The Virginia Cavaliers will return to John Paul Jones Arena for the first time since December 22 to host ACC rivals Virginia Tech Wednesday night.
The Cavaliers won back-to-back road contests against Syracuse and Clemson before falling to North Carolina 74-58 on Saturday. They're 9-6 on the season and 3-2 in ACC action.
The Hokies are 8-6 but are still searching for their first conference win, with losses to Wake Forest, No. 2 Duke, and NC State already on the schedule. They're reeling a bit, having lost three of four, but a win tonight would get them right back on track.
Read our college basketball picks and predictions to find out who has the edge in this fun ACC rivalry.
Virginia Tech vs Virginia odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Virginia opened as 1.5-point favorites in this matchup and has bounced back and forth from -1 to -1.5. The total came to the board at 118.5 and has sunk to 117 in most places, with 117.5 still on the board at some shops.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Virginia Tech vs Virginia predictions
Predictions made on 1/12/2022 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Virginia Tech vs Virginia game info
• Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
• Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
• Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Virginia betting preview
Injuries
Virginia Tech: No injuries to report.
Virginia: No injuries to report.
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Virginia is 2-10 ATS in their last 12 home game. Find more NCAA betting trends for Virginia Tech vs. Virginia.
Virginia Tech vs Virginia picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Hokies started their season 5-0. Since then, they've lost six of their nine games, three of which came against ranked opponents: No. 2 Duke, No. 9 Memphis, and No. 25 Xavier.
Additionally, they're 0-3 to start conference play, and though they've had their fair share of missteps, I think they should be the ones favored in this ACC contest, not Virginia.
Even with just an 8-6 record, the Hokies are 31st on KenPom's rankings, compared to Virginia's 63rd. They rank higher offensively than Virginia (38th, 86th), defensively (30th, 55th), and have even played a slightly tougher schedule to this point (59th, 72nd).
Offensively, the Hokies are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, ranking 15th in 3-point percentage (38.8%). Though Virginia is strong overall defensively, their biggest weakness comes on the perimeter. They allow opposing teams to shoot 34.6% from beyond the arc, which ranks 239th in the country.
Offensively, the Cavaliers may not be able to keep up if Virginia Tech starts to knock down shots. Virginia's offense only averages 63.3 points per game (304th of 358 teams) and is outside of the Top 200 in 3-point percentage.
Virginia Tech should have no problems limiting Virginia offensively and can take advantage of their poor perimeter defense.
Back the Hokies to get it done on the road against their long-time rivals.
Prediction: Virginia Tech +1.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
If you look at the recent history of this matchup, it's not hard to tell why the total is so low. The last three games between these teams stayed Under the total, playing in games of 116, 109, and 104 points.
Tonight's total sits at 117, which will be by far the lowest total of any game on tonight's slate.
But what worries me about backing the Under in this spot is Virginia's lackluster perimeter defense. Three-point makes are the kryptonite of a tiny total like this one and the Hokies are one of the best in the nation from beyond the arc.
It's only a lean, but I'm backing this game to go Over the total.
Prediction: Over 117 (-110)
Best bet
Again, I think the Hokies are much better than their 8-6 record suggests and should be the ones favored tonight.
With matchup advantages offensively and a strong defense that can limit the Cavaliers, the Hokies look like the much better bet, even on the road.
Back them to get their first conference win tonight. They'll be extra desperate to do so against their ACC rivals.
Pick: Virginia Tech ML (+103)
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