Texas Basketball vs. Virginia Tech: Betting odds, TV/stream, pick
Playing in their first NCAA Tournament game under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Beard, Texas basketball is gearing up to face a difficult opponent in the Round of 64 in the 11-seed Virginia Tech Hokies. Texas will take on the reigning ACC Tournament Champion Virginia Tech as the six-seed in the East Region.
Beard and the Longhorns come into the NCAA Tournament riding a three-game losing streak dating back to a Feb. 28 loss in the home finale to the Baylor Bears. Texas’ last game resulted in a 65-60 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. That gives Texas a record of 21-11 (10-8 Big 12) heading into this Round of 64 matchup against Virginia Tech.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech is sporting a record of 23-12 (11-9 ACC) heading into the NCAA Tournament. Their last game resulted in an upset win in the final round of the ACC Tournament to beat the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils. Virginia Tech comes into the NCAA Tournament riding a four-game winning streak.
Here’s a look into the pre-tip-off betting odds, TV/streaming information, and game prediction as Texas gets set to take on Virginia Tech in the Round of 64 on March 18 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI, with tip-off time set for 3:30 p.m. CT.
Texas basketball vs. Virginia Tech betting odds
According to WynnBet, Texas is a one-point favorite over Virginia Tech a little more than 24 hours ahead of tip-off for this game. And the over/under is set at 123.5 points.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives Texas a 51.3 percent chance to beat Virginia Tech.
Texas basketball vs. Virginia Tech TV/streaming information
TV: TBS
Streaming: TBS app
Radio: IMG Longhorn Radio Network
Texas basketball vs. Virginia Tech prediction
Beard and the Longhorns will be looking to snap this team’s four-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament dating back nearly a decade. The last time Texas won a Round of 64 game was back in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, which came over the 10-seed Arizona State Sun Devils.
Moreover, Texas is about to face one of the best three-point shooting teams in the entire country in the Hokies. Virginia Tech ranks third in the country this season in terms of team three-point shooting percentage, at 39.3.
In order for Texas to move onto the Round of 64, the perimeter defense will have to be strong. The likes of redshirt senior shooting guard/wing Andrew Jones, senior guard Marcus Carr and senior guard Courtney Ramey will need to have their best perimeter/wing defensive efforts in this game.
An area where Texas can get the edge here, though, is with their play in the paint. Virginia Tech was one of the least efficient rebounding teams in the ACC this season. That leaves the likes of senior forwards Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop with an important role to win the battle on the boards for the Longhorns.
Allen and Bishop were two of the best offensive rebounders in the Big 12 this season. They need to come up big in this one.
The biggest key to victory in this game for the Longhorns, though, will be maximizing the effectiveness of each possession. Virginia Tech plays at one of the slowest paces in the entire country. Thus, Texas must play their best defense (especially on the perimeter) and minimize untimely turnovers on offense to come up with a win.
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Allen will be the leader Texas really needs to step up here. When Allen is playing well, the Longhorns are always going to have a chance to win games. That is likely to be the case again here.