Virginia Tech, mired in five-game losing skid, has #10 Virginia up next

Virginia Tech was ranked in the Top 25 the week before Christmas, which is right around the time the Hokies lost senior guard Hunter Cattoor to an elbow injury.

With Cattoor on the sidelines, Tech (11-6, 1-5 ACC) has lost five straight, which maybe shows how shallow the depth is for coach Mike Young this year.

Cattoor is a solid player, but he’s not even a double-digit scorer (averaging 9.6 points per game in 2022-2023), the fourth scoring option most nights.

But in his absence, Young has had to go to freshman MJ Collins (3.1 ppg, 30.8% FG, 16.7% 3FG) alongside Sean Pedulla (16.8 ppg, 4.4 assists/g, 43.2% FG, 33.% 3FG) and Darius Maddox (9.2 ppg, 37.8% FG, 30.4% 3FG) in the backcourt.

Collins, in the five-game skid, is averaging 1.8 points (on 4-of-16 shooting) and 2.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game, with three goose eggs in that span.

Now you see why Young needs Cattoor back.

Wright State transfer Grant Basile, a 6’9” stretch four, has been a find (13.9 ppg, 5.6 rebounds/g, 49.7% FG, 39.0% 3FG).

The anchor for the rotation is 6’7” super senior Justyn Mutts (13.6 ppg, 7.9 rebounds/g, 3.9 assists/g, 58.1% FG, 45.5% 3FG), with 6’10” junior Lynn Kidd (5.6 ppg, 4.1 rebounds/g, 64.6% FG) getting 13.1 minutes per game off the bench in the post.

The good news for Tech fans, tentatively, is that it’s looking like Young might get Cattoor back for the game in JPJ on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

The pending return of Cattoor, and the addition of the top recruit from the Class of 2022, four-star Rodney Rice, who is working to get his basketball legs under him after missing Tech’s first 16 games after suffering an ankle injury in the preseason, should help with the depth issue.

Rice, a 6’4” freshman, got 30 minutes in the Hokies’ 82-72 loss at Syracuse last week, scoring two points on 1-of-9 shooting, with four rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Projections

• ESPN BPI: Virginia +7.7, 79.1% win probability
• EvanMiya: Virginia 69-62, 75.3% win probability
• KenPom: Virginia 68-61, 74% win probability
• Bart Torvik: Virginia 66-60, 74% win probability