Hokies playing spoilers this year

Last season, Virginia Tech came up short (again) in its quest to make the NCAA Tournament — and you didn’t need to be a bracketologist to know that two regular-season losses to a 16-15 Virginia team didn’t help the Hokies’ resume any.

This season, the script has flipped. No. 25 Virginia (20-6, 7-5) has a chance to make the Big Dance for the first time in five years and a struggling Tech has the chance to play spoiler.

Tonight, the rivals square off in Blacksburg in what figures to be another slug fest. Tech (15-12, 4-8) won the first meeting of the season between the teams, 47-45, on Jan. 22 in Charlottesville.

The last five games between the in-state foes have been decided by an average of 4.5 points.

"It's gonna be a war...,” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett, during a teleconference on Monday. “Every game with them has been like that."

Said Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg: “The games usually have a sense of urgency that is a little bit higher.”

Both squads are coming off much-needed victories. Tech, which had dropped seven out its previous 10 games, defeated Georgia Tech on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Dorenzo Hudson on Saturday. Virginia bounced back from two poor efforts on the road with a 27-point win against Maryland.

Both teams are playing shorthanded. Tech is expected to be without Victor Davila (groin injury); UVa is missing center Assane Sene (ankle).

In the January meeting, Tech held ACC Player of the Year candidate Mike Scott to just 10 points, more than seven below his season average.

“I just remember being double- and triple-[teamed],” Scott said, “and Jarrell Eddie hit a lot of 3s. We’ve got to contain him."

Greenberg said his team’s ability to make it tough for Scott to catch the ball was a key in holding him down in that first meeting. However, he said that might be more challenging this time around given some of the new wrinkles in Virginia’s offense.

“They’re moving Mike around on the perimeter and running him off staggers and then bringing him into the post,” he said, “so they’re moving him around a lot more than when we played them the first time.

“We’ve got to be alert...he’s shooting the ball so confidently now.”

Scott’s supporting cast showed some signs of life against Maryland. Sammy Zeglinski had his highest-scoring game in three weeks; freshman Malcolm Brogdon had a career-high 14 points; and Joe Harris looked more comfortable with the protective padding on his fractured left wrist.

Scott is looking forward to tonight.

"We definitely remember what happened,” he said, referring to the earlier meeting. “They gave us our only home loss here. We're going to try and return the favor...

“It's going to be my last visit to Blacksburg. It's gonna be a tough one."

Dunks

Virginia dropped three spots to No. 25 in the AP Top 25 poll that was released on Monday. UVa dropped out of the coaches poll... Bennett said he was told by athletic trainer Ethan Saliba that the inflammation on Harris’ hand figures to be going down since it’s been 10 days since the injury and that Harris’ padding can be “streamlined” in the near future... Bennett said that Sene is still on crutches and bearing only 50 percent of his weight. He declined to speculate on a timetable for his return.