GREENSBORO, N.C. – A first-round bye gave the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team a much-needed break entering Friday’s ACC tournament quarterfinal matchup with Miami at Greensboro Coliseum.

Junior guard Dorenzo Hudson had time to nurse his bruised right foot. Some of his overworked teammates had a chance to rest, while others, like forward Jeff Allen (shoulder), had the opportunity to recover from some nagging maladies. 

Things went well Thursday in the Hokies’ final practice before Friday’s game. Coach Seth Greenberg was very encouraged, posting this to his Twitter page: “Excellent practice! Our guys are rested and looking forward to playing!”

And as for Hudson, who didn’t play in Tech’s season finale win at Georgia Tech on Saturday because of a bone bruise on his foot, Greenberg said, “Zo looked good and felt good.”

After the win over the Yellow Jackets, Greenberg gave his team back-to-back days off for the first time since Christmas.

He wanted to rest his players, particularly Hudson, whose foot has been hurting since Tech’s 104-100 double-overtime loss to Maryland on Feb. 27, and guards Malcolm Delaney and Terrell Bell.

Delaney, a first-team All-ACC pick and the conference’s leading scorer (20.9), has played all but seven minutes in the Hokies’ last four games, including all 50 minutes of that double-overtime game against the Terrapins.

Bell has averaged 35.25 minutes in the last four contests.

“I think (the bye) was really important: One, to give Dorenzo a chance to get healthy. And two, let’s face it, we’ve had guys log a lot of minutes. I think having them fresh mentally and physically will be really important down the stretch,” Greenberg said Monday during the ACC coaches teleconference.

It appears as though Tech (23-7), the No. 4 seed in this week’s tournament, will be close to full strength when it tips off against the 12th-seeded Hurricanes (19-12) at 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Miami, which poleaxed Wake Forest 83-62 on Thursday, won’t be so lucky. It played its first round game without starting forward Dwayne Collins, its leading scorer (12.0) and leading rebounder (7.8), who has missed two straight games with a stress reaction in his leg.

The Hurricanes managed against Wake Forest without Collins, connecting on 51.7 percent of their shots in dispatching an uninspired Demon Deacons team that has lost five of its last six games.

Playing in place of Collins, reserve center Reggie Johnson made all eight of his field goal attempts and went six-for-six from the free throw line in leading all scorers with 22 points.

Center Julian Gamble had 13 rebounds, and Miami held Wake Forest to 35.1 percent shooting.

“We got great games out of those big guys, but (losing) Dwayne Collins is a factor,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “It’s all about these guys stepping up and doing a little bit more.

“We’re not going to change what we do in terms of offense. We’re still going play inside-out. We can shoot the ball well, but in order to get those shots, we’ve got to still get in the paint.”

The Hurricanes shot lights out against the Demon Deacons. That was their prescription for beating the Hokies in Coral Gables back on Jan. 31.

They shot 63.2 percent (70 percent in the first half) in beating Tech 82-75. It was one of only four ACC regular-season wins for the Canes.

“Sometimes the ball just goes through the hoop. I don’t know if there’s a great answer to when you shoot well and don’t shoot well,” Haith said. “I just think sometimes you make shots.”

Haith said his team isn’t “throwing in the towel because of some tough losses.” That was evident Thursday.

It’s presumed the Hokies, who have earned first-round ACC tournament byes in four of their six seasons in the conference, have an at-large NCAA tournament bid solidly wrapped up, but a second-straight loss to the Hurricanes might cause their players to sweat a bit Sunday when the bracket is announced.

“We talked about goals at the start of the season—get to .500, have a winning record, win 20 games, play yourself into the NCAA tournament, try to go as far as you can in the ACC tournament and go from there,” Greenberg said.

“We’re still in that process. There are no guarantees in life. You’ve just got to try to win as many games as you can, and at the end of that, I’ve told the kids we’ll find out if we’ve had a good enough season.”

Virginia Tech (23-7) vs. Miami (19-12)
2:30 p.m.
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: WDBJ (CBS)
Radio: 105.9 FM, WLNI

Virginia Tech
Malcolm Delaney (G, 6-3, 190) 20.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Dorenzo Hudson (G, 6-5, 220) 13.8, 3.4
Victor Davila (C, 6-8, 245) 5.2, 4.4
Terrell Bell (F, 6-6, 205) 5.8, 6.0
Jeff Allen (F, 6-7, 230) 12.0, 7.2

Miami
Durand Scott (G, 6-3, 195) 9.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg
James Dews (G, 6-4, 213) 11.8, 2.8
DeQuan Jones (G/F, 6-6, 219) 5.3, 2.1
Adrian Thomas (F, 6-7, 229) 7.4, 2.7
Julian Gamble (F, 6-9, 255) 3.5, 2.9

LAST TIME OUT: Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech 88-82; Miami beat Wake Forest 83-62.

LAST MEETING: The Hurricanes beat the Hokies 82-75 on Jan. 31 in Coral Gables, Fla.

FACTS: Tech guard Dorenzo Hudson (foot) is a game-time decision. He participated in the team shootaround on Wednesday and Thursday, and according to coach Seth Greenberg, felt fine. Forward Jeff Allen (shoulder) is expected to play. This is Tech’s third meeting with Miami this season. The schools split the first two games, with each winning on its home court. The Hokies are 3-5 all time in ACC tournament games and 2-0 against the Hurricanes. Tech is two wins shy of matching its best win total ever (25-10 in 1994-95). The Hokies are 2-1 in their last three games, with the only loss coming in double overtime against Maryland. In those three contests, guard Malcolm Delaney shot 50 percent and averaged 26.7 ppg and 5.33 apg.