Virginia Tech at Virginia Picks and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Dave Schwab - 2/12/2013
The Virginia Tech Hokies will look to snap a six-game losing streak this Tuesday night when they face the in-state rival Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. This ACC clash is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Hokies considering their last victory came on Jan.19 with a one-point win over Wake Forest as 3.5-point road favorites. This six-game skid actually started with a 74-58 beatdown by Virginia as 5.5-point home underdogs. They are now 11-12 straight up and 9-9-2 against the spread. The total has stayed “under” in their last three games.
The Cavaliers are making a strong push for an NCAA Tournament bid with six SU victories in their last seven games. They are 17-6 SU overall and 7-3 SU in the ACC. Virginia has covered in five of its last seven games to improve to 13-6-1 ATS overall. The total has gone “over” in five of its last six games.
Virginia Tech at Virginia Betting Storylines
Virginia Tech was not expected to be one of the top contenders for this season’s ACC regular season title, so it is easy to see why it has been an underdog in all six of these losses. It is averaging 71.5 points a game but ranked in the bottom third of Division I with a 42.2 field goal percentage. Defensively, the Hokies have been downright awful on the road in allowing an average of 80 points a game.
Its only hope to end this skid will be to get a monster performance from Erick Green as well as some solid support from a less-than-deep bench. Green has pretty much been the whole team this season with 25.3 points and 4.0 assists a game. Jarall Eddie is the only other player scoring in double figures with 13.3 points a game.
The Cavaliers find themselves a bubble team behind an offense that is averaging only 63.9 points a game but shooting a respectable 46.2 percent from the field. Joe Harris leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points a game while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three-point range. Akil Mitchell is pulling down a team-high 8.8 rebounds a game while adding another 12.6 points to the cause.
The main reason that Virginia remains a team to watch if it does get into the NCAA field of 68 is a defense that is holding opponents to only 52.2 points a game overall and a measly 46.8 points at home. This helps explain a perfect 14-0 SU (10-1-1 ATS) record at John Paul Jones Arena this season.
Virginia Tech at Virginia Betting Odds and Trends by BetOnline
BetOnline has Virginia listed as a 15-point home favorite with the “over/under” line still off the board for this matchup.
The Hokies are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 road games and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record. The total has gone over in four of their last five games on the road.
The Cavaliers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games following a SU win and 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 games at home. The total has gone over in five of their last seven home games.
The road team is 5-1-1 ATS in this conference matchup, and the total has stayed under in five of the last seven meetings at Virginia. The Cavaliers are 4-1 SU in the last five meetings and 3-1-1 ATS.
Virginia Tech at Virginia Picks and Betting Predictions
You never like to give that many points in a rivalry such as this, but these teams are clearly headed in opposite directions. The Hokies could not keep the game close on their own home court in the first meeting a couple of weeks back, and there are no tangible reasons to think that the results will be any different this time around.
Take # 516 Virginia (-15) over Virginia Tech (Tuesday, Feb.12, 7 p.m.)
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