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Men's Basketball

Hokies to close out 2022 with Wake Forest road contest

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Virginia Tech (11-2, 1-1 ACC) 
at Wake Forest (9-4, 1-1 ACC)
December 31, 2022
LJVM Coliseum
Noon ET
RSN
Virginia Tech Sports Network

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech will wrap up a historic 2022 calendar year on Saturday against Wake Forest following a 10-day break in ACC action. Tom Werme and Mike Gminski will be on the call for RSN for the noon tipoff, while Zach Mackey and Mike Burnop provide coverage for the Virginia Tech Sports Network.

 

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SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS

  • Wake Forest is coming off its biggest win of the season on Dec. 20 when it defeated No. 14 Duke, 81-70, inside LJVM Coliseum.
  • The Demon Deacons are led in scoring by graduate student Tyree Appleby, who matched his season average of 18 points in their win against the Blue Devils. Appleby has reached 20+ points in five games this season and Wake Forest is 4-1 in those games.
  • The Hokies will look to keep the pace of Saturday's game in their favor, as Wake Forest is 7-2 when scoring at least 70 points this season. 

The Series

  • Virginia Tech is 38-32 all-time against Wake Forest. 
  • The Deacs are Tech's closest ACC foe – 122 miles from Blacksburg. 
  • The first game in the series was Feb. 7, 1912 – a 45-15 win by the Hokies in Blacksburg. 
  • The Hokies have won nine of the last 11 matchups with the Deacs, including the last four in a row in Winston-Salem. Tech's last loss at Wake Forest came on Jan. 31, 2015. 
  • VT is 11-17 all-time as the away team in the series. 
  • The winner of 10 of the last 11 meetings has scored at least 80 points. 

SoCON TIES

  • Mike Young and his good friend Steve Forbes will square off for the 13th time on Saturday and for the fourth time as ACC foes. 
  • Young is 8-4 head-to-head against Forbes, including a 2-1 mark at the helm of the Hokies. 
  • Young was the head coach for 17 seasons at Wofford (2002-19) while Forbes led East Tennessee State (2015- 20) for five seasons. 
  • Young (2021) and Forbes (2022) have won the last two ACC Coach of the Year awards. 

Pedulla turning heads 

  • Sean Pedulla has reached double-figure scoring in each of his first 13 games of the season. Pedulla is the first Hokie to do that since Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored double figures in his first 13 games of the 2018-19 season. 
  • The Edmond, Oklahoma native ranks ninth nationally and first among Power 5 players in increased points per game (+11.9) from last season.

UP NEXT

  • The Hokies return to Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 4 for a 9 p.m. conference clash with Clemson. Extremely limited tickets remain starting at just $20 per ticket.