BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: St Josephs Hawks (8-2) vs Virginia Tech Hokies (8-3) 1PM ESPN3


MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TIME OF THIS GAME

ALSO IF YOU ARE A STUDENT LOOKING TO GET IN TO THE LOTTERY YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT

Radio
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
Also available on:
Satellite: Sirius: 119 XM: 193
Digital: Hokies Xtra & TuneIn

Internet
ESPN3 Doug Sherman, Rob Kennedy

Our test before the Holidays is in full swing Hokie fans!! How do the Hokies fare against a mid major foe with a solid track record coming into this game on a neutral court? Tech takes on a St Joe's team that comes into the Barclays Center having only lost games to Florida and #8 Villanova this season and on a four game winning streak. Florida and Villanova are currently #3 and #4 in the RPI. They have proven they can win the close games, having won four of their games by one basket or fewer. Their signature win so far is probably their overtime win over Temple. The one big disappointment is that this game wasn't picked up by a major network considering the time its being played, the location of the game and the fact it's a big vacation week with people looking for something to watch on TV. No, we are relegated once again to ESPN3 hell.

As it is, the Hawks come into this game ranked #65 in the RPI compared to Tech who is #158 with the likes of Hampton and Pepperdine. Most of our low ranking has to do with our 256th ranked Strength of Schedule out of 351 teams. The game against Grambling, while a win, dropped us almost twenty spots in the RPI.

In terms of Sagarin Ratings, we are a closer match to St Joe's at 76 vs 94 respectively. The strength of schedule again is the major factor. Sagarin rates our SOS at 344 out of 351 teams.

That said, on paper these teams seem very similar, with larger guard/wing players playing predominant roles, not much consistent contribution from the big men they have, and a few quick guards to keep people off balance.


Its all about the HAIR baby!!

The Hawks are led in scoring by Junior Forward Deandre Bembry, (#43) 6'6, 210 Lbs, providing 15.9 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.6 SPG. Bembry does most of his damage in the lane, shooting 55% from 2 point range on the season but will still step back and attempt a three if left open (about 4 attempts per game). He is also one of their top defensive talents, with 1.4 BPG to go with his steals and rebounding. He is able to disrupt shots with his size and length even when working against taller competition. Expect to see Bembry and Leday mix it up most of the game, and whichever of these two controls the foul situation best may impact the final result of this game.


Bembry is joined in double digit scoring by Isaiah Miles, (#15) 6'7, 225 Senior Forward, giving his team 15.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 4.5 APG. Miles and Blackshear because of the mobility of each, will likely start out opposing each other in this game. One of the big reasons we need Blackshear here is that Miles is one of St Joes best perimeter shooters. Having the ability to force his game more inside is likely to create turnovers.


The only other Hawk in double figures this season is Aaron Brown,(#2) 6'5, 225 lbs Senior Guard. The Hokies will need a healthy Clarke or Bibbs to defend here. Brown is putting up 10.6 PPG and 4.4 RPG. The scary thing here is that three of the top four shooters for St Joes all shoot better than 50% from inside the arc. Many of you will remember Brown playing for the Cousins a couple years ago.


The remainder of the Hawks rotation is made up of James Demery(#25) 6'6, 186 Lbs Sophomore Forward, Lamarr Kimble(#0) 6'0, 197 Lbs Freshmen Guard, Shavar Newkirk (#1) 6'0, 170 Lbs Sophomore Guard and Pierfrancesco Oliva (#24) 6'8, 207 Lbs Freshmen Forward. Demery seems to be the floating starter and sometimes sixth man off the bench. Giving his team 9.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG as the third or fourth forward. The rest of the forward minutes seem to be going to Oliva, whose role is slowly increasing game to game as he picks up the nuances of playing basketball in the United States, very similar to Blackshear.


Kimble and Newkirk seem to be splitting the point guard position between them, although Bembry remains the primary ball handler on the court for this team in what I have seen.

This team very much seems to play a consistent 2 guard/3 forward look as a slightly undersized roster. Size/speed wise Tech matches up very well with this team so its going to be interesting to see who has the most success.

Tech could really use one of its super-fast starts so I am hoping to see Hudson, Clarke, Bibbs, Leday and Blackshear starting this game. I think that Buzz should press St Joes on defense to see how they handle it as it doesn't appear they have run up against it in many of their games this season. St Joes doesn't turn the ball over a ton so creating opportunities to get some turnovers early on could swing this game.

On defense, expect to see mostly man to man early on unless the Hokies are getting too successful driving the ball to the rim, than it could very well be a switch to zone to protect the lane better. Either way, St Joes will constantly have a hand in your face, so far holding opponents to 38% shooting on the season.

On offense, the Hawks play very much a similar style that the Hokies employ, guards driving, working the ball into the lane, big men getting open looks down low or getting fouled in the process. The Hawks average 22 attempts from the line per game so far and shoot better than 50% inside the arc as a team.

Either way, the one thing that has helped St Joes so far this season is that they rarely foul, opponents only averaging 16 attempts from the charity stripe per game. Considering the Hokies have been relying on over 25% of their scoring from the line so far this season, it will be telling to see which way the trend goes in this game and could have a major impact on the final outcome.

The biggest keys for Tech in this game is that Leday and Blackshear stay out of foul trouble and provide good interior rebounding. St Joes has been pretty even with its opponents on the boards this year but the Hokies have more than 80 more rebounds this season than the Hawks. (473-389) Winning the battle of the boards, especially on our offensive end could be the few baskets necessary to turn this game.

Clarke, Bibbs, and Allen all need to shoot better than 50% from the field and the team as a whole needs to hit 70% of their free throws.

Last but not least, we really need an appearance of TYRONE tonight, both in energy and takeaways to really drive the Buzzsaw for the Hokies.

I have hope that the Hokies can pull this one out but bottom line I am not convinced, especially with how well St Joes has done in close games. I unfortunately see this one slipping away late, 74-70. I of course hope I am wrong and that Tech is able to come out and take the next step in its progression towards being a consistent competitor against any opponent. Deliver the keys above and the Hokies could win going away, falter and its a much closer affair.

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I found TKP after two rails from TOTS then walking back to my apartment and re-watching the 2012 Sugar Bowl. I woke up the next day with this username.

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"I liked you guys a lot better when everybody told you you were terrible." -Justin Fuente

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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I found TKP after two rails from TOTS then walking back to my apartment and re-watching the 2012 Sugar Bowl. I woke up the next day with this username.

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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

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"I don't know what a Hokie is, but God is one of them." - Lee Corso

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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)..

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-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

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

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Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

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Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

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"I don't know what a Hokie is, but God is one of them." - Lee Corso

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"I don't know what a Hokie is, but God is one of them." - Lee Corso

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

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Here lies It's a Stroman Jersey I Swear, surpassed in life by no one because he intercepted it.

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

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

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I found TKP after two rails from TOTS then walking back to my apartment and re-watching the 2012 Sugar Bowl. I woke up the next day with this username.

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Now finish up them taters; I'm gonna go fondle my sweaters.

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Tweedy can run like a dadgum antelope or whatever. I like to use scalded dog. Do antelopes lumber? Cheetah, OK. He runs like a cheetah. He's fast. - Bud Foster

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Tweedy can run like a dadgum antelope or whatever. I like to use scalded dog. Do antelopes lumber? Cheetah, OK. He runs like a cheetah. He's fast. - Bud Foster

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The older I get, the better I was...Go Hokies!!!