Keeping an Allen off the glass will be the key to victory once again for Penn State.
In the team's loss to Temple, Owls forward LaVoy Allen dominated the boards, collecting seven of Temple's 17 offensive re-bounds.
Penn State will face another Allen -- Virginia Tech's junior forward Jeff Allen -- who collected six of his team's 27 offensive rebounds in its latest victory over VMI.
Coach Ed DeChellis voiced his disappointment with the rebounding effort after the Temple game. He hopes his players will respond with a determined effort on Saturday against the Hokies.
"[UMBC] was not a very big team. We will find out a lot about rebounding Saturday night," DeChellis said following the Lions' 58-42 win over UMBC. "I think Virginia Tech is averaging 17 offensive rebounds a game. I will give you a better read on that after we play somebody with guys up front with some size."
If Penn State wants to accomplish its preseason goal of making the NCAA tournament, this game is likely a must-win.
Virginia Tech travels to the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday for a 7 p.m. clash, where the Lions are undefeated this season.
With nonconference losses to Davidson, UNC-Wilmington and Temple, a showdown with Virginia Tech is the final opportunity for the men's basketball team to add a quality win to its resume.
"We will have to do a lot of little things," junior forward Drew Jones said. "They have a lot of guys that can score. They have a kid, [Jeff] Allen, who has a big body and likes to attack the glass. We just got to defend and rebound. When we do that, we are a pretty good basketball team." The Nittany Lions (7-3) travelled to Virginia last week and came away with a victory. The team stepped up defensively in the win and will need to showcase that intensity in front of its home crowd.
The Hokies (7-1) are coming off a 98-73 win over VMI, in which they blocked 17 of its opponents' shots. It tied a 16-year Hokies record.
The squad is averaging 15.8 offensive rebounds this season. If the Lions can reverse their trend of giving up offensive boards to their opponent, a win is possible.
Jeff Allen rebounded the ball 14 times in the last matchup between the two teams in 2007, which was a 66-61 victory for Penn State.
Without Jamelle Cornley in the middle this year, Jones and the rest of the frontcourt must crash the class early and often.
