech to the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament for the 12th time.
  • Be the Hokies' first win in the ACC tournament since they beat No. 12 seed Miami 71-56 in the second round in 2019. Tech has lost three straight in the ACC tourney.


HOKIE HEADLINES

  • The Hokies enter the 2022 New York Life ACC Men's Basketball Tournament as the No. 7 seed. They have won 9 of their last 11 games.
  • Keve Aluma, a two-time All-ACC Second Team selection, leads Tech at 15.4 points per game.
  • Aluma (2021-22) joined Malcolm Delaney (2009-11) and Erick Green (2012-13) as the only Hokies to earn All-ACC honors multiple times.
  • Justyn Mutts was named the Skip Prosser Award winner on March 2, becoming the program's first to ever win the honor given to the Scholar-Athlete of the Year in ACC men's basketball.


BACK IN BROOKLYN

  • Virginia Tech is no stranger to playing at Barclays Center this season.
  • The Hokies played two games as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off over Thanksgiving, falling to No. 9 Memphis and No. 25 Xavier. Like Tech, those two teams have been on the NCAA tournament bubble for the past couple weeks.
  • "I've always tried to go [during the regular season] to the tournament host city and play," Mike Young said. "Just for the familiarity, we've been on that floor. I'm fired to be in New York and look forward to competing on Wednesday."


TOURNEY TIME

  • The Hokies enter as the No. 7 seed for the third time in their ACC tournament history.
  • Ironically, the other two times Tech was the seventh seed came in 2017 and 2018 when the tournament was also in Brooklyn.
  • The Hokies are 1-2 as the No. 7 seed.
  • Currently on a three-game skid in ACC tournament action, Tech is 10-17 all-time in its 27 conference tournament games.
  • The Hokies are 3-2 in second round games.


ALUMA AWARDED ALL-ACC AGAIN

  • For the second straight season, Keve Aluma was named to the All-ACC Second Team.
  • Also for the second straight season, Aluma was the top vote getter on the second team. The redshirt senior earned 192 points while NC State's Dereon Seabron collected 166 points.
  • Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim was the final member of the first team with 241 points, 49 clear of Aluma.
  • Last year, Aluma finished with 277 points, four behind Sam Hauser of Virginia for the final spot on the 2021 All-ACC First Team.
  • Aluma averaged 15.4 points per game, which ranked 12th in the ACC. He has scored at least 20 points eight times this season and recorded a team-best six double-doubles.
  • Aluma was third in the league in field-goal percentage, knocking down 53.1% of his attempts.


SoCON TO ACC COACH OF THE YEAR

  • For the second straight year, a head coach who previously coached in the Southern Conference has won ACC Coach of the Year honors.
  • Wake Forest's Steve Forbes earned the league honor in 2022, following Mike Young's award in 2021. The two longtime friends coached at East Tennessee State and Wofford, respectively, before making the jump to the ACC.
  • Here's a list of head coaches who won Coach of the Year honors in both the SoCon and the ACC: Everett Case, Murray Greason, Norm Sloan, Lefty Driesell, Terry Holland, Bobby Cremins, Mike Young, Steve Forbes.
  • Young was a seven-time SoCon Coach of the Year while at Wofford (four from the coaches' vote, three from the media vote).


UP NEXT

  • With a win, Virginia Tech would advance to Thursday's quarterfinals to take on No. 2 seed Notre Dame at 7 p.m. The Hokies defeated the Fighting Irish, 79-73, in their only meeting of the regular season on Jan. 15 in Blacksburg.