ESPN BPI Has North Carolina Basketball As A Big Favorite vs Virginia Tech Tonight

Virginia Tech overcame a double-digit deficit on Saturday to defeat Syracuse and now they will look to upset North Carolina. The Tar Heels come into this game squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and need every win they can get.

The Hokies trail in the all-time series, 73-17. The first game of the series was played on Feb. 15, 1912 in Blacksburg. No. 7 North Carolina throttled Tech, 96-81, last season in Chapel Hill behind Armando Bacot (25 points) and RJ Davis (20). VT had won two straight in the series prior to the last meeting, taking down No. 18 UNC, 80-72, in Blacksburg on Dec. 4, 2022. Tech’s 72-59 win over North Carolina in the 2022 ACC Tournament semifinals ended a four-game losing skid against the Tar Heels. The Hokies’ last loss to UNC in Blacksburg was on Feb. 19, 2022 (57-65). Tech is 9-22 all-time against UNC in Blacksburg. Coach Young is 3-5 against North Carolina as head coach of the Hokies.

The Hokies are no stranger to being underdogs and tonight that is not going to change. Virginia Tech is an underdog per the oddsmakers and ESPN's BPI (Basketball Power Index). BPI is giving the Hokies just a 22% chance to win tonight's game vs North Carolina.

But what is BPI? Here is how ESPN describes it:

"The Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily."

Tech center Mylyjael Poteat returned to the lineup Saturday after missing a game due to a bone bruise to his knee. Mike Young was anticipating him to play around 15 minutes, but the fifth-year big man logged 25 minutes, with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting.

“Mylyjael’s a good example of our team,” Jaydon Young said. “He fought all week just trying to get back and do recovery and everything, and to come back and play the way he did, he’s a fighter and he’s our leader, so we look up to Mylyjael.”

The Hokies have gotten extraordinary contributions from their reserves this season. They average 27.1 bench points per game. Tech has combined for 142 bench points in its last three games (53 at Miami, 42 vs. Louisville and 47 vs. Syracuse). VT is on pace to record its best bench points average since 2016-17 (28.6 per game). Tech’s underclassmen combined to score 83 of its 101 points vs. Syracuse.

As the Atlantic Coast Conference expanded to 18 teams this season, only the top 15 teams will advance to the ACC tournament in Charlotte, March 11-15. Tech is in ninth place in the ACC standings at 8-10 following Saturday’s slate of games. VT is one game ahead of a three-way tie between FSU, Pitt, and UVA for 10th. The Hokies’ two remaining opponents rank higher than them in the ACC standings: vs. North Carolina (tied for fourth) and at Clemson (tied for second).

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