It’s been a dozen years since Virginia Tech played VCU.
Now they will meet on Friday morning in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
The teams find themselves in the consolation game after falling by double-digit margins in second-round games on Thanksgiving Day.
After VCU lost to No. 24 Vanderbilt 89-74, Virginia Tech dropped a 77-66 decision to Saint Mary’s in a battle of unbeatens.
The losses were similar. The Rams (4-3) led for just 18 seconds, while the Hokies (6-1) followed with their wire-to-wire defeat after surrendering the game’s first eight points.
Virginia Tech was hampered by the loss of last year’s top scorer and rebounder, Tobi Lawal, who played 15 minutes in the Hokies’ 66-64 win over Colorado State in the opening round of the tournament.
On Thursday, Lawal was sidelined and in a walking boot. Coach Mike Young said Lawal likely would miss the VCU game, and his absence would be “precautionary.”
The Hokies struggled to shoot from the floor without their top inside threat, making only 30.9% of their shots against Saint Mary’s.
Jailen Bedford, who hit 7 of 9 field-goal tries on Wednesday, missed all 10 of his attempts against the Gaels. Amani Hansberry (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Jaden Schutt (17 points) stood out on Thursday for Virginia Tech, which scored just 20 points in the first half.
“We couldn’t get on track offensively in the first half, and that’s frustrating,” Young said. “We’ll go back and look at that and dissect it.”
VCU is off to an uneven start under first-year coach Phil Martelli Jr., who still is trying to figure out the Rams’ rotation. Eleven players average at least 12.0 minutes per game.
“We’re built a certain way where I can go 1 through 13 right now where anybody I’m putting in the game, I feel very confident in all of them,” Martelli said.
Charleston transfer Lazar Djokovic (12.1 points per game) gives the Rams size at 6-foot-11.
VCU’s balanced attack includes the backcourt trio of Oregon transfer Jadrian Tracey (12.1 ppg), Nyk Lewis (11 ppg) and Terrence Hill Jr. (10.7 ppg).
–Field Level Media
