JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

"We like playing on the road, and that's a game we think we can win," the Hokies' Malcolm Delaney says of playing the Jackets.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech forward Terrell Bell passes the ball up the court against North Carolina State on Wednesday night.

Two years ago, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team entered its regular-season finale at Clemson with a 9-6 ACC record and the chance to enhance its NCAA tournament resume with a quality win.

The Hokies lost by one point. They wound up in the NIT.

Virginia Tech is once again hitting the road for a regular-season finale with a lot at stake. The 22-7 Hokies again have a 9-6 ACC record, and again need one more quality win to become a safe bet for the NCAAs.

"If we get that win at Georgia Tech, we're locked in," guard Dorenzo Hudson predicted.

But Georgia Tech (19-10, 7-8 ACC) has lost just once at home this season -- a December overtime loss to Florida State.

"I'd like to change it," Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said with a grin of the game's location.

"If you can call the commissioner for me, I'd really appreciate it. I think that due to tremendous interest in basketball here in Blacksburg right now, we would like to move the game to Cassell Coliseum. We inconvenienced so many people last week that we want to give them a better opportunity to come see us with working rest rooms."

The Hokies are 2-5 in ACC road games, with neither win coming against a good team.

"We like playing on the road, and that's a game we think we can win," guard Malcolm Delaney said of today's game.

A victory today will give the Hokies a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament.

The Hokies are tied for third place with Clemson and Florida State; Wake Forest is one game in back of them.

Even if the Hokies lose today, they will still reap a first-round bye if slumping Wake Forest beats visiting Clemson on Sunday.

If they don't get a bye, the Hokies will be the No. 5 seed.

But much more is at stake than a bye.

The Hokies are just 2-4 against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI. They played one of the nation's weakest nonleague schedules, and seven of their ACC wins have come against the league's bottom five teams.

But Georgia Tech enters today at No. 35 in the RPI -- 20 spots above the Hokies. With a win today, the Hokies wouldn't have to enter the ACC Tournament squirming on the NCAA bubble and in need of another quality win.

The Hokies were on the bubble entering the ACC Tournament the past two years, and wound up in the NIT both times.

"We don't control our own destiny on the bubble, ... so we just want to control our own destiny," Delaney said.

The Yellow Jackets have four top-50 wins, but they need a win today to avoid having a losing ACC record on their NCAA resume.

Georgia Tech has a great 1-2 punch in the paint -- All-ACC candidate Gani Lawal (13.5 ppg, 9 rpg) and ACC rookie-of-the-year favorite Derrick Favors (11.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg).

"You've got to defend them early and you've got to keep them off the glass and you've got to run the court with them," Greenberg said.

Men's Basketball

Today

Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, 4 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum

Records: Va. Tech 22-7, 9-6 ACC; Ga. Tech 19-10, 7-8. TV: WDBJ

Last meeting: Va. Tech won 76-71 at home on Feb. 11, 2009

VT probable starters: F Jeff Allen (12 ppg), F Terrell Bell (5.8 ppg), C Victor Davila (5.2 ppg), G Malcolm Delaney (20.5 ppg), G Dorenzo Hudson (14.4 ppg).

GT probable starters: F Gani Lawal (13.5 ppg), F Derrick Favors (11.7 ppg), G Iman Shumpert (9.8 ppg), G Glen Rice Jr. (5.2 ppg), G D'Andre Bell (6.4 ppg).

Notes: The Yellow Jackets have lost four of their past six games, although all those losses came on the road. They beat visiting Duke in January. "If the ship gets righted, ... Georgia Tech has enough to get" to the Sweet 16, ESPN analyst Len Elmore said. "Although they suffered some problems, they have enough talent. On a man-to-man basis, their athleticism, they've got probably enough talent as anybody in the conference. They just haven't put it together. ... The flaw is inconsistent guard play, and certainly the ups and downs of Derrick Favors, who is an outstanding talent, but he is a freshman and gets himself in foul trouble." ... Allen has stayed out of first-half foul trouble the past two games. Coach Seth Greenberg has been employing a new tactic, taking Allen out of the game for a few minutes after he gets his first foul so that Allen won't get frustrated and so foes won't focus on trying to draw a second foul on him.