Virginia Tech Takes on Rhode Island in NIT Quarterfinals

The Virginia Tech Hokies will take on the Rhode Island Rams in the NIT quarterfinals Wednesday night. Despite the similarities in record, these teams couldn’t be further apart in terms of strength of schedule.

Rhode Island comes into this match-up as winners of 4 of their last 5, including wins against Northwestern and Nevada in the first 2 rounds National Invitational Tournament. However, they have dropped games to teams like Saint Louis, UMASS and Virginia Commonwealth this season. This spells trouble when facing a Hokies squad that only had 8 losses all season in a tough ACC conference with 4 of them coming at the hands of NCAA tournament teams. Both teams can score, but Va Tech has the clear cut edge defensively allowing almost 6 less points per game.

Tech is definitely top end heavy as their top 6 scorers contribute the majority of their points. It’s not a serious problem when facing squads from mid-major conferences, because their bench players would probably start at Rhode Island. Malcolm Delaney leads the Tech offense from the point guard position, and is followed by their off guard Dorenzo Hudson. Guard play is extremely important in tournament conditions because they handle the ball most of the time, and can dictate the pace of play. Forwards Jeff Allen and J.T. Thompson contribute almost 20 points per game as well as 12 rebounds. They will be a force for the under-sized Rams front line to deal with.

Rhode Island has been one of the elite teams in the Atlantic 10 conference for years, but they will find it hard to match up with the athletes that the Hokies have. Keith Cothran leads the team in scoring with a 14.3 point per game average followed by Delroy James (13 ppg) and Lamonte Ulmer (12 ppg). They will need to hope Virginia Tech has an off day from the field while lighting it up themselves. Wither way, this should be an entertaining game with a lot of points being scored.

Most of the attention is on the NCAA tournament, and rightfully so, but the NIT has some of their own drama as well. Tune in Wednesday night as what seems to be a “David vs. Goliath” match-up may turn out to be a thriller!

Related posts:

1. NIT Quarterfinals: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi
2. NIT 2nd Rd Showdown: Connecticut v. Virginia Tech
3. Syracuse takes on Virginia Tech in battle of unbeatens
4. CBI Finals: Saint Louis vs. Virginia Commonwealth
5. Virginia Tech has hands full vs. Boise St Monday

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