Buzzketball Central:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-6, 3-2) at Virginia Tech Hokies (13-4, 2-3) 9PM Regional Sports Network

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: January 18, 2017 / 9 p.m.
Opponent: Georgia Tech
Site: Blacksburg, Virginia (Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: Regional Sports Networks
Talent: Justin Kutcher & Jason Capel
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
XM Radio: XM 84 (Internet 84)

Always Be Closing, Forget the T

Hopefully Buzzketball can take a page from the football coaches tonight. The Hokies get a third straight game in the comfy confines of Cassell Coliseum with Georgia Tech coming to Blacksburg. Georgia Tech has won three of its ACC contests so far, with two losses to start the conference slate. Those include wins over #7 UNC, Clemson and NC State. Their losses have come at #8 Duke and #9 Louisville before Duke imploded. The Hokies need to be prepared for a much different Yellow Jackets team than in years past.

Wednesday at 9 PM, cold and breezy outside but at least the students have returned. The sales for tickets for this game were lagging so much that Tech had to offer tickets half price for the last 24 hours in hopes of filling the stands. Hopefully people cram in and make it a rowdy environment. Georgia Tech enters this game 11-6, with other losses to Ohio, Penn State, Tennessee and Georgia. They have no P5 wins outside of conference play. One thing of note on their losses so far, four of their six losses were on the road or at a neutral site.

This will be the twenty third meeting between the Hokies and Yellow Jackets. Virginia Tech leads the all-time series 16-6. Virginia Tech won last years matchup at Georgia Tech 78-77. Lets hope the Hokies focus on beating Georgia Tech on the court rather than protecting the T's across campus for this one.

The Yellow Jackets are coached by Josh Pastner, in his debut season at the helm of Georgia Tech. In his seven previous years as the head coach of Memphis, his team has won 20+ games five times. He led Memphis to the NCAA Tournament four times. Georgia Tech has responded well to Pastner's coaching though. Pastner took over a team that graduated five seniors that contributed 55.8 PPG of the Jackets 73.3 PPG overall, or just over three quarters of their offense.

His rotation of returning players have made incredible improvements in their offensive games. In many instances, they have doubled or tripled their point production from last season, although their minutes have not changed by the same multiplier. Especially productive has been Junior Center Ben Lammers, whose time on the floor increased from 14.8 MPG to 34.4 MPG but his scoring increased from 3.6 PPG to 15.1 PPG. Across the board he has shown massive improvements, rebounds jumped from 4 to 9.9, assists from .5 to 1.9, blocks from 1.3 to 3.3. Even his steals have more than doubled.

Defensively, the Yellow Jackets have used a variety of defenses, especially zone defense to confuse opponents so far this season. Earlier this season, they used a 1-3-1 zone that completely threw UNC off. Other times they are found in a more traditional 2-3 zone. Defensive pressure though is what they really focus on. They are top 50 in scoring defense, field goal defense and blocks per game. This is a team that relies on its defense to make its offense go. Creating turnovers and limiting possessions is what keeps this team in games.

Offensively, Georgia Tech runs a constant motion offense but with more traditional size on the court than many of the 4 out, 1 in offenses the Hokies have seen recently. They rank in the bottom 100 in multiple offensive categories. Scoring, 3 pointers attempted and 3 point shooting all are worse than 300th. One thing Pastner teams are usually noted for is assist to basket ratio but so far this season, the Jackets have struggled even there.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies need to determine early what going inside is going to be like. The Jackets come in third in the country in blocked shots per game at 6.6. If the Hokies are not able to get the Jackets bigs off the blocks than they will need to focus on finding offense through their mid floor or perimeter shooting. This is another heavey dose of zone defense, which fortunately the Hokies have managed to break in the past. Clarke will spend a majority of his time on the high post and forcing the Jackets zone to account for Leday or Sy on the blocks. This should collapse the zone inwards, allowing good open looks outside. If they are going to over pursue scoring down low than they need to ensure they get fouls called rather than throw away possessions.

The Hokies have an opportunity to essentially lock down a team tonight which will force all kinds of issues offensively for the Jackets. They struggle mightily when given a dose of their high paced defense. I would hope that Buzz has his guys turn the pressure all the way up, especially coming out of the gate.

I would expect a moderate pace to this game, especially if Georgia Tech is struggling to score. They are going to want to limit scoring to give themselves an opportunity to get back into the game. The Hokies can ill afford to be lulled though or they will find the Jackets running by them on transition offense. The Jackets are constantly trying to find quick ways to the basket if possible. One thing though to keep in mind is that even the Jackets big are long lean players that move up and down the court with ease.

If the Hokies can establish and maintain a larger lead in this contest than they should not be extremely challenged in terms of a comeback, simply because the Jackets offense isn't really built for making large comebacks right now.

Yellow Jackets Backcourt


Josh Okogie (#5) 6'4, 207 Lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 14.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 APG and 1.3 SPG. He is shooting 36% from behind the arc and 43% overall. Okogie is the guy you have to always know where he is because he can go games of moderately impressive play and then boom, blow the doors off. Since ACC play started he has scored 27, 13, 15,11, and 26 points. He is playing close to 29 MPG so far this season.


Tadric Jackson, (#1) 6'2, 209 Lbs Junior Guard comes in averaging 10.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG. He is the biggest threat the Jackets have outside, shooting 43%. He is a prime example of how playing for Pastner this season has upped his stats. Playing time moved from 13.8 to 20.9 MPG, but his scoring went from 4.7 to 10.9, same with rebounding numbers. He has already set a new career high for scoring so far this season.


Justin Moore (#0), 6'4, 162 Lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 6.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 3.5 APG. Moore comes in averaging 25 MPG. He is almost no threat to score from outside currently, shooting 17%. Expect to find Moore working his way inside to do most of his scoring.


Josh Heath, (#11), 6'2, 175 Lbs Senior Guard is giving the Jackets about 27 MPG while averaging 5.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG. Heath is as much a point guard as this team has. He also is their best defender with or without the ball.

Yellow Jackets Frontcourt


Ben Lammers, (#44), 6'10, 227 Lbs Junior Center is averaging nearly a double-double with 15.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG, and 3.3 BPG. Lammers is going to be difficult to deal with down low all game. Sy needs to be able to play his most minutes of the ACC schedule so far. Lammers does not bother to shoot from outside but his interior scoring is at 55% while shooting over 81% from the line. He can however be forced into foul trouble, with four personals in three of the Jackets last six games.


Quinton Stephens, (#12) 6'9, 196 Lbs Senior Forward, is averaging over 33 MPG and comes in putting up 10.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.2 SPG and 1.1 BPG. He is shooting 35% from the field, 30% from behind the arc and only 72% from the line. One critical piece on Stephens is that he likes to step outside to shoot the three. He is averaging over 4 per contest and if his numbers stay consistent than the Hokies should let him shoot out there.

Names the Announcers will Butcher
Abdoulaye Gueye seems to be the winner on this roster. Beyond him, no one seems to rate even an honorable mention.

What to expect from Georgia Tech?

The Yellow Jackets rely on a rotation of about nine players experienced. Pastner continued his reputation for solid recruiting by bringing in Okogie and Moore to bolster a lineup that lost three quarters of its scoring. He has coupled that with absolute dedication to defense, demanding his players give 100% on that end of the court.
Georgia Tech's rotation of nine players, while slightly bigger than Tech down low don't really have the size to dominate Tech. Expect them to feed the ball down low to Lammers and allow him to work with his back to the basket. Lammers on Sy will be the matchup to watch most of the evening if Sy can stay on the floor.

Expect to see Georgia Tech switch defenses several times. Hopefully this game goes more like the Hokies beating the Orange in the zone compared to not being able to solve Notre Dame down low. I expect to see a 1-3-1 zone to start with unless the Hokies begin hitting perimeter shots.

Offensively, expect to see the Jackets move with or without the ball, especially around the perimeter. Pastner is a big fan of pick and rolls, and a high assist to basket ratio. This is still a work in progress with this team so the Hokies need to take advantage of this inexperience to force mistakes and change the possession game.

The Hokies

Tech should aim to keep this game as high paced as possible because it is when this offense is at its most effective. They need to take advantage of transition basketball but not out of control. The bad, rushed passes after defensive stops have to be limited to allow the Hokies to build a solid lead in this contest. We continued this unfortunate trend, especially early and late in the game against the Irish. One led to the Irish building a big lead, the other led to them building their final lead.

Tech needs to be ready to utilize the baseline and the dribble drive pass to keep the ball in an open Hokies hands. Don't succumb to allowing the Jackets to clog the lane and then block shots over the top. If you are going to drive, do so, do it and draw contact without allowing the Jacket bigs to get their hands on the ball, if you aren't going to commit, then at least kick it out to an open man rather than waste a possession.

Justin Robinson bounced back nicely albeit in a loss to the Irish. He needs to continue this trend to keep the Hokies in games. Tech can ill afford to have Robinson on the bench for long stretches.

Khadim Sy needs to be able to hang with Lammers in this game, especially if Leday has a second game where he is off. Sy showed some solid play towards the end of the Notre Dame game and hopefully that will continue in this contest.

Maybe I overestimated the home effect on Bibbs. Bibbs disappeared again against the Irish. He managed just 25% from the field and struck out entirely behind the arc. I don't know if he is dealing with an injury or if he has had his confidence shaken or something but the Hokies need it to stop because there isn't another guy to plug in, especially defensively. If he isn't going to score than he needs to get inside and provide more in terms of rebounding and drawing away opponents for those that are.

Highlight of the Notre Dame Game

You want to point to the comeback as the answer, the toughness and tenacity the team showed in clawing back into the game, its about the only thing there without just lazily giving it to Clarke or Allen, or both combined. The tough part about that then is the biggest let down was blowing that comeback when it mattered most.

In Closing

Georgia Tech will look to funnel offense through the Hokies mistakes. The Hokies have to find a way to play a clean bill of a game. Don't give the Jackets the momentum to stay in this game. Take them apart systematically the way Duke did by playing hard-nosed defense and then not making mistakes on the offensive end to get them going.

This is a game that talent wise the Hokies should be able to run away with it. That's if they come to play 40 full minutes of basketball the way they are capable of. If they don't, than this game could change entirely.

Georgia Tech may win the lane in this contest both offensively and defensively. That can still happen and Tech wins the day by getting clean perimeter looks, knocking down mid-range shots, and realizing when driving in isn't going to be effective. Stay out of the trap the Jackets regularly set down low and everyone should do well.

The Hokies win 88-65 by coming to play defense today like their opponents do. The Hokies have shown they can dissect a zone defense and offensively as much as their individual players have improved their performances under Pastner, its still not enough to be competitive night in and night out in the ACC, especially on the road.

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Outspoken team cake advocate. Hates terrapins. Resident Macho Man Gif Poster. Distant cousin to Dork Magic. Frequently misspells words.

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VTCC '86 Delta Company, Hokie in Peru, Former Naval Aviator, Former FBISA, Forever married to my VT87 girl. Go VT!

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

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"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

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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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"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

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Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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Outspoken team cake advocate. Hates terrapins. Resident Macho Man Gif Poster. Distant cousin to Dork Magic. Frequently misspells words.

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"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

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

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"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

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H_O_K_I_E_S-HOKIES!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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Wet stuff on the red stuff.

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Another white bronco? The first one didn't go too far.

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

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

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Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in 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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Outspoken team cake advocate. Hates terrapins. Resident Macho Man Gif Poster. Distant cousin to Dork Magic. Frequently misspells words.

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"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

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"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

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"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo