Virginia Tech, South Carolina try to move past recent stumbles

Virginia Tech will play its first true road game of the season Tuesday night when it travels to Columbia, S.C. to face South Carolina in the ACC-SEC Challenge.

The Hokies (6-2) have lost two games in a row to cap a 1-2 stay at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. After beating Colorado State in the tournament opener, Virginia Tech was beaten by double figures by two other mid-major opponents, Saint Mary's and VCU.

In both defeats, the Hokies lost the rebounding battle. Against the Gaels, Virginia Tech struggled mightily from 3-point land, making just 7 of 30 attempts from behind the arc for a 23.3% clip. Against VCU, the Hokies turned the ball over 13 times, which the Rams flipped into 20 points.

"They played better than we did and that falls on my shoulders," said seventh-year Virginia Tech coach Mike Young after the loss to VCU. "We'll get it corrected."

Amani Hansberry, a junior forward who previously played at Illinois and West Virginia, leads the Hokies in scoring this season with 15.4 points per game.

This will be the third consecutive season that Virginia Tech and South Carolina (5-2) have faced off in nonconference play. The Gamecocks won both of the previous two matchups, by two points in Charlotte, N.C. in 2023, and by 10 last season in Fort Myers, Fla.

After losing two games in the Greenbrier Tip-Off, South Carolina got back in the win column Friday with a 74-62 home win over Charleston Southern. In just 16 minutes of action, Elijah Strong powered the Gamecocks with 22 points off the bench -- scoring 20 of those in the second half.

A 6-foot-8 junior who transferred in from Boston College, Strong is one of four Gamecocks averaging double figures in scoring this season with 10.1 points per game. Meechie Johnson leads South Carolina with 14.4 points per game.

One thing plaguing South Carolina this season is its inefficiency from behind the arc. In four straight games, the Gamecocks have shot below 30% from 3-point land.

"We're going to shoot 3s. Got to make them," said Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris. "We're going to get them. We don't force them, you know, just the way we're built, we're going to shoot threes. We need to make a good percentage."

South Carolina was without two players against Charleston Southern as freshman forward Hayden Assemian and sixth-year guard Myles Stute are day-to-day under concussion protocols.

Tobi Lawal has missed the last two games for Virginia Tech with a foot injury.

--Field Level Media