CINCINNATI --- The No. 25 Xavier University Musketeers, 4-1, take on the Virginia Tech Hokies, 5-1, on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Upsie NIT Season Tip-Off at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Virginia Tech is No. 27 in the latest AP Poll, which is second among "others receiving votes."
Xavier leads the series 9-4, including eight wins in the last nine meetings. In the last meeting, XU defeated Virginia Tech 63-62 in overtime in the 2008 Puerto Rico Tip-Off on a half-court 3-pointer from current Xavier assistant coach Dante Jackson. Xavier and Virginia Tech were rivals in the Atlantic 10 Conference from 1996-2000.