Virginia Tech @ Florida preview
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Florida and Virginia Tech will play for the first time in 30 years in the opening game of the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Hokies (15-6) are the No. 10 seed in the South Region and playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive time and 12th time overall. Virginia Tech is 8-11 all-time in the tournament.
Seventh-seeded Florida (14-9) has also made it to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments -- the longest active streak for a Southeastern Conference team -- and earned its 21st all-time bid.
"I didn't know if we'd be a seven, eight, nine," Florida coach Mike White said. "I thought we'd land somewhere in there. Excited to be a seven, (but) the number doesn't really matter. It's how you play when you get there."
Virginia Tech had five games canceled over the final month of the regular season and ended up playing just twice in a 38-day span leading up to its 81-73 loss to North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals last on March 11.
"These guys have always been about the team and they have improved over the long haul of the season," Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. "They have weathered every storm thrown at them and I expect them to continue to do the same as we get to Indianapolis."
Justyn Mutts had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Tyrece Radford had 20 points and six rebounds against the Tar Heels. But the Hokies will need a better performance from forward Keve Aluma, who leads them in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.0 per game).
"This is an opportunity for us in March to come out and make some noise," Virginia Tech forward Cordell Pemsl said. "Everyone knows at this point that anything can happen."
The Gators have dropped three of their past four games, losing to Missouri and twice to Tennessee -- both NCAA Tournament teams.
Tre Mann is on a hot scoring stretch, pouring in more than 20 points in four consecutive games. No Gator has ever had five consecutive games of 20-plus points.
In Mann's last game -- Florida's 78-66 SEC quarterfinal loss to Tennessee, he started slowly with only two points in the first half before scoring 28 after halftime for a career-high 30. He is averaging 16.0 for the season.
"I think we've had some other guys struggle just a little bit, and we're just struggling a little bit with the overall offensive production and effectiveness -- against some high-level defenses, of course," White said.
"And Tre really just kind of bailed us out some of these possessions, especially in the last game where he made it interesting against the Volunteers, putting up 30. He's really talented. His role has continued to grow here over the course of this year, and he continues to get better."
The Hokies are 5-4 all-time against the Gators and won their last meeting, 79-57, in 1991 in Orlando, Fla.
The winner will face the winner of the matchup between No. 2 seed Ohio State and No. 15 Oral Roberts on Sunday.
--Field Level Media