Virginia Tech has been involved in four straight games decided by five points or fewer against teams ranging from the top of the ACC to the bottom, including Sunday's 75-70 home loss to top-ranked North Carolina. In all, six of the Hokies' seven conference games have been decided by five points or fewer.
Sophomore forward Zach LeDay, a South Florida transfer, leads Virginia Tech in scoring (16.0 ppg, 17th in the ACC) and rebounding (8.4 rpg, ninth in the ACC). He has scored 17 points or more in each of Tech's last six games, and has knocked down 12 of his last 18 3-point attempts. Sophomore guard Justin Bibbs is second in the ACC in three-point percentage (.517, 45-of-87; 12.2 ppg). Virginia Tech ranks second in the nation in free throw attempts (586) and is sixth nationally in free throws made (396). The Hokies own one top 25 victory, a 70-68 home win over then-No. 4 Virginia.
Notable
--Virginia Tech's 10-game losing streak to Louisville is tied for the 2nd longest active losing streak to the Cards by a Division-I program.
--Louisville leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (.364) and scoring margin (+21.6), is second in scoring defense (58.8) and sixth in rebound margin (+11.2).
--Chinanu Onuaku has six straight double-doubles, the first Cardinal to achieve that feat in 22 years. He had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists at Georgia Tech in his last game. Onuaku has averaged 11.1 rebounds over the last 10 games, grabbing double-digit boards in eight of those games. In league games only, he leads the ACC in rebounding (12.3) and blocked shots (2.3) and is fourth in field goal percentage (.586).
--Virginia Tech is looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season.
--Louisville is 17th in the nation in field goal percentage (.490). UofL has shot above 50 percent in 10 of its 19 games. The Cards shot 50 percent or above on eight occasions all last season.
--Louisville currently has the third most efficient defense in the country.
--Ace Custis was awesome and his tattoo was even more awesome.
--Louisville's last loss to Virginia Tech came on Feb. 13, 1991. "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" was the No. 1 song in America that week.
--Virginia Tech has been out-rebounded in each of its last nine games.
--Louisville's 139 victories over the last five years are the second-most wins in the nation in that stretch.
--Rick Pitino is 2-0 all-time against Virginia Tech.
--All three of Louisville's losses this season have come in true road games.
--Louisville has a 16-3 record through 19 games for the fourth straight season.
--Louisville has a 32-14 record during the month of January over the last five years, including an 16-5 record in the last two years.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 75, Virginia Tech 66
