Virginia Tech Basketball: 3 keys to victory over Texas in Round of 64

Lock in on the defensive end

While a lot has been said about the Hokies on the offensive side of the ball, they’ve been equally as good on the defensive side of the ball, especially when it comes to defending the 3-point line. In the ACC Tournament, they held their opponents to 25 percent shooting from 3-point range.

That’s a steep proposition to overcome for opponents when considering the Hokies shot 42.7 percent from 3-point land across the same span. In a game where the 3-point shot has been valued, the Hokies have done a great job of keeping their opponents at bay from behind the arc.

The presence of Justyn Mutts and Keve Aluma will be key on the interior and on the perimeter. Mutts comes in sporting a defensive rating of 93.7 while Aluma holds a rating of 97.5 while he’s on the floor. The wild card on the defensive end has been Hunter Cattoor. He’s emerged with a defensive rating of 99.5 heading into the NCAA Tournament.

The Longhorns come into the game shooting 32.3 percent from behind the arc. As a reference point, they rank 255th in the NCAA in that category. If the Hokies can keep them from getting hot from behind the arc and make things difficult scoring the ball as they did for ACC foes in their run to the conference tournament crown, they’ll have Texas on upset alert on Friday evening.