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Virginia Tech will look to secure a bye into the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament when it hosts Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
Seeking their first three-game winning streak since Jan. 20-27, the Hokies (17-13, 9-10 ACC) are tied with Florida State and North Carolina State for eighth place in the conference. The top nine teams in the conference will receive a bye, with the top four earning a double bye.
Sean Pedulla collected 15 points and seven assists to pace Virginia Tech to an 80-64 victory at Louisville on Tuesday. The rare road victory was a welcome one for the Hokies, who lost away from home 74-66 to Notre Dame on Feb. 10.
While 2-9 in true road games, Virginia Tech boasts a 13-2 record at home.
“A lot of people say teams need to play their best ball in March. Well, here it is, we are in March,” Hokies guard MJ Collins said after he scored 13 points. “I feel like we are playing good basketball. Hopefully, it can carry over and we make a push and bring another ACC championship back to Blacksburg.”
Pedulla boasts team-best averages in points (15.7), assists (4.6) and steals (1.1). Hunter Cattoor, who led the Hokies with 18 points in the initial meeting with the Fighting Irish, is contributing 13.9 points per game.
Notre Dame (12-18, 7-12) followed its win over Virginia Tech last month with victories in four of its next five games before dropping an 84-51 decision to North Carolina on Tuesday.
“They kicked our butt from start to finish,” Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “It was grown men versus boys out there. We have to get better if we want to get to that level.”
Tae Davis, who had 11 points, was the lone member of the Fighting Irish to score in double digits. Markus Burton finished with nine points, snapping a run of 22 straight games in double digits and nine in a row with at least 16 points.
Burton, who boasts team-best averages in points (17.0), assists (4.3) and steals (2.0), recorded 16, eight and six, respectively, in the previous meeting with Virginia Tech.
–Field Level Media
