Virginia Tech Hokies at Kansas State Wildcats
Tuesday, 11/16/10, 4:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Kansas State -6.5
Current Betting Line: Kansas State -6
Virginia Tech enters today’s game with a 1-0 overall record after a 70-60 win over Campbell on Friday night in Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies were picked to finish second in the ACC behind Duke and ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1995, but head coach Seth Greenberg wasn’t impressed in the opener. “I was very disappointed in the second half,” said Greenberg. “Our commitment to defense was atrocious. We got lazy, we got out of our stance.” This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, as the Hokies are 5-8 all-time against teams currently in the Big 12 Conference. Virginia Tech has never played in the state of Kansas and is 0-1 on the home floor of a Big 12 opponent. The team is 12-8 ATS on the road the past three years and the college basketball lines page has them as an underdog.
The Hokies are 27-136 all-time against teams ranked in the AP poll, including an 11-32 mark under Greenberg. Virginia Tech posted a 2-3 record versus ranked opponents during the 2009-10 season. Backcourt experience is a major strength for this squad, returning the highest-scoring set of teammates in the ACC with Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson. The duo averaged 35.4 points per game last season. Delaney is a talent, being the ACC’s leading scorer in all games and conference games last year. Virginia Tech returns all five starters from last season and 89 percent of its scoring.
Kansas State played like it was opening the season with its highest ranking ever because they actually were in a 75-61 win over James Madison on Friday night. Preseason All-American guard Jacob Pullen scored a game-high 20 points, but the team showed its a work in progress. “It’s not going to be perfect in a first game,” said Pullen. “We lacked some energy and had some guys who were nervous.” The Wildcats shot a disappointing 17 of 32 from the free throw line and allowed James Madison to shoot 50 percent in the first half. “It was a complete breakdown defensively,” head coach Frank Martin commented. “Those are things we’re going to have to grow up with and overcome.” The team is 12-9 ATS in non-conference games.
The Wildcats will certainly face one of its stiffest non-conference challenges in playing the Hokies this afternoon and being part of ESPN’s third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Kansas State owns a 86-22 overall mark as a Top 5 team nationally, boasting a 26-7 mark when playing as the nation’s third-ranked team. The program is an even 8-8 against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference with the last matchup coming in the 1998 Maui Invitational.
Bettors will find that the Hokies are 5-2 ATS as an underdog of 0.5 to 6.5 points, while the Wildcats are 6-1-1 ATS as a home favorite of 0.5 to 6.5 points.
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