HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: MIAMI (4-2) VS # 24 VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (7-1) 6PM ACCN
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It's gameday!#StoneByStone | #Hokies 🦃— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 29, 2020
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec 29th 2020 6 PM
Opponent: Miami
Site: Cassell Coliseum
ACCN, Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Paul Biancardi (analyst)
Virginia Tech Sports Network. Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst)
A pitter patter of rain, nothing more....
The Hokies have completed their OOC Schedule and now get the Miami Hurricanes. The Hokies are 17-24 against Miami going into their 42nd meeting. The Hokies come into this matchup 7-1.
The U is this big....
The Hurricanes are coached by Jim Larranaga, who is in his tenth season as head coach at Miami. Larranaga is 194-115 overall guiding the Hurricanes. Prior to Miami, Larranag had a 14-year run at George Mason where he took the Patriots to the Final Four in 2006. He has led the 'Canes to four NCAA Tournament appearances and an ACC title in 2013.
Coach Larranaga's Hurricanes are 4-2 with wins over North Florida, Stetson, Purdue and Jacksonville. Their two losses are against Pittsburgh and Florida Gulf Coast.
Coach Larranaga lost Senior Hurricanes Dejan Vasilijevic and Keith Stone. These two accounted for about 34 points per game and were 4 of their top 5 scorers.
The Hurricanes come into this season with two new Freshman and one transfer. Elijah Olaniyi transferred from Stonybrook.. The Freshman are two 4 Star Small Forwards in Earl Timberlake and Matt Cross.
Defensively, Coach Larranaga primarily employs man-to-man, with the scramble 3-2 zone as a secondary defense. A combination of the two is a series of zones that he calls the Camouflage, which is used strategically as a surprise defense that forces the offense to react to the defense. Once the opponent gets used to a man-to-man and the scramble, the Camouflage defense puts them on their heels immediately. The Camouflage is used most in a full court setting. Each pass, trap, deflection and player responsibility is analyzed.
Offensively, Coach Larranaga typically has his teams playing a form of Zone offense with a specific focus on the use of ball screens to give shooters separation. He emphasizes ball movement, man movement, screening, dribble penetration, and offensive rebounding.
Based on the defensive setting of their opponent, Miami uses three variations of the zone offenses. These are:
Slice & Dice Zone Offense – Use versus a 2-3, 3-2 or 1-2-2 zone. This offense uses four players on the perimeter and one post to force the defense to move, communicate and change their match ups.
Crack & Carve Zone Offense – Use versus a 2-3, 3-2 or 1-2-2 zone. This power game offense utilizes two post players inside and allows them to carve out space, set screens and create good shots for themselves and the perimeter players.
Seek & Find Zone Offense – Use versus a 1-3-1 defense. This offense uses a 4-Out formation and diagonal passing, down screens, back screens and penetration to break down the zone and create open shots.
Hurricanes Backcourt
Isaiah Wong (#2, SO, G, 6-3, 180 lbs) 19.0 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Chris Lykes (#0, SR, G, 5-7, 160 lbs) 15.5 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 5.5 Ast
Earl Timberlake (#13, FR, G, 6-6, 215 lbs) 12.0 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Kameron McGusty (#23, SR, G, 6-5, 190 lbs) 10.5 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 2.5 Ast
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Harlond Beverly (#5, SO, G, 6-5, 185 lbs) 8.0 Pts, 6.8 Reb, 4.0 Ast
Hurricanes Frontcourt
Anthony Walker (#1, SO, F, 6-9, 210 lbs) 10.0 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Matt Cross (#33, FR, F, 6-7, 225 lbs) 6.8 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Nysier Brooks (#3, SR, C, 7-0, 240 lbs) 6.3 Pts, 7.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Elijah Olaniyi (#4, SR, F, 6-5, 205 lbs) 5.5 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 1.5 Ast
What to expect from Miami?
Two of the Hurricanes five double digit scorere are game-time decisions tonight. Lykes has already missed 4 games. They have had quite a bit of roster issues this season looking at the game log so its difficult to know what they look like at full strength.
Miami's Chris Lykes (ankle) and Kameron McGusty (leg) will be game-time decisions for tonight's game against Virginia Tech, per Jim Larranaga.— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 29, 2020
The Hurricanes commit only 14.3 fouls per game and block the 19th most shots per game nationally at over 5 per game. The faster an opponent the more Miami struggles, especially if Lykes and McGusty are unavailable or limited.
They did just get a boost by the debut of talented freshman Earl Timberlake, who had 12 points in their game against Jacksonville after missing the first five games due to injury.
As a team the Hurricanes are shooting a really poor 24% from the perimeter on 20 attempts per game. Lykes and Timberlake are their consistent perimeter shooters. They also struggle at the free throw line shooting 66% on the season but only managed 53% in their loss to Pittsburgh.
Miami's five starters all average in double figures with Wong leading the way at 19 PPG. 10 players are getting 13 or more minutes a contest so a fairly balanced workload.
Miami mostly excels at rebounding, but Pittsburgh outrebounded the Hurricanes 43-29. The season as a whole has been 42-33 in their favor. Senior Nysier Brooks at 7 feet leads the way with 7 per game but seven Hurricanes grab four or more per game. Brooks and Walker both average more then 1 block per contest, with the team better then 5 per game.
Lykes and Beverly are the primary distributors, averaging 9.5 assists between them. As you see Lykes name mentioned more and more you realize how important he is to making the Hurricanes go.
The flush 👋#StoneByStone | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/DphPa2yXMm— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 27, 2020
The Hokies
Virginia Tech's John Ojiako (knee) will play tonight against Miami, per Mike Young.— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 29, 2020
The Hokies need to focus on the inside-out game. They also will have the services of John Ojiako for the first time this season as he is ready to return from his meniscus injury. The Hurricanes collapse to the middle too often when teams get the ball down low occurs, leaving open shooters on the perimeter.
The Hokies will generate a ton of open looks again using the inside-out game and should be able to hit at least ten 3's for the third straight contest.
The Hokies need to protect the basketball. Miami forces opponents into 16 turnovers on 8 steals and generates 21 points a game in transition.
Barring foul trouble, expect to see a much more focused lineup in this contest, mostly limited to the Top 8 players.
Highlight of the Longwood Game
The 'Canes await ✊#StoneByStone | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/zK91HgFJ7y— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 29, 2020
Taking care of Holiday Business.
In Closing
The Hokies score more than 65 points, which seems to be the threshold against good teams for the Hurricanes
Ojiako gets a couple key blocks to get the team fired up and allow a few quick scoring bursts for the Hokies that makes the difference in this contest.
Four Hokies in double digits. Cone, Aluma, Cattoor and Radford. Alleyne with 9 and Pemsl with a sneaky 7.
The U Ain't Bak, Hokies outscore Miami by double digits in a sloppy affair. 74-62
Another solid semester for us 👌#StoneByStone | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/GsVQEyiOdk— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 28, 2020
Comments
Thanks for putting this together. I am looking for a big game out of Alleyne and or Catoor from outside.
Let's Go!
Hokies!
Allowing too much isolation on the baseline, giving up easy access to paint points
Da U ain't back in the Cheez-it Bowl, either. Down 14-0, scratch that 21-0 in the first quarter.
That was a real nice crossover and explosive drive to the hoop by Mutts
Missed three gimme buckets so far
Weird seeing Tech have people capable of winning down low.
Wonder if we'll actually see Big John tonight.
I think Cone will get more involved second half, I'm liking the feeds to Keve
Why are our forwards out at the top of the key shooting 3's?
Because they can and it forces Miami to stretch their defense to the perimeter against all five on the floor.
I understand that. I just thought the whole team were standing around outside too much and not getting the ball into the paint enough.
Miami blocks more shots than almost any other team in the NCAA, getting their bigs out of the lane really helps open up driving lanes and lets Mutts and Aluma get better post position if their defenders have to worry about them stepping out
edit: meant to agree with you.. seemed like some quick shots from Aluma & Mutts, but after a while it became clear it was a gameplan thing for them to have the green light from outside
Great that we are getting to the line but now we have to hit them. Fundamental...
If we could have finished those gimme shots this game would be close to over
Great run at the end there big second half coming let's go
does any one else cringe when the announcers talk about the turnovers ... sshhhh don't talk about it guys!!!!
Does our offense now run better with Cattoor at point? The defense has to actually defend him as a scoring threat
Good: 12-3 run to close out the half, 7-2 ATO Margin, 11 forced turnovers, Aluma with 19
Bad: overall shooting %, 3pt %, FT %
Ugly: Any time Bede double clutches on a 3 ptr
Three Miami starters with 2 fouls. MIght have some impact in the second half.
Story of halftime (for those watching on YTTV)
"Wound up and ready. To. Go."
Anytime watching ACCN on YTTV I'm always wound up and ready.to.go. multiple times a break
Aluma havin a GAME tonight. If they stress using him to get to the line...could be a 40 point night......
This is the Mutts we need to challenge in the ACC. Love it.
I wish we were this good at roundball when I was attending VT.
I am in need of seeing the killer instinct come out and put us up 20 in the next few minutes
CMY getting some minutes for players who need to develop. Good coaching.
But what if they fumble? /s
Agreed. The more I see of CMY ball the more I like where we're headed.
The problem is the starters came back in and can't make a shot.
Essentially just did. Took their foot off the gas and broke rhythm.
That's why the coaches make the big bucks. They're supposed to know how long they can leave the scrubs in and still maintain control of the game. Don't play them enough and they are not ready when it's their turn. Play them too much and you lose games you shouldn't lose.
Really sloppy three minutes here leaving the door open
Still sloppy
At least Miami has been somewhat sloppy as well
They need to go back to Aluma down low
Basketball is such a game of runs, just hope we timed ours right so we get hot again...
Cattoor to save the run
Radford is so good on the break. Awesome to watch
Refs have been letting a lot of contact go here in the last couple minutes. And it's all benefitting Miami
So sloppy at the end here..
normally I like a sloppy ending.
We have to figure out how to successfully beat a press/trap and punish teams for doing it. This is a depressing ending of a game
Bede is killing us
Bede with a massive heads up rebound wins it
well that was an uncomfortable ending... hooray for the win, but that was way closer than it should have been FAM
Terrible 2nd half. Barely beat miami's 2nd stringers.
The first half of the second half was pretty damn good
I get that. But these are also the types of games we'd typically lose in the past. Good to see them battle it out. I think this VT Team learns more from a game like this then a 17 point blowout. Also, good amount of valuable PT for the subs. Let's Go!
Sloppy backcourt passing almost gave the game away. Need to play tighter on both ends down the stretch
Good: Win, Aluma's career night, shooting percentages, 12 steals
Bad: FT %, outrebounded by 6
Ugly: The last 10 minutes of the game
#survive
ESPN classic now showing the 2000 Sugar Bowl
Ugly win over and ACC team still a win, I will take it!
They could be a good ACC team too once they get their team back. So the win might look better down the line.
Whew.. that was way too close. We really fell apart when Maddox and Pemsl subbed in. Thankful to pull out a W after making so many mistakes in the final 2 minutes. I was shocked that we were inbounding to Bede for two of those possessions when miami was looking to foul. At least CMY has plenty of video to to help the guys learn without sacrificing a win.
Hokies inbounding and ball movement against the press has been bad all year. Tonight was just more glaring.
Agreed. Do you think the fault lies more on the inbounder or the guards not getting open? I haven't paid enough attention to diagnose the problem, mostly because my head is buried in my hands at this point in the game.
Combination of both topped off with lack of variety on set inbounds plays. Not really a fan of players being beyond mid court to start and Hokies seem to have two exclusively. They also stand around or move sluggishly more then any other time during games. If I was opposing coaches I would press most of the game if I thought my team could handle it.
Agree 100%. We've been bad against the press all season long (past years have not been fun to watch either). I really don't know why teams don't force the Hokies to beat the press. They haven't been able to do it with sustained success.
A few teams have tried it against us this year, but you have to be conditioned and farily deep to run it without getting exhausted.
I thought there were a couple lazy/casual inbound passes that ended up being turnovers
I'm not outright complaining about a win because you take any conference win you can get, but I will say its a bit concerning it was that close considering the people out for Miami. That double digit lead never should have been erased. Just some sloppy play that I've seen a few times in games this year. Still got quite a ways to go to where I'll feel pretty good about this team's chances of a good finish to the season. Though it also helps that I'm not quite sure there's many teams in the ACC that are "good" right now either. Much like last year, there's a lot of flaws with many teams. That's why getting every win you can (like tonight), will go a long ways.
A win is a win so I'll calm down and be happy. One thing though is when Aluma made that jumper with a minute and a half to go, I thought it was the dagger. The Hokies had a 9 point lead and that shot was the kind of crap that usually goes against us (i.e. play great defense and the guy still hits a shot rushing to beat the shot clock). That was a huge play but turned out to be mega huge.