Washington Basketball: 3 keys for the Huskies against Virginia Tech

Washington Basketball is 7-3 on the season entering a big game on Saturday. Here are three keys against the Hokies if they hope to pull the upset.

The Washington Huskies have used a combination of attacking the paint on offense and tough defense to get where they are as conference play approaches. They are scoring just 72.3 points per game this season on offense as a team but they also are allowing just 67.4 points per contest on defense.

They’ve used a solid dose of Noah Dickerson and Jaylen Nowell to boost themselves as a formidable opponent but they face a daunting challenge in the 13th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday night.

The Hokies are averaging 82.0 points per game on offense and making 11.6 3-pointers per contest as one of best sharpshooting teams in the country. Washington will have their hands full trying to contain a lineup that features four scorers averaging double figures in scoring.

In their last game against the No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs back on Dec. 5, the Huskies lost 81-79 despite a furious comeback. In that one, the Bulldogs shot 40 percent from behind the arc.

Virginia Tech is a team shooting 44.9 percent on the season. In a meeting between the two teams last season on November 17, 2017, the Hokies went 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the floor in a runaway victory. That’s probably on the minds of the Huskies heading in. Here’s a look at three keys for the Huskies against Virginia Tech.