Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers vs Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2
Virginia Tech hosts Mount St. Mary's at Cassell Coliseum, and the Mountaineers play the slowest, lowest-scoring game on the board.
The Matchup
Virginia Tech has opened the season scoring freely, and Cassell Coliseum will expect a rout. The Hokies are 3-0, scoring 92.3 points per game and allowing 69.7 this season, after a 19-13 Atlantic Coast Conference season in which they scored 78.8 and allowed 74.9. Mount St. Mary's arrives 1-1, scoring just 60.0 points per game and allowing 77.0, after a 15-17 season in which the Mountaineers scored 68.1 and allowed 70.1.
These rates blend this season's first games with last season, and the blend trims Virginia Tech's edge considerably, because last season's Hokies were a middle-of-the-pack team that gave up points. Ben Hammond leads Virginia Tech at 22.7 points and 5.3 assists per game, and Tyler Johnson leads them at 6.7 rebounds per game.
Mount St. Mary's answers with Abdou Khadre Kebe at 14.0 points per game, Redd Thompson Jr. at 5.0 assists per game, and Wilguens Jr. Exacte at 7.5 rebounds per game. Hammond, Johnson, Kebe, Thompson, and Exacte all carry no injury designations into this game.
The counterpoint is obvious and honest. Hammond is the best player on the floor by a distance, the Hokies are at home, and if Mount St. Mary's cannot score early, Virginia Tech's pressure can turn this into a runaway before halftime.
Key Factors
The first factor is pace, because Mount St. Mary's plays slowly and scores little, and that combination protects points. Fewer possessions mean the favorite needs to be ruthlessly efficient to build a margin near thirty, and one cold stretch ends the math.
The second factor is Virginia Tech's defense across both seasons. The Hokies allowed 74.9 points per game last season, and a team with that profile gives an underdog enough baskets to keep the margin honest even while losing comfortably.
The third factor is Exacte on the glass. His 7.5 rebounds per game give the Mountaineers a way to finish defensive possessions against a bigger frontcourt, and every finished possession is time off the clock the favorite needed.
Mount St. Mary's will not win this game, but its slow pace and Virginia Tech's habit of trading baskets make a margin this large hard to reach. The Mountaineers only need to keep the game from becoming a track meet. Take Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers +28.5 at -110.
Game Information
| Date | Friday (11/13) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 6:00 PM CT |
| How to Watch | ACCNX |
| Venue | Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg |
| Spread | Virginia Tech Hokies -28.5 |
| Total | 150.5 |
| Moneyline | Virginia Tech Hokies -50,000 |
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