Associated Press

Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg (left) is averaging 18.3 points per game, which ranks him third overall in the ACC.

Fortunately for Virginia Tech, its mission today in men's basketball is not to shut down Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg.

The object is to beat the Cavaliers.

Some of the best teams on UVa's schedule have had trouble stopping Landesberg, but that hasn't prevented them from winning.

Just the same, with Virginia coming to Cassell Coliseum, Tech coach Seth Greenberg had plans to call his brother, Brad, while en route to North Carolina on Friday night for a recruiting trip.

Seth also expected to call Xavier coach Sean Miller, whose Musketeers beat host Virginia 84-70 last Saturday.

Landesberg, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, had 25 points against Xavier. Earlier, he had hit the winning basket Nov. 21 in UVa's 68-66 victory over Brad Greenberg's Radford team.

Landesberg scored 2,149 points in a three-year career at Holy Cross High School in Flushing, N.Y., but not everyone was sure how his game would translate to the next level. He is not a prolific 3-point shooter (6-for-20) nor is he a majestic dunker.

"We loved him," said Seth Greenberg, whose Hokies (9-5 overall, 0-1 ACC) entertain the Cavaliers (7-5, 1-0) at 4 p.m. "My brother loved him. Brad just said he was one of those guys who knew how to score.

"How about the plays he made at Georgia Tech, where he just split guys? On one play we showed today, he split four guys. He crossed and then crossed again and laid it in front of the rim. His first step is very intriguing."

Landesberg had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Cavaliers' 88-84 overtime victory at Georgia Tech.

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Yellow Jackets' coach Paul Hewitt. "We recruited him for a long time and, arguably, it came down to us and them. It was a close decision. Obviously, I wish we had him.

"He's a very gifted scorer. I know one thing. He's one of the hardest-working kids that I ever got a chance to go see work out. In high school, he was in the gym six days a week and not for short stretches. That was basically a regimen he lived with from 10th grade on.

"You put in that much time and it ages your game."

Landesberg entered the week as the ACC's leading scorer, averaging 19.6 points, but he has not been a gunner. He was shooting 49.6 from the field before an 0-for-6 outing Tuesday in a 74-50 victory over Brown.

"Most of the time I look up, he's either laying the ball up or he's at the foul line," UVa coach Dave Leitao.

No ACC player has attempted more free throws per game. Landesberg has made 78 of 96 free throws on a team whose next most-prolific free-throw shooter, forward Mike Scott, is 28-of-38.

On an afternoon when his Xavier team did almost everything right, Miller failed in his attempt to keep Landesberg off the line, where he was 10-for-11.

"Sean fouled him on a 3-point shot, which was really crazy," Greenberg said. "I think your help [defense] has got to be early. You've got to 'gap' him and make him a jump-shooter, which is easier said than done because he's so long.

"He's got such a high basketball IQ. To me, that's what sets him apart. He'll split a ball screen but he won't force splitting a ball screen. He uses his big people in transition and sort of navigate his way to the rim."

Landesberg has scored 20 points or more in seven games and been named ACC rookie of the week four times, but, aside from the Georgia Tech trip, the Cavaliers really don't have an impressive win.

Shut down the other guys and Landesberg can't beat you by himself. That's what the numbers seem to suggest.

"Just contain him and not give [Sammy] Zeglinski or [Mustapha] Farrakhan any kick-out '3s'," Greenberg said. "If I had [now graduated] Deron [Washington], that would be a lot easier to do.

"Not many people have zoned them, which surprises me because that's a way to keep [Landesberg] off the line, but that's also a way for their 3-point shooters to go off."

Greenberg indicated that his search for answers might extend beyond his brother and Miller.

"I do that before every game, though," he said. "I try and find two or three guys who have played the team we're going to play, people I know, but he's been a tough match-up for everyone."