Miami @ Virginia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2019 ) Virginia Tech 82, Miami-Florida 70

Virginia Tech lost its shot at a double bye in the ACC Tournament on Tuesday as the 16th-ranked Hokies came up short in their winner-take-all battle with Florida State for the No. 4 seed, falling to the Seminoles 73-64 in overtime. Virginia Tech will now look to regroup as it finishes its regular season at home Friday against a Miami team coming off a solid 76-63 victory over Pittsburgh.

"Considering all that's transpired this season to have played the way that we've played over the last nine games, it's scarred my heart in a good way," said Hokies coach Buzz Williams, who was impressed that his team was even vying for the fourth seed this late in the season. The Hokies are 5-4 since star senior point guard Justin Robinson hurt his foot the in the first meeting at the end of January - an 82-70 Virginia Tech win - and they continued to fight on despite the absence of their leader, even stunning No. 4 Duke 77-72 last week. The Hurricanes know all about battling - they have been at it all season with an undermanned and undersized roster, but they have still pushed some of the top teams on the road, particularly North Carolina a few weeks ago before falling in overtime. "For me, it was probably the most challenging season I've had as a coach because it was very difficult to do what we like to do in terms of practice preparation and game preparation," said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, adding that his team was especially short-handed before the Pittsburgh win as guard DJ Vasiljevic injured his back. "We had the scout team with our managers and the walk-ons just run through stuff and no one shoot because we didn't want anybody else to get hurt. Looking at last year when we practiced 93 times up until the end of the season, this year (we practiced) 75. So, 18 days we took off."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT MIAMI (13-16, 5-12 ACC): Senior Night was a rousing success with all three of the Hurricanes' seniors coming up big against Pittsburgh, combining for 53 points and 26 rebounds in the win. Guard Anthony Lawrence posted a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last eight games, while center Ebuku Izundu had his own double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Zach Johnson added 12 points. Sophomore guard Chris Lykes, the team's leading scorer (16.2 points), had a quiet night against Pittsburgh as he only took eight shots (3-of-8) for a total of eight points, only the fifth time all season that he failed to reach double digits.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (22-7, 11-6): The Hurricanes celebrated their seniors Tuesday and now it's the Hokies' turn to honor theirs - Robinson (14.4 points), Ahmed Hill (13.2) and Ty Outlaw (8.4), the team's third-, fourth- and fifth-leading scorers. Guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (team-high 16.5 points) had a team-best 19 points against Florida State, the first time he registered at least 18 points since he had 25 against Miami on Jan. 30, and leads the way offensively along with forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.7). Hill matched a career high with nine rebounds against the Seminoles, the same number as Blackshear, the team's leading rebounder (7.2 rebounds), had in the first meeting with Miami.

TIP-INS

1. Miami leads the series 22-15 after winning nine of the last 12 matchups.

2. The Hokies' loss to Florida State was the first time since Nov. 27, 2018 that they did not win after leading at halftime.

3. The Hurricanes will play Tuesday on the first day of the ACC Tournament but could be seeded anywhere from 10 to 13, while Virginia Tech would be the fifth seed with a win Friday.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 78, Miami 64