At this point, the Cavaliers have secured a double bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament where they will be the No. 2 seed. The Hoos are safely projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field as well as a likely top 5 seed when those brackets are unveiled next weekend. At 26-4 overall, Virginia coach Ryan Odom already became the winningest first year coach in program history too.
Despite knowing its postseason positioning is solid entering the final regular season weekend, UVA still has plenty of motivation for Saturday's game with Virginia Tech. The Hokies took the first meeting in Blacksburg back on New Year's Eve in triple overtime, 95-85.
"We're fired up for the game, for the Virginia Tech game, because we know what it is like," Virginia center Johann Grünloh said. "I think it's gonna be a great game, and we're fired up, especially after the triple overtime loss against them in their building."
The Hoos rebounded from that loss in the conference opener to reach 13-3 in the league standings. They have not lost back-to-back games all season. VT, on the other hand, is still trying to put together a better case for its postseason hopes. The Hokies are 19-11 overall and 8-9 in the ACC. In other words, Virginia could play a role in how its rivals fare with postseason tournament selections.
UVA currently leads the The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash competition between the two schools by a score of 9.5-4.0. The all-sports, points-based system keeps a year-long tally between the teams. The Hoos picked up their points from women's soccer, volleyball, cross country, football, indoor track, women's tennis, and women's swimming/diving. Tech has points from men's basketball, women's basketball, wrestling, and men's swimming/diving. Virginia has won the competition three straight times and eight times overall, while Virginia Tech has three wins.
With students still on spring break, Odom is hopeful for a lively crowd anyway at the JPJ.
"We're certainly going to have to be ready to go," Odom said. "I hate that it falls on spring break. Winter break for Virginia Tech [in the first game] and spring break for Virginia [in the second game] doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it is what it is. Nobody's fault, just the way it fell, and we're going to make the most of it. So we need as many Virginia fans in here as we can get."
Beyond the rivalry implications, Saturday is Senior Day as well. UVA will honor Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, Devin Tillis, Ugonna Onyenso, and Jacari White as well as managers Maren Council and Artie Humphreys in a pregame ceremony. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 11:45 a.m.
Virginia Athletics has released social media videos highlighting the five seniors on the team. Check those out below.
Fan(s) Of The Week
The secret sauce to the Hoos' winning ways.
Student Fan(s) Of The Week
Sharing love for a Wahoo.
Feature Photo Of The Week
Thijs De Ridder leads Virginia in scoring.
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