Buzzketball Central: Wooden Legacy: Texas A&M Aggies (3-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies (4-0) 530pm Nov25 ESPNU


GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 25, 2016 / 5:30 p.m. ET
Opponent: Texas A&M
Site: Fullerton, Calif. (Titan Gym)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: John Ramey
TV/Internet: ESPN2
Talent: Steve Quis, Adrian Branch & Jeff Goodman
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech

Wooden Legacy Tournament

Buzzketball will meet the Aggies on the campus of Cal State Fullerton in the second round of the Wooden Legacy Tournament. This will be the fourth time Tech has faced Texas A&M on the court. The Hokies are 1-2 all time, with losses coming in 1971 and 1980 and their only win coming in 1965. All previous meetings with Texas A&M have come during holiday tournaments so why should this meeting be any different.

The Hokies come in "favorites" a second time in this tournament but a quick look at the Aggies roster will tell you that Buzz and Company have a "big" challenge on their hands. The Aggies come in with one of the biggest rosters Tech will see this year. Two of their top contributors stand 6'10 and 6'11 and are competent on both ends of the floor in terms of rebounding, scoring and defensive alteration of shots.

The Aggies come in 3-1, just having dispatched Cal State Northridge by 22 points in the opening round of the tournament. Prior to this game the Aggies wins came against American and Northwestern State. They also had a close loss to the USC Trojans. One thing the Aggies come in short on is experience. There are only two seniors and one junior on the entire roster. This can go either way in terms of impact. Get them down early and they might roll over but let them get out to a lead and they might run away with the game.


The Aggies are coached by Billy Kennedy, who took over the program in 2011. He has the Aggies on a four season winning streak and took them to the NCAA tournament last year after winning the SEC. The Aggies made to the Sweet 16 last year before bowing out. This is not a team to count out though if down big late, having last year come back in the second round of the tournament to overcome a 12 point deficit with 44 seconds remaining. Just something the Hokies will need to keep in mind as they try to close out another victory.

Defensively, the Aggies run a high pressure man to man, flexing to full court frequently to create turnovers and ultimately limit the time an opponent has to find an open shot on the offensive end. One way he works to prepare his teams for high pressure man to man is that he runs 2 on 2 full court forcing his team to realize how to pressure but also how to protect the basket by not letting their guy make a long run behind them.

Offensively, the Aggies run a combination of rolling ball screens to create space for shooters while also utilizing their taller interior players to dominate the lane play. Expect to see some pick and roll plays to also create space. Regardless, A&M's approach will always be more defensive oriented so expect them to try to limit the Hokies being able to get out into transition with how they approach the offensive end.

Coach Kennedy brings another form of inspiration to his team and community. At about the same time he took the Texas A&M job he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease, the same disease Michael J Fox has. He does a lot of work in the community to support work towards a cure and sets an example everyday by having changed his diet and workout regimen to help with long term effects of the disease. As his wife notes, he went from a three time a week McDonalds guy to eating a pound of spinach a day. When other recruiters try to use his disease against him, he counters that by challenging potential recruits to a game of one on one. This saw him bring in a top 5 recruiting class this last season amidst their first trip to the tournament under his tenure.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies took the first step in this tournament looking to cross over from upstart to stable winning program. They beat New Mexico handily, a game last year I think they would have been scrapping until the buzzer to find a result. The Hokies again will have to find a way to push the pace against the Aggies. If Tech has one big advantage in this contest it will be speed and athleticism.

The Hokies also need to force the Aggies into fouling situations. Even against teams they blew out this year, Texas A&M has gotten into foul trouble. They committed 21 fouls in their last game even winning by 20. Even more troubling for the Aggies is that its key personnel that seem to have the foul bug.

One other area I would expect to see the Hokies press for an advantage is in creating turnovers, which the Aggies are giving up at 13 per game right now. If Tech is able to get transition baskets that will be a major positive towards winning this game as its something the Aggies specifically try to prevent.

I would expect to see Johnny Hamilton play more than normal in this game, possibly with Leday acting more as a forward while on the court at the same time. Khadim Sy will also be called on to play more minutes than usual. With that said, Buzz will be Buzz so he will likely force the issue of big men vs his smaller lineups, especially later in the game when the legs begin to tell the story. Another piece of this is that it's the first time this season either team will play two days in a row so fatigue of travel and play may become a factor.

Ahmed Hill and Justin Bibbs will have to hit their perimeter shots in this game to keep the Aggies from being able to clog the lane. If the Hokies force Texas A&M to respect their outside shot it opens the floor up more for Leday and Allen to create down low.

Defensively the Hokies have to be prepared for constant movement from the Aggies. So far this season their opponents really haven't run a heavy screen game so being able to stay with their assignments while not fouling will be a critical component to keeping the Aggies off the board. I would not be surprised to see Buzz run some zone defenses to try to counteract the ball movements of the Aggies.

Aggies Backcourt


Admon Gilder, #3, 6'4, 198 lbs plays the point for the Aggies. So far this season he is averaging 10.5 PPG, 5 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 2 SPG. So far this season he has not found his touch shooting the ball from outside where he is managing a lowly 21% but his shot inside the arc makes up for it where he is at a 45% clip. Gilder in this offense is supposed to be more concerned with keeping things moving until they can rotate the ball to an open man.


Senior JC Hampton, #5, 6'1, 192 lbs is also considered a point guard in this offense. Kennedy prefers to have two ball handlers up top to run things. Hampton is putting up 6 PPG, 2 RPG, and 2 APG. Hampton has the better outside shot of the two, shooting 35% so far from behind the arc.


While Gilder and Hampton aim to play the majority of the minutes, when they are off the court, freshman Caleb Smith, #23, 6'1, 178 Lbs spells them by providing 3 PPG, 2 RPG, and 1 APG. If the Hokies are successful in getting these guards in early foul trouble, Smith may have to play some significant minutes in this game.

Aggies Frontcourt


Sophomore Forward DJ Hogg,#1, 6'9, 220 lbs leads all scorers for the Aggies. Hogg is putting up 15.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.8 SPG and 1 BPG while shooting 48% from the field. This is an do a bit of everything big man that could cause havoc underneath the basket. Leday will be giving up another inch but has twenty less pounds of man to deal with down low in terms of this opponent.


Tyler Davis, #34, 6'10, 270 lbs. sophomore Center will be by far the largest opponent in terms of body/height the Hokies have faced this season. So far this season he has managed 12.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.3 BPG while shooting 61% from the field in only about 20 MPG. Davis could easily be the tipping point in this game if Sy and Hamilton are unable to contain him while staying out of foul trouble.


Davis counterpart at the Center spot is junior Tonny Trocha-Morelos, #10, 6'10, 224 lbs. He comes in averaging 8.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1 APG, and 1 BPG. He will get roughly 20 minutes of playing time depending on foul trouble to round out the center spot on the floor for the Aggies. Combined you are looking at 20 PPG, 10 RPG, 3.3 APG and 2.3 BPG from this spot on the floor. Finding a way to limit this production is key for the Hokies today.


Rounding out the major contributors is Forward Robert Williams, #44, 6'9, 237 Lbs who is putting up 9.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 3 BPG. Obviously Williams is a major factor on the defensive end with his ability to block or redirect shots.

Names Announcers will Butcher or Love

The Hokies Khadim Sy is only joined by Tonny Trocha-Morelos in this category. The name that these announcers will be saying time and again is probably DJ Hogg.

What to expect from Texas A&M?

The Aggies play predominantly a half court man to man focused on preventing open looks from the floor but they add in a much more aggressive posture in terms of stretching it to full court as well as keeping an opponent constantly between the ball handler and the basket. So far the Aggies are only averaging about 7 steals per game so this is not a major component of their defensive strategy. I will be interested to see how the big men fare in getting back on defense for Texas A&M, especially in the second half. If they are fatigued it could create the opening Tech needs to build a significant lead late.

In a half court set, the Aggies first focus will be to keep the ball moving and it seems with a big focus on getting it to the big men down low for open looks. Their forwards and centers are accounting for about 65% of their total scoring so far this season.

Rebounding wise, the Aggies numbers seem relatively normal, with about 43 per game, the only area that might be an edge is that they are currently bringing down 15 offensive rebounds per game, so that gives them 15 second chances to score.

I am pretty sure what to expect from this opponent, but the Hokies will pose a challenge that may force Coach Kennedy to adjust his roster and go with a smaller lineup than they normally would. I imagine they will start off with their bigs to see if they can press an advantage early before transitioning to a smaller bodied group of shooters to close out the game. This is Buzz biggest challenge yet in responding to size and talent so far this season.

The Hokies

Buzz and Company is going to need balanced scoring again this afternoon just like he did against New Mexico. Spreading the floor against this defense will be critical in creating opportunities especially considering A&M's size down low. Four opponents that are 6'9 or 6'10 to deal with on a constant rotations. Tech's shooters will have to be able to create open looks and make those shots consistently. I would expect a smaller rotation of players tonight to take advantage of speed versus size, likely seeing Galloway and Outlaw limited on the minutes they get.

Staying out of foul trouble for Tech's "bigs" is going to be a challenge in this game. The Aggies will sometimes have three players on the floor taller than 6'9, so unless Buzz counters with Leday, Sy and Hamilton all together, there will be a major size mismatch at least on one position on the floor. Expect to see a lot of in front defensive positioning, trying to prevent the interior pass so it will be interesting to see if the Aggies have the ability to get the lob pass into the interior to counteract the frontal positioning.

Speed and ball control will be the Hokies biggest advantage in this contest. They literally need to try to run the Aggies out of the gym. They need to call upon those Buzz Boot Camp reserves and just wear Texas A&M out. If they are unable to do this than the Aggies have the major advantage just by having capable big men that will likely have no trouble scoring at will.

Highlight of the New Mexico Game

Highlight of the game for me had to be Justin Robinson's overall performance. He just did a little bit of everything and seemed to take one more step towards becoming a dominant ACC point guard. 22 Points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists all while going 9 of 10 from the line while also getting credited for a block. His three pointer to end the first half killed some New Mexico momentum and helped the Hokies take an eight point lead into the half.

In Closing

This game is more like a boxing exhibition where weight class is not taken into account. The Aggies come in the Heavyweight with size and size and size for days. The Hokies come in the Super Middleweight with a bit of size but hands like lightning. Today the Hokies need to rely on those hands to get them past this much bigger opponent.

As much as I would like the Hokies only play their seven man rotation I have a feeling everyone will be called upon to handle some minutes in this game whether because of foul trouble or because Buzz wants to keep a frenetic pace against this opponent and wants to prevent fatigue from setting in on his top guys.

The assists on almost every shot has to continue in this game for the Hokies to be successful. Against New Mexico, they were able to get an assist on over 60% of their shots.

Multiple outside shooters need to be consistent in getting open and hitting shots this afternoon. This is hopefully where Bibbs and Hill come in to stretch the floor. If they shoot cold like they did in the first half against New Mexico, the Aggies could build an early lead that will be tough to come back against.

Tech finds a way to wear the Aggies down in this one, and continues to hit its critical free throws as they pull away in the final ten minutes to win this one 84-77.

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

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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 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 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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It is a natural gift I posess to create friction in sensitive situations.

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

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