Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbooks) - The 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and Virginia Tech Hokies clash in Blacksburg tonight, as they meet as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Cassell Coliseum. The Badgers enter the contest a solid 5-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming to second-ranked UConn (76-57) in the championship game of the Paradise Jam Tournament a week ago. The team though, rebounded nicely from that setback, posting a 67-46 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. Wisconsin will continue its road swing against Marquette on Saturday. As for Virginia Tech, it also comes into the contest on a winning note, capturing a 76-67 victory over Elon Wednesday. The win put a stop to a short two-game slide and improved the squad to 4-2 overall. It also marked the Hokies' third home win in as many tries this season. Tonight's matchup is the first-ever between Wisconsin and Virginia Tech on the hardwood. The Badgers controlled the boards, 36-25, while holding UWM to a lackluster 35.6 percent shooting effort from the floor in a lopsided win on Saturday. Wisconsin drained 44.0 percent of its field goals in the game and also went 18-of-26 at the foul line. Trevon Hughes made all four of his three-point attempts and he paced the Badgers with 16 points. Joe Krabbenhoft notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Landry also finished with 12 points in the win. On the season, Hughes leads the squad in scoring at 14.2 ppg and he is shooting 55.2 percent from three-point range. Landry ranks in both scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (4.7 rpg) and he also has eight steals to his credit. Overall, Wisconsin is turning in 67.3 ppg, while limiting its foes to just 58.0 ppg on the season. Virginia Tech connected on 44.6 percent of its attempts from the floor and 23- of-28 at the charity stripe, as it outlasted Elon on Wednesday. The team also won the battle on the boards, 42-27, including a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass. Victor Davila and A.D. Vassallo each scored 16 points to lead the Hokies, while Malcolm Delaney had 15 points on the strength of a 12-of-12 effort at the foul line. Jeff Allen also got into the mix, netting 12 points and snaring nine caroms. On the season, Allen paces Tech in both scoring and rebounding with his double-double average of 16.8 ppg and 10.5 rpg. Vassallo nips at his heels with 16.7 ppg and he is also grabbing 6.7 rpg and dishing out 4.2 apg. Delaney follows closely with 16.3 ppg and he is handing out 3.5 apg. As a team, Tech is scoring 68.7 ppg and doling out 15.0 apg. |
