HOKIES LOOK TO CONTINUE DREAM YEAR IN REMATCH VS. MIAMI IN ACC TOURNAMENT

Topher Wagner

March 4, 2021

GREENSBORO, N.C. — After ending the season on a hot streak, Virginia Tech is rewarded with a matchup against Miami in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.

Following a program-best six consecutive ACC wins, the Hokies finally came back down to Earth in the regular season finale as they fell 68-63 to North Carolina. Despite this loss, Virginia Tech is still riding high after finishing the regular season 13-8 and has the No. 7 seed in the ACC Tournament.

These ACC foes already met once this season, with Tech taking the first meeting in dominant fashion, 75-55, on Feb. 11.

In that matchup, the Hokies prevailed behind an outstanding defensive effort as they held the Hurricanes to just 25% shooting from the three-point line and 38% overall from the field. Virginia Tech also had fantastic outings from its three-headed monster of Elizabeth Kitley, Georgia Amoore and Aisha Sheppard as the trio combined for 55 points, equaling Miam’s team total.

“We’ve felt confident with the talent level we’ve had this season, it was just a matter of putting it all together with the chemistry,” Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said. “One of the things that I have to keep reminding myself so much is that they’re young. We had to reinvent ourselves right after Christmas, we had some departures and had to fill in a void and since then we’ve gained a lot of chemistry together.”

Since a losing skid that included the blowout to Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes finished the regular season hot by winning three straight games to improve to 11-10 on the year. Leading the way has been forward Destiny Harden, as the junior has put up at least 15 points in each game of the winning streak. The first time the Hurricanes played the Hokies, Harden put up 20 points and 12 rebounds and was the main playmaker they had in the huge loss.

“Destiny is a curious kid, when the game starts out she’s just trying to feel her way through it, she takes a ton of information throughout the game to try to figure out what her looks are,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “It’s one of those interactions where you just love how much she’s trying to absorb because she knows that she’s a tough matchup for people and she knows that she’s got a nice game, so it’s a matter of how you’re going to free her up.

This will be the 31st all-time meeting between Virginia Tech and Miami, with the Hurricanes holding a 21-9 lead. Despite this historical dominance, Tech has won three straight against Miami for the first time in program history as it looks to make it a fourth in a row on Thursday. The two have only faced once previously on a neutral site, back in the 2013 ACC Tournament, a game Miami won 45-39.

Virginia Tech Key to the Game: Win the turnover battle

On the Hokies’ recent win streak, a tenacious defense dominated its opponents, forcing key turnovers in clutch moments time and time again to propel themselves to victory. This included their initial matchup with the Hurricanes, as Tech forced 15 Miami turnovers en route to the crushing victory.

However, in its first loss in over a month against North Carolina, Tech lost the turnover battle 16-11 as the Tar Heels did a good job taking care of the ball against the scrappy Hokies. To advance in the ACC Tournament, Tech will have to get more aggressive once again on the defensive side of the ball.

Miami Key to the Game: Defend the three point line

When they faced off the first time, the Hurricanes’ three-point defense was practically nonexistent throughout the game. The Hokies controlled the battle beyond the arc with a whopping 13 three-pointers made on 40% shooting. Tech’s pure firepower destroyed Miami as half of VT’s points came from deep.

As of late, Miami has begun to put the clamps down on its opponents three-point success, as seen in its last win over Clemson. The Hurricanes will need to continue to replicate this performance to pull off the upset and keep their season alive.

Virginia Tech Player to Watch: Georgia Amoore

After a hot start to her freshman year, Amoore began to cool off down the stretch before her offensive outburst against Miami. In the Hokies’ commanding win, Amoore exploded for 17 points, including five three-pointers as the Hurricanes were unable to defend her all night.

Since then, the sharpshooter has put up double digits in two of her past three games, becoming one of the major focal points of Tech’s offense in the process. Miami will have to prevent another dominant showing from Amoore to stymie the Hokies’ offense in Greensboro.

Miami Player to Watch: Kelsey Marshall

Despite being Miam’s leading scorer, Marshall has been fairly quiet as of late, as she hasn’t topped 12 points in her last five games. In the win over Clemson, Marshall had a solid outing but also turned the ball over three times on just 36% shooting as her counterpart Harden did most of the heavy lifting in the win.

Marshall has been one of the senior leaders for the Hurricanes all year long and will need to come out strong in a big way against Tech to keep Miami afloat in the ACC Tournament.

Score Prediction: Virginia Tech 72, Miami 61

As the ACC foes square off in the second round of the conference tournament, both have reasons to be optimistic about a win. Virginia Tech and Miami are both hot and are playing their best basketball as of late, with multiple scorers showing out for both deep teams down the stretch.

While Miami has certainly improved since its first meeting with Virginia Tech, it is about to run into a Hokies buzzsaw that has neutralized opponents with a strong offensive attack all year long. Propelled by two members of the All-ACC First Team in Sheppard and Kitley, as well as Amoore, who was named one of the top freshmen in the conference, Virginia Tech has simply too many scorers for Miami to keep up. While this may start close, the Hokies will take control and continue their outstanding season, winning 72-61.