Sunday, November 15th, 4:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Cassell Coliseum (10,000) -- Blacksburg, Virginia. Television: None. Home Record: Brown 0-0, Virginia Tech 0-0. Away Record: Brown 1-0, Virginia Tech 0-0. Neutral Record: Brown 0-0, Virginia Tech 0-0. Conference Record: Brown 0-0, Virginia Tech 0-0. Series Record: Virginia Tech leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Virginia Tech Hokies will play host to the Brown Bears this afternoon as part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic.

Brown opened its season against St. Francis (NY) on Friday, and the result of that clash was a 68-64 triumph. After going 11-3 in the Ivy League in 2007-08, the Bears fell off dramatically in Jesse Agel's first year at the helm, dropping to last place with a 3-11 showing last season. There is a good chance of a turnaround this year, however, as Brown returns three double-digit scorers.

This game marks the season opener for Virginia Tech, which is 6-0 in openers under current head coach Seth Greenberg. Furthermore, the Hokies are 46-2 all- time in home openers at Cassell Coliseum. They just missed out on their third consecutive 20+ win season last year, finishing with a 19-15 overall record. The real problem for Greenberg's squad was its inconsistency in ACC play, as it went a mere 7-9 in conference. There is enough returning talent to at least hope for improvement.

Virginia Tech won its only previous meeting with Brown by a score of 95-52 back in 1977.

Last season, Brown's Matt Mullery earned All-Ivy honors by scoring 16.1 ppg and pulling down 6.5 rpg. Peter Sullivan was an outstanding complement for Mullery, as he netted 14.3 ppg. In the season opener against St. Francis on Friday, Mullery connected on 8-of-9 shots from the floor en route to 16 points, and he also grabbed six rebounds while registering four steals. Furthermore, Mullery set a new school-record for career blocked shots with 121, as he rejected six St. Francis attempts. Sophomore Jean-Herbert Harris led the way for Brown offensively with 18 points, and Adrian Williams pitched in 14 points. Sullivan rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.

The challenge heading into this opener for Virginia Tech will be finding players to supplement junior Jeff Allen in the frontcourt and junior Malcolm Delaney in the backcourt. The top returning scorer in the ACC, Delaney (18.1 ppg) played a lot of minutes last year and will need help along the perimeter. He was recently named a Preseason All-ACC performer, and Delaney needs just 49 points to reach 1,000 for his Tech career. Allen's support will likely come from the combination of sophomore Victor Davila and junior J.T. Thompson, the latter of which missed significant time last year due to injuries. A run at the NCAA Tournament is certainly not unrealistic for Virginia Tech, but Greenberg will have a much better idea of what to expect after watching his team square off with Brown.

Virginia Tech will take care of business in this opener. Delaney and company will outscore Mullery and his teammates en route to a double-digit victory.

Predicted Outcome

Virginia Tech 68, Brown 53