Virginia Tech @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Miami-Florida 56, Virginia Tech 71

Virginia Tech and Miami look to rebound Tuesday night as both schools come off ACC road setbacks. The Hokies remain on the road after suffering a 61-56 loss at Boston College while the short-handed Hurricanes return home after a 94-71 loss at North Carolina.

The Hurricanes expect to be in far better shape this time around after facing North Carolina without their top two scorers Chris Lykes (groin) and Kameron McGusty (back spasms), both of whom sat out their first games of the season and were replaced by freshmen Isaiah Wong (career-high 19 points) and Harlond Beverly (nine points). "You have to learn a whole new system and how to take advantage of what you did in high school, but do it within our system," Miami coach Jim Larranaga told reporters. "They were able to score points and get baskets, but part of that was because there were so many possessions and North Carolina was up 30 points." The Hokies actually held the lead in their battle with BC, surging to a six-point advantage with over eight minutes to play, but they struggled down the stretch and were held to just 25 second-half points thanks to a 1-for-9 effort from long distance after the break. "I don't think it was much of what the Eagles did to us defensively as what we did to ourselves offensively," Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. "Our more ball movement was horrific. I can't think of many times we've had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio like we had today (14 turnovers, 11 assists). You get what you earn and we earned what we got."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (14-6, 5-4 ACC): The only Hokie averaging more than 10 points this season, Landers Nolley II (17.9 ppg) paced the team with 15 points against BC, giving him eight straight games with double digits and 18 overall for the season. Nahiem Alleyne is coming on strong of late with four straight games in double figures after recording 10 in the loss and he now has 10 3-pointers in the last three contests. The Hokies' 14 turnovers against the Eagles was tied for their second-worst total for the season and was well above their nation-leading average (9.7).

ABOUT MIAMI (10-9, 2-7): The Hurricanes only had six players available in the loss to North Carolina - it was the first time all season that they had a different starting lineup - but Lykes, McGusty and forward Keith Stone, who has missed the last six games with a knee injury, could return for this matchup. Wong and Beverly weren't the only freshmen asked to step up against North Carolina as forward Anthony Walker totaled a career-high 14 points in the loss, while redshirt junior center Rodney Miller Jr. added 13, giving him an average of 11.5 points over the last four games. The Hurricanes struggled on the boards against North Carolina, coming up with a season-low 21 rebounds, with only two on the offensive end, with only Miller (four) producing more than three.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Miami leads the series 22-17, but Virginia Tech has won the last three meetings, including a 71-56 decision last March in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

2. Miami G DJ Vasiljevic ranks first in the ACC in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.1 percent).

3. The Hokies have held 11 opponents to 63 points or less.

PREDICTION: Miami 62, Virginia Tech 60