Freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas has jump-started Virginia Tech, and the Hokies will look to build on an unbeaten start in a matchup with Bryant Wednesday night in Blacksburg, Va.
Only four games into his career, the 6-foot-9 Greek point guard has already impressed. Avdalas is averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 assists per game. The Hokies are scoring 95.8 points per game, anchored by five players averaging double-digit points.
Virginia Tech (4-0) beat Charlotte 84-76 on Sunday.
Avdalas was held to 10 points, but was one of four Hokies who scored in double figures, led by 21 points and four 3-pointers from Jailen Bedford. Tobi Lawal, who is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game, added 18 points and 15 boards in the victory.
“We’re playing differently because of Avdalas,” said Hokies coach Mike Young. “This is the makings of a really good ball-handling team, passing team. They move well and that’s really hard for teams to guard.”
Bryant (1-3), on the other hand, has struggled mightily on the offensive end in its first four games. The Bulldogs of the America East Conference are 353rd nationally in scoring at 60.8 points per game and are 357th in field goal percentage at 34.7%.
The Bulldogs are led by their own 6-9 freshman import guard, Timofei Rudovskii, who hails from Russia. Rudovskii is averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Bryant is coming off a 68-50 loss to Valparaiso on Sunday. The Bulldogs led 30-22 at the half but were outscored 46-20 after intermission. Rudovskii scored 13 points and no other Bryant player topped six points in the game. The Bulldogs were 8-for-31 shooting in the second half and just 27.7% overall.
“Our job is to hold them accountable,” said Bryant coach Jamion Christian earlier this season. “But I think you can always wrap truth with hope. … If we’re able to do that, we can keep them bread-crumbing toward the goal that we want to get to.”
-Field Level Media
