A Look Ahead

(This article originally appeared on www.hokiehaven.com.)

The Commonwealth of Virginia will showcase two of the nation's top teams in perhaps the biggest sports battle in years between the two in-state powers. Now conference opponents, Virginia and Virginia Tech square off in what very well could decide the ACC regular season championship. Hokiehaven.com's Brian Golden takes a look at the upcoming contest.

VIRGINIA (19-8, 10-4 ACC)
Big Wins: Duke, Maryland, at Maryland, Arizona
Bad Losses: Appalachian State, at Purdue, at Miami

The Birthplace of Presidents elects an ACC champion Thursday, with a Hokie win essentially sealing the title for Tech, and a Cavalier win maintaining Virginia's chances while paving the way for North Carolina to take the crown. The Cavs have followed a more traditional path to the conference lead than Virginia Tech. Where Tech has dominated the league leaders, and tripped against the bottom-feeders, three of Virginia's four losses are to Tech, UNC and Boston College, with a fourth to Miami. The Hoos haven't played a team with a winning record in the ACC since February 10, and that was a 27-point loss to Tech. That blowout ended a seven-game winning streak that included wins over Duke, Maryland (twice) and Clemson. Since then, Virginia has looked pretty average.

There's no doubt that playing in John Paul Jones Arena benefits Virginia. The Cavs are undefeated in the new crib this season, and junior guard Sean Singletary has been markedly better there. Just lately, Singletary has put up pts-reb-ast. totals of 24-7-4, 19-6-6, 19-4-7 and 22-4-5 in the last four home games. Running mate J.R. Reynolds has been over 20 points eleven times this year, and the two create a backcourt that is probably the only one in the ACC more seasoned and perhaps better than Dowdell and Gordon.

Home prowess aside, Tech is the perfect squad to break the home winning streak and end Virginia's flawless JPJ season. After non-conference struggles, the Hokies have already gotten four ACC road wins, including conquests of Duke and UNC, and don't expect Zabian Dowdell to back down from a hostile crowd. The Hokies have performed very well against guard dominated squads this season, and Virginia's big men combined for only 2 points in the February 10 matchup. Its hard to pick against an undefeated home team, but the Cavs are the perfect matchup for Tech tonight.

The Hokies win by 4, and start clearing the rafter space at Cassell.