Pilchard
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Deacs are riding a sweet 1 game winning streak into Blacksburg, VA to take on Buzz Williams' Hokies. Here is the skinny:
Record: VT gets a lot of respect in the KP rankings. He has them #7 in the nation, ahead of heavyweights UNC, Kansas and KY among others. Tech is 14-2 on the season, and is 3rd in the country in margin of victory. They put on some massive beat-downs on weak opponents this year. Off of VT's first loss, VT beat #255 Central Connecticut by 54. VT has top 100 wins over: #89 Ball State, #98 Northeastern (by 28), #15 Purdue, #45 Washington, #75 Notre Dame (by 25), and #68 GT. VT also beat Gardner-Webb by 28. Tech's two losses are a 1 pointer at Penn State and by 22 to UVA (VT's last game).
Offense: Really good #7. VT's shoots the ball very well. They take a lot 3 pointers (39% of their offense), and they make a lot of treys (41.8% - #4 in the nation). Tech can score inside as well as they shoot 56% (#31) on 2s. The Hokies also protect the ball reasonably well as they only commit TOs on 17% of their possessions (#72). VT does not get to the line a lot (not surprising given their reliance on 3s) as they are #288 on FTA/FGA ratio (WF is #11 in FGA/FTA ratio). Tech is also first in the ACC in FT% in conference games (79%). VT plays at a slow tempo (#327).
Defense: Good #38. The Hokies' strength on D is forcing TOs as opponents commit turnovers on 24% of Hokie defensive possessions. They also do not foul often (#22 in FTA/FGA). In their 4 conference games, the Tech defense has had some problems as they are dead last in the ACC in effective FG% at 56.4% in conference games. A large part of that is attributable to the UVA blow-out on Tuesday. Tech plays a lot of zone defense which explains why a significant part of opponents' offense (43% #2) against VT comes from 3 point shots.
Lineup: Due to injuries and suspensions, Tech plays with a short rotation (#301 in bench minutes). In their 2 point win at GT last week, the 5 Hokies' starters played 30+ plus minutes and 3 played 35+ minutes. VT is also not a big team (#184 in average height), but they are experienced with 3 seniors in their 7 man rotation. Tech starts: PG 6-2 Sr. Justin Robinson, SG 6-1 So. Wabissa Bebe, SF 6-5 So. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, F 6-5 Sr. Ahmed Hill and C 6-10 Jr. Kerry Blackshear. Their two primary players off the bench are 6-6 Sr. Ty Outlaw and 6-5 So. PJ Hourne. Everyone except Hourne can shoot the 3. Outlaw (48%), Hill (44%) and Alexander-Walker (44%) are particularly dangerous from behind the arc. Alexander-Walker is a future NBA lottery pick also shoots 61% from 2. In last year's VT 83-75 win over WF, also in Blacksburg, Ahmed Hill was the leading scored with 21 (Brandon Childress was WF's leading scorer with 17). VT shot 43% from 3 that day.
Bottom line: Tough one for the Deacs. VT will be angry after UVA dismantled Tech on Tuesday. Last time, Buzz had his team coming off a loss, they led 49-23 at the half. For WF to have a chance to keep the game competitive, WF will need to defend the 3 and not turn the ball over. KP projects an easy 80-62 Hokie win, and that seems about right to me. This is a sandwich spot for VT as they are coming off a rivalry game against UVA, and they play UNC on ESPN Big Monday, but after last week's loss, VT will not look past the Deacs.
Record: VT gets a lot of respect in the KP rankings. He has them #7 in the nation, ahead of heavyweights UNC, Kansas and KY among others. Tech is 14-2 on the season, and is 3rd in the country in margin of victory. They put on some massive beat-downs on weak opponents this year. Off of VT's first loss, VT beat #255 Central Connecticut by 54. VT has top 100 wins over: #89 Ball State, #98 Northeastern (by 28), #15 Purdue, #45 Washington, #75 Notre Dame (by 25), and #68 GT. VT also beat Gardner-Webb by 28. Tech's two losses are a 1 pointer at Penn State and by 22 to UVA (VT's last game).
Offense: Really good #7. VT's shoots the ball very well. They take a lot 3 pointers (39% of their offense), and they make a lot of treys (41.8% - #4 in the nation). Tech can score inside as well as they shoot 56% (#31) on 2s. The Hokies also protect the ball reasonably well as they only commit TOs on 17% of their possessions (#72). VT does not get to the line a lot (not surprising given their reliance on 3s) as they are #288 on FTA/FGA ratio (WF is #11 in FGA/FTA ratio). Tech is also first in the ACC in FT% in conference games (79%). VT plays at a slow tempo (#327).
Defense: Good #38. The Hokies' strength on D is forcing TOs as opponents commit turnovers on 24% of Hokie defensive possessions. They also do not foul often (#22 in FTA/FGA). In their 4 conference games, the Tech defense has had some problems as they are dead last in the ACC in effective FG% at 56.4% in conference games. A large part of that is attributable to the UVA blow-out on Tuesday. Tech plays a lot of zone defense which explains why a significant part of opponents' offense (43% #2) against VT comes from 3 point shots.
Lineup: Due to injuries and suspensions, Tech plays with a short rotation (#301 in bench minutes). In their 2 point win at GT last week, the 5 Hokies' starters played 30+ plus minutes and 3 played 35+ minutes. VT is also not a big team (#184 in average height), but they are experienced with 3 seniors in their 7 man rotation. Tech starts: PG 6-2 Sr. Justin Robinson, SG 6-1 So. Wabissa Bebe, SF 6-5 So. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, F 6-5 Sr. Ahmed Hill and C 6-10 Jr. Kerry Blackshear. Their two primary players off the bench are 6-6 Sr. Ty Outlaw and 6-5 So. PJ Hourne. Everyone except Hourne can shoot the 3. Outlaw (48%), Hill (44%) and Alexander-Walker (44%) are particularly dangerous from behind the arc. Alexander-Walker is a future NBA lottery pick also shoots 61% from 2. In last year's VT 83-75 win over WF, also in Blacksburg, Ahmed Hill was the leading scored with 21 (Brandon Childress was WF's leading scorer with 17). VT shot 43% from 3 that day.
Bottom line: Tough one for the Deacs. VT will be angry after UVA dismantled Tech on Tuesday. Last time, Buzz had his team coming off a loss, they led 49-23 at the half. For WF to have a chance to keep the game competitive, WF will need to defend the 3 and not turn the ball over. KP projects an easy 80-62 Hokie win, and that seems about right to me. This is a sandwich spot for VT as they are coming off a rivalry game against UVA, and they play UNC on ESPN Big Monday, but after last week's loss, VT will not look past the Deacs.
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