Virginia @ Virginia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 4, 2020 ) Virginia Tech 39, Virginia 65

Virginia continues to do just enough to get on the right side of the scoreboard as it surges up the ACC standings. The Cavaliers seek a fifth consecutive win and will try to inch closer to clinching a coveted double-bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament when they visit Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

Sophomore guard Kihei Clark scored 17 points for the second straight game to help Virginia get past Pittsburgh 59-56 on Saturday, the team's sixth win by seven points or fewer during its current 7-1 stretch. "At the end of the day, a win is a win," senior guard Braxton Key told reporters after the Cavaliers saw a 14-point lead reduced to two in the final minute before hanging on. "We'll take it, getting out of Pittsburgh with a win." The Hokies dropped an 88-64 decision to No. 7 Duke last time out, their seventh loss in eight games. Freshman guard Tyrece Radford scored 16 points in the defeat as Virginia Tech sank to 11th in the ACC after opening 5-3 in conference play.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT VIRGINIA (19-7, 11-5 ACC): Clark is averaging 15.2 points over his last five games to push his season average to 10.8, second on the team to senior forward Mamadi Diakite (13.4). Clark also ranks third in the ACC with six assists per contest while Key contributes 10 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds. Junior guard Tomas Woldetensae was one of four players scoring in double figures Saturday and he is averaging 14.8 over a five-game stretch to boost his season mark to 7.3.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (15-12, 6-10): Freshman guard Landers Nolley II, the Hokies' leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, is mired in a dismal shooting slump that has seen him hit just 8-of-44 shots - 2-of-17 from 3-point range - in a three-game stretch. "Nobody wants to come out of it as much as he does," coach Mike Young told reporters of Nolley's struggles. "We need him to. But we'll hang in there with him and continue to shoot before and after practice. He'll come out of it." Radford is trending in the other direction and is averaging 16.3 points over a seven-game span on 57.1 percent shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Hokies shot a season-low 27.1 percent from the floor in a 65-39 loss at Virginia earlier this season.

2. Diakite notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Pittsburgh.

3. Virginia won 13 of the last 16 meetings.

PREDICTION: Virginia 62, Virginia Tech 54