Preview: California at Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (Interstat) — Two teams looking to rebound from narrow conference losses will meet Saturday when the California Golden Bears visit the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum.

The Atlantic Coast Conference matchup features California (13-3, 1-2 ACC), which fell 84-60 at Virginia on Wednesday, and Virginia Tech (12-4, 1-2), which suffered a heartbreaking 69-68 home loss to Stanford the same night.

Both teams have seen their strong starts tested early in league play. The Golden Bears, whose ranking is based on their overall record and early-season victories over Utah and UCLA, have dropped two of their last three. The Hokies have lost three of their last four, with each defeat by four points or fewer, including a triple-overtime thriller against Wake Forest.

A key matchup will feature standout guards. California’s Justin Pippen, son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, is averaging 14.0 points and 3.5 assists over his last four games. He scored 17 points in the loss at Virginia.

Virginia Tech will counter with sophomore Neoklis Avdalas, who is coming off a 21-point performance against Stanford. The guard has been a workhorse, logging 48 minutes in a triple-overtime win over Virginia on Dec. 31, where he posted 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

California’s offense will need more support beyond Pippen and guard Dai Dai Ames, who had 18 points against Virginia. The Golden Bears have averaged just 65.3 points in their three ACC contests.

The Hokies have shown resilience in close games, with a 3-1 record in contests decided by three points or less or overtime this season. They will need to shore up a defense that allowed Stanford to shoot 50% from the field in the second half of their last outing.

Saturday’s game is the first of a challenging stretch for both squads. California hosts Duke and North Carolina next week, while Virginia Tech hits the road for games at SMU and Syracuse.

Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.