Buzzketball Central: Washington Huskies (2-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies (2-1) 5PM 17NOV ESPN2

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 17, 2017 / 5 p.m.
Opponent: Washington
Site: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN2/ESPN app
Talent:
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech

The Loser's Bracket

Buzzketball laid a dud last night. A bad loss at the hands of St Louis, on a night where the Hokies couldn't get anything going. Poor execution of shots, poor free throw shooting, and poor defense, especially down low led to an early season loss. Now the Hokies have to find a way to come in energized and ready to play against Washington or face a second loss in a row.

The Huskies come back in to Madison Square Garden with a 2-1 record, having suffered their first loss last night at the hands of Providence. They beat Belmont and Eastern Washington in their warm ups for this tournament. While Washington looked way more competitive last night against Providence, neither of their two wins had much authority to them. The Hokies are 1-1 all time with the series, having won the last matchup 88-77 in 1974 and lost 28-20 in 1923.


The Huskies are coached by first year head coach Mike Hopkins. Prior to Washington, Hopkins was at Syracuse for twenty seasons. He is 4-5 as a head coach, with a tough road ahead this season after several key players transferred or rescinded their commitments to Washington in the off season. One key note about Hopkins is that he is well known for using advanced analytics to educate and improve his players.

Defensively, the Huskies employ different variations on the 2-3 Zone with a focus on forcing the offense to move the ball side to side and deter entry passes to the interior. He expects his players to be active, with hands up in the face of offensive players to create missed shot opportunities. One of the top statistics that matters to Hopkins is Field Goal Defense Percentage.

Offensively, Hopkins offense is somewhat an inside outside tandem so far but is very guard centric if he employs what was used at Syracuse. He does however focus his players on the value of rebounds and creating extra chances. Syracuse was routinely a top rebounding program while he was there due to his specific work with their bigs.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies will have to find the soft spots in the zone based on what Washington shows. Being able to make interior entry passes cleanly will be critical to the success of this team in this contest.

The Hokies will need to watch for tendencies from the Huskies offensively, because Hopkins instills analytic use of shot success on his players so they are more likely to return to the same spots on the court based on past success.

The Hokies and Huskies are fairly similar size wise especially looking at who receives the majority of the minutes from Hopkins so far. The Hokies need to find a way to get out in transition rather than work the half-court offense because their speed is their biggest advantage in this game.

This is another team that relies heavily upon its starters so if the Hokies can get the Huskies in foul trouble they greatly increase their chances of coming out with a win. Right now, four Washington starters are averaging over 27 minutes a game.

Huskies Backcourt

This will be the second team in a row that rarely shoot from the perimeter. They limited their perimeter shooting until late in the game against Providence, as they were in catch up mode for the first time which saw a sharp increase in number of attempts but not much change in shooting percentage.


Freshman Jaylen Nowell, #5, 6'4, 200 lbs is the young leader of this team who is averaging 18.7 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG and 2.7 SPG. He is shooting 57% from the field and 79% from the stripe so far and is one of their few reliable perimeter shooters.


Junior David Crisp, #1, 6', 195 lbs, is scoring 13 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1 SPG. He is shooting 29% so far overall but shoots 39% from outside.


Junior Matisse Thybulle, #4, 6'5, 195 lbs is another guard that doesn't shoot that well from the field but is putting up 12.7 PPG, 2 RPG, 2 APG, and 3.7 SPG. He is a bit sloppy with the ball though and cancels out his steals with 3.7 turnovers per contest.

Huskies Frontcourt


Junior Forward Noah Dickerson, #15, 6'8, 245 lbs is sole big with major contribution so far. He is averaging 27 minutes per game so far, while putting up 18.3 PPG, and 10.7 RPG. He is shooting 60% from the field and 70% from the line. His issue is much like the Tech bigs, in foul trouble. So far he is averaging 4.3 personal fouls per contest.

What to expect from Washington?

Zone defense with lead outs to guards running the sides of the floor to open space. High Energy squad that likely could have a major impact on the result of this game, especially if Tech comes out sluggish.
Guards that love to drive the lane, and with that being a Hokies weakness so far, could prove troublesome in this contest.

The Hokies

Energy, energy, energy....if the team that came out yesterday shows up, then turn this one off. If the talent latent one with speed for days shows up than its an entirely different story.

Guards need to be able to beat their man off the dribble and make clean interior passes to Blackshear and Horne. Keep the offense moving and find a high percentage shot.

Highlight of the St Louis Game

Hill on the perimeter or the return of Justin Bibbs. Both will have major impacts down the line.

In Closing

Very similar rosters that play very different games. The groupings on the floor though should look the same with a ton of guards and one "big man" down low but how they move about the floor and approach the ball are very different. Which team finds the clean looks at the basket should prevail.

The Hokies will need to stay out of foul trouble as these guards are very active down low with dribble drives and a heavy focus on offensive rebounding. The Hokies have to find a way to stay competitive in rebounds to keep the edge in this contest.

Hokies got that dose of needed reality after the first two fantasy games and now have to find a way to have the same energy more consistently. Buzz had better get them fired up or Washington walks out with a win and Tech leaves with a .500 record so far. The big lights are gone and the arena will likely be pretty empty so how they react to that goes a long way in this one. Hokies win a squeaker 73-69

DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.

Comments

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"...When we step on that field, they bleed like we bleed and we're gonna show the world."
-Corey Marshall

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"...When we step on that field, they bleed like we bleed and we're gonna show the world."
-Corey Marshall

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"...When we step on that field, they bleed like we bleed and we're gonna show the world."
-Corey Marshall

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

I just sit on my couch and b*tch. - HokieChemE2016

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence."

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Never Forget #1 Overall Seed UVA 54, #64 UMBC 74

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

I just sit on my couch and b*tch. - HokieChemE2016

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Outside it's night time, but inside it's LeDay

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

I just sit on my couch and b*tch. - HokieChemE2016

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own