To keep healthy, Delaney held out of practice

In order to rest guard Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech's coaches held him out of practice on Monday and Tuesday so he could rehabilitate nagging injuries.

Delaney has been bothered by two tweaked ankles and a sore left shoulder. Since the Hokies' win over Boston College on Saturday, Delaney has only been shooting and working with trainers to recover. The Hokies have only a light workout on Wednesday.

"He’s severely inconvenienced right now," Coach Seth Greenberg said Tuesday evening. "I think he’s bumped, for sure. He does a lot. We’re asking him to defend. We’re asking him to score."

In fact, Delaney told David Jackson, the team's director of strength and conditioning, that he felt like he had no legs before the game against the Eagles on Saturday. That might help explain Delaney's uncharacteristically poor shooting performance (4 of 15) as he scored 13 points.

In that game, Delaney injured his right ankle after stepping on another player's foot and injured his shoulder in a collision at the end of the game. Earlier in the year, Delaney missed time with a sprained left ankle.

Delaney has largely played through the pain this season. Although he can be seen grimacing at times during games, he has played down the seriousness of his injuries and his productivity has not been affected. Delaney, the Hokies' best player, is leading the ACC with an average of 19.5 points per game.

When Virginia Tech (15-3, 2-2) plays at Virginia (12-5, 3-1) on Thursday night, it will likely need Delaney to be close to full speed. The Hokies are looking for their first ACC road win.