Preview: What #UVA Basketball fans need to know about Virginia Tech

I never like games coming off a long break, but at least Virginia and Virginia Tech are both coming off long holiday breaks – and Tech’s is actually longer; their last game was Dec. 20, an 82-81 OT win over Elon. The Hokies (11-2, NET: 61) played that one without Tobi Lawal (12.8 ppg, 10.3 rebounds/g), who has been out of the lineup since Nov. 26, and Neoklis Avdalas (14.6 ppg, 5.0 assists/g, 44.4% FG, 37.1% 3FG), a 6’9” freshman who starts at the point, and gets minutes at the three and four spots. Avdalas was out for the Elon game, officially, due to “illness”; let’s assume he’s back on Wednesday (2 p.m. ET, ACCN), and that he’s a fun matchup, being a 6’9” point. The absence of Lawal has been problematic for Mike Young (116-87 in seven seasons at Tech); the Hokies are 5-2 since Lawal injured his left foot in the 66-64 win over Colorado State in the Battle 4 Atlantis last month, the losses coming in their first two games after Lawal went down (double-digit losses to Saint Mary’s and VCU). It’s no sin to lose to Saint Mary’s (12-2, NET: 28) or VCU (9-4, NET: 58), but the 86-83 OT win at South Carolina (8-4, NET: 113), and the one-point OT win at home vs. Elon (8-5, NET: 145) tell you that this team isn’t the same without Lawal. Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP #uva #uvabasketball #virginiabasketball Online: https://augustafreepress.com/news/pre...