Miami @ Virginia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 8, 2019 ) Miami-Florida 70, Virginia Tech 84

Virginia Tech matched the program record with 23 regular-season victories and the fifth-seeded Hokies hope there are more milestones to come as they start play in the second round of ACC tournament against No. 12 seed Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C. Virginia Tech has won six of 10 games - five of the past seven - without injured senior point guard Justin Robinson (foot), capped by an 84-70 triumph against Miami on Friday to finish with a team-record 12 ACC wins.

“The one thing that I have learned from this (is) you never know who you are to some degree until you’re completely backed into a corner and are desperate,” Hokies coach Buzz Williams told reporters of his 15th-ranked squad. “And we’ve learned to function from that place." It’s the highest seed in the ACC Tournament for Virginia Tech since 2010 when it was fourth and the Hokies have finished strong with junior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.5 points, team-best 7.2 rebounds), a second-team All-ACC selection, and third-team pick sophomore guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (16.6 points, team-high 1.9 steals) leading the way. Miami shot 50.9 percent from the field in a 79-71 first-round victory over Wake Forest on Tuesday as senior guard Anthony Lawrence II -- who averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds in a pair of double-digit losses to Virginia Tech this season -- notched his third straight double-double. The Hurricanes do not own a win over a ranked team in 2018-19, but did take No. 3 North Carolina to overtime in February and beat the Hokies twice last season with some of the same personnel.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN, Raycom Sports

ABOUT MIAMI (14-17): Junior guard Dejan Vasiljevic led the way with 21 points, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, in Tuesday’s win after averaging 8.7 and making just 3-of-21 from behind the arc in his previous three contests. Sophomore guard Chris Lykes had 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting in the first round and leads the team in scoring overall (16.1) while Lawrence scored 20, grabbed 10 boards and totaled three steals with just two turnovers in 38 minutes. Senior guard Zach Johnson added 12 points Tuesday and has scored in double figures three straight games after doing it once in the previous five contests.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (23-7): Robinson (13.7 points, team-high 5.2 assists) played one ceremonial second in his final home game Friday and is not expected on the floor in the tournament while Alexander-Walker continues to take most of the ballhandling duties. “In adversity, you kind of have to bring your best out. I think I’ve done that,” Alexander-Walker told reporters. “Thanks to my teammates, because through this transition, they’ve been nothing but supportive.” Senior guard Ahmed Hill is averaging 17.3 points over the last three games on 17-of-30 shooting to push his season mark to 13.3.

TIP-INS

1. Miami senior C Ebuka Izundu, who played high school basketball in Charlotte, leads the team in rebounding (8.4) while averaging 11 points.

2. The Hokies were seventh in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (39.8) entering Tuesday and senior G Ty Outlaw leads the way (46.4) with 71 makes.

3. The winner of Wednesday’s contest will take on fourth-seeded Florida State in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 78, Miami 70