Men's College Basketball
Preview
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 18, 2025
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia

While visiting Wake Forest has won four games in a row, Virginia Tech has created a recent stir as well as the teams get set to meet Saturday afternoon at Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech rose to the occasion with a sterling comeback earlier this week, overcoming North Carolina State 79-76 on Wednesday to secure its third victory in its last four games.

"We're coming on and I'm really proud to see it and excited for what lies ahead," Hokies coach Mike Young said.

The Demon Deacons (13-4, 5-1 ACC) have built their winning streak with four consecutive double-digit victories. It is the first time Wake Forest has started ACC play 5-1 or better since the 1996-97 team started 9-1.

Virginia Tech (8-9, 3-3) has earned its last three victories by a combined seven points. A second-half rally from 15 points down with 13:29 remaining and down 12 with 6:38 left Wednesday against NC State might have been the most impressive.

"Our team sometimes isn't very pretty," Young said. "Grit toughness, determination, hustle. ... I think I saw them grow up a little bit."

Virginia Tech's Tobi Lawal has reached the 20-point mark three times this season, with a pair of 22-point outings across the past four games. He 34-for-49 (69.4 percent) from the field in the last six games.

Lawal has scored at least 15 points in five of the Hokies' six ACC games.

He might have to score at a rapid clip to keep up with Wake Forest's Hunter Sallis, who scored 30 points in Wednesday night's 80-67 home victory against Stanford. Sallis, who played all 40 minutes, has tallied at least 20 points in six consecutive games.

"Obviously, Hunter is on a heater right now," Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said.

There's more to what Sallis is doing for the offense than racking up large point totals. He's creating avenues for teammates to be productive as well.

"It's not just him shooting it, it's about drawing attention," Forbes said. "Creating spacing and opportunities for everybody else because he's drawing attention."

Tre'von Spillers went 8-for-10 against Stanford with 18 points, making him at 22 of 28 (78.6 percent) across the past three games combined.

Young said he expects to have guard Ben Hammond back in the Virginia Tech starting lineup after a three-game injury absence.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Wake Forest 13-4 W4 9-0 2-3 2-1 6-3 7-1 5-1
Virginia Tech 8-9 W2 7-3 1-2 0-4 3-3 5-6 3-3
Last Meeting
Wake Forest Virginia Tech
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
3/2/24 WAKE 76 VT 87 76 27 50.0 87 26 59.6
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Wake Forest B. Miller 21 53.3 3
Virginia Tech H. Cattoor 26 60.0 3
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Wake Forest E. Reid III 9 2 7
Virginia Tech L. Kidd 9 1 8
Assists Player  
Wake Forest B. Miller 6
Virginia Tech S. Pedulla 6
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Wake Forest H. Sallis 327 47.6 60
Virginia Tech T. Lawal 214 63.2 57
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Wake Forest T. Spillers 151 53 98
Virginia Tech T. Lawal 105 42 63
Assists Player  
Wake Forest C. Hildreth 57
Virginia Tech B. Rechsteiner 54
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Wake Forest Off vs  red bar Virginia Tech Defense
blue bar 70.8 Points For
red bar 73.1 Points Against
blue bar 44.7 FG%
red bar 45.2 FG%
blue bar 30.6 Reb
red bar 27.8 Reb
red bar Virginia Tech Off vs  blue bar Wake Forest Defense
red bar 70.9 Points For
blue bar 65.8 Points Against
red bar 44.9 FG%
blue bar 38.9 FG%
red bar 30.4 Reb
blue bar 31.3 Reb