The Virginia Tech Hokies (16-13) will wrap up the regular season when they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (20-8) at Cassell Coliseum. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2 and can be seen on ES3.
The Hokies beat Wake Forest 81-74 on Sunday. Justin Bibbs led all scorers on the team with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a 76-62 win over Duke on Sunday. Jamel Artis led the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Panthers winning the first matchup 90-71. Seth Allen had a standout performance with 28 points, six rebounds, three assists, one block, and five three-pointers in the loss.
The Hokies come into this game 16-13 Straight Up (SU) and 14-8-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Hokies prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 47th in the nation with a .320 opponent field-goal percentage from three-point range.
On the other side, the Panthers head into the game with records of 13-14 ATS and 20-8 SU. Pittsburgh performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 7-3 record. Offensively, the Panthers have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 77.5 points per game after averaging only 67.7 during that stretch. The Panthers convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking 15th in the nation at .759. Pittsburgh is one of the better rebounding teams in Division I. The Panthers average 39.2 rebounds per game, making them the 47th-best team in the country for that category. The Panthers rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 15th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.50. The Panthers are one of the top defensive teams on the road, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 69.6 points allowed per away game.
The Panthers’ win over Virginia Tech in their last clash bumped their SU record to 5-1. The teams are even ATS, with a 3-3 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pitt, ATS Winner – Pitt
Notes
“Virginia Tech is 10-3 ATS in its last 13 games “.
“Virginia Tech is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Virginia Tech’s last 7 games “.
“Virginia Tech is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“Virginia Tech is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Virginia Tech’s last 6 games at home”.
Virginia Tech is an even 8-8 SU against the conference, while Pittsburgh sits at 9-7 SU.
Pittsburgh averages 77.5 points per game (ranked 65th). Virginia Tech, on the other hand, allows 71.8 points per game (ranked 150th).
Ranked 18th, the Pittsburgh Panthers have an offensive rating of 115.9. The Virginia Tech Hokies rank 120th with a defensive rating of just 102.6.
Pittsburgh has an average field goal percentage of 46.4%. Virginia Tech is an underachieving 4-9 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Virginia Tech Hokies and the Pittsburgh Panthers both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Virginia Tech is 219th and 173rd in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Pittsburgh ranks 97th and 60th in these categories.
Ranked seventh in the nation, Pittsburgh has an average of 17.8 assists per game. Virginia Tech ranks lower at 277th with 11.9.
Pittsburgh, the 47th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.2 rebounds per game. Virginia Tech does worse, ranked 232nd with 35.3.
The Virginia Tech Hokies make an average of 5.7 steals per game. When the Pittsburgh Panthers allow 5 or more steals, they are a solid 12-7.
