Buzzketball Central: Northeastern Huskies (2-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0) 11AM ESPN2 11/16/2018

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 16th 11AM
Opponent: University of Northeastern
Site: Charleston Classic, Charleston, SC
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ESPN2
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
SXM 193 (Streaming 955)

Taking on an Under-Dog

Buzzketball hosts Northeastern in the second round of the Charleston Classic after the Huskies upset Alabama on Thursday afternoon. Hard to believe but the Crimson Tide had no answer for the Huskies after starting the game 0-9 from outside and shooting 16% for the game from outside. The Huskies have an experienced junior class helping the Huskies play spoiler.

Northeastern starts this season having finished 23-10 last year, where they tied for first in the CAA. The only game between the Hokies and Northeastern was back in 2001 that saw a Hokies squad win 79-56.


The Huskies are coached by Bill Coen, in his thirteenth year at the helm of Northeastern. In 13 years, his teams have made the postseason in four seasons, with one CBI, two NIT and one NCAA appearance. They also finished last season 23-10 but do not appear to have played in the post season. Craft is 203-187 at Northeastern, which has been his only head coaching position. So far this season the Huskies are 2-1 after a loss to Boston University to start the season followed by wins over Harvard and Alabama.

Defensively, the Huskies use primarily man to man with a focus heavily on the perimeter. Last season they had the second lowest three point allowed percentage of any NCAA team. This strategy has carried forward as in three games the Huskies have allowed only 34% of three pointers to fall. They are very aggressive and take risks to force turnovers by interrupting ball exchanges on the perimeter. They combine this with several skilled bigs that rotate on the inside making it difficult once opponents penetrate the perimeter. Opponents bigs still have a modicum of success as a forward has led the opponents in scoring in all three contests.

Offensively, Northeastern under Coen focuses primarily on pick and roll opportunities, running over a third of its offense through set plays of this nature last season. They also focus on finding open shooters on the perimeter, averaging over nine made threes per game so far. They shot better than 50% from outside in two of three contests so far.

Huskies Backcourt


Senior Point Guard Vasa Pusica (#4), 6'5, 210 lbs, is in his second season for the Huskies after transferring from San Diego. He is averaging 20.5 PPG, up from 17.9 last season, while also pulling down 2.5 RPG and dishing out 4.5 APG. Defensively he is grabbing 1.5 SPG. He is shooting just 25% outside so far but is hitting 82% of his free throws. He has a great first step on the dribble and is the top guy in terms of pick and roll chances.


Junior Jordan Roland, (#12), 6'1, 171 Lbs is averaging 21 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 2 APG. He has grabbed a steal per game as well. He is hitting 47% of his three pointers so far and also 90% from the foul line.


Donnell Gresham Jr. (#22), 6'1, 203 Lbs Junior Guard is averaging 9.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG so far. He also has 1.5 SPG. He is shooting 40% from outside and is perfect from the free throw line so far on 5 for 5 shooting.


Bolden Brace (#20) 6'6, 227 Lbs Junior Guard has averaged 8 PPG, 6 RPG, and 1 APG. Brace is shooting 38% from outside and is also perfect so far from the free throw line on 5 for 5 shooting.

Huskies Frontcourt


Tomas Murphy, (#33) 6'8, 220 lbs Sophomore Forward is averaging 9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, while shooting 66% from inside and 86% from the line. Murphy splits time with Green as the lone big to go with a four guard set for the majority of the game. Murphy and Green are each averaging about 20 minutes a game each.


Anthony Green, (#30), 6'10, 252 Lbs Senior Center is averaging 8 PPG, 8 RPG, and 1.5 SPG. He is shooting 67% from the field but struggles from the line, shooting only 40% so far early in the season.


Jeremy Miller, (#11), 6'10, 225 Lbs Senior Forward, really is not contributing statistically but is the third big in rotation between Murphy and Green.

What to expect from Northeastern?

The Huskies rely heavily on the starters and have not been challenged so far to go deep into their bench. Four guards are averaging over 33 minutes a contest so far while two bigs split the fifth spot fairly evenly. Outside of these six players, they have three other players that have seen the floor so far for a total of 35 minutes.

The Huskies were successful in pushing Alabama off the perimeter in this last game but both Boston and Harvard found a modicum of success, especially creating open looks off the dribble penetration. The four guard rotation is fairly similar to the Hokies in size but their defensive focus is much different, aiming to take away the three point line and force teams inside.

The Huskies rely heavily on creating turnovers, leading to easy transition baskets. So far they are averaging 8 steals per game while forcing opponents into 12 turnovers per contest.

The perimeter defines the difference on both ends of the floor. Against Alabama, the Huskies made 6 more three pointers, which essentially was the entire difference in the game as almost every other category the teams were shockingly similar.

The Hokies

The most critical two players for the Hokies in this contest will be Nickiel Alexander Walker and Justin Robinson and their ability to create from the top of the key. If they prove effective, they will create space inside and out for teammates to have big contests. The Hokies need to force the issue inside. Robinson' speed will make it difficult for the Huskies to not provide their bigs help defense down low which will create open looks for Hill, Outlaw and Wilkins.

Another big role in this game is likely to be Wabissa Bede, much the same way that he guarded Persons against Ball State, he will be called upon to limit the impact of Vasa Pusica in this contest.

One other aspect that is really important based on the reliable performance of the two bigs for Northeastern, is that Blackshear remain out of foul trouble. This is a constant issue, especially with his penchant to step out towards the perimeter defensively and pick up bad fouls. The Hokies need to get 25 reliable minutes from Blackshear in this contest to keep the inside from becoming a major issue, as Horne has not shown he can reliably handle bigs that work to score at the basket. This becomes a big spot where having Nolley would be a great addition to the roster. Thanks NCAA

The Hokies have to bring the effort for 60 minutes, especially defensively. They have gotten away with several lulls in concentration on the defensive end in the last two games that with this experienced opponent who is craving attention after already upsetting one Power Conference opponent, wont take its foot off the pedal and those spurts could be the difference in a close contest.

Hitting perimeter shots will be another key factor. Its going to be challenging to get clean open looks outside so when they get them they need to hit them. If its not working, then I hope Buzz is able to refocus the effort inside rather than letting the string play out like the Crimson Tide did.

In Closing

Keep a constant pace, force Northeastern to foul and look to get into the Huskies bench. No team so far has caused the Huskies the challenge of relying on young inexperienced bench players so this could be a great opportunity to open up space on the scoreboard.

The likelihood is that this contest comes down to the last four or five minutes and who can finish its last few shots and also is effective from the line. One aspect that will play a factor is the early starting point to this game and the lack of any kind of crowd. If either team gets down, they wont have that energy to feed off of in the building.

Tech wins 77-71, with a critical three pointer in the last two minutes that seals the deal. The Hokies need another surprise performance similar to Wilkins in the first game and Bede in the second. Hokies cant allow this opponent to get in their head and they will be fine.

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

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Bob: What would ya say ya do here?

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

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

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