HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (5-0) AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (4-1) 330PM ESPN2

HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (5-0) AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (4-1) 330PM ESPN2

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Sunday, Nov. 20 | 3:30 p.m. ET
TD Arena (Charleston, S.C.)
at College of Charleston
Series: VT leads 1-0
Game Notes: Virginia Tech (PDF)

TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Jay Alter
Analyst: Debbie Antonelli

Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop

Current Spread: Hokies -5.5
Over/Under: -110

Championship Sunday....
The Hokies (36th in AP Poll) will face their quasi first road game in the Championship of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic with a matchup against College of Charleston. The Hokies are 1-0 against College of Charleston with a 98-87 victory on Dec. 15, 1954. The Hokies are coming off their worst offensive performance in a 61-59 win over Penn State Friday afternoon.

The Cougars are coached by Pat Kelsey, who began his college coaching career at Wake Forest as an assistant coach in 2004. College of Charleston is his second college head coaching job. He coached Winthrop from 2012-2021. He took over the College of Charleston position in 2021 and has a 21-16 overall record guiding the Cougars. He also previously was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. Last season the Cougars were 17-15.

The Cougars are 4-1 to start the season after wins over Chattanooga, Richmond, Davidson and Colorado State. Their lone loss was to #1 UNC 102-86. The Cougars come in averaging 85 points per game so the Hokies need to play stellar defense and can ill afford another drought from the perimeter that they had in the Penn State game.

The Cougars come into this season with a whole new roster flush with five transfers and five freshmen. The team is led by Australian Guard Reyne Smith (watch the crowd for the Aussie flags) and grad transfer Guard Dalton Bolon, who comes in from West Liberty where he was a three-time DII All-American. They are joined in double-digit scoring by grad transfer Guard Ryan Larson (Wofford) and grad transfer Guard Pat Robinson (West Liberty). This is an experienced well balanced offensive team with nine players averaging at least six points per game. Coach Kelsey recruits globally with a player from Australia, Croatia, and the NBA Academy in Africa. He also brought in two freshmen from the prestigious IMG Academy.

Defensively, Coach Kelsey utilizes the Pack Line Defense which is a man-to-man defense on the perimeter but has zone tendencies focused on preventing dribble penetration and reducing second chance opportunities. Coach Kelsey and staff utilize a statistic-based evaluation system that records data in ten defensive categories used in every practice and game.

Offensively, Coach Kelsey uses the 1-4 High Stack offense made famous by UCLA great John Wooden which utilizes high post screening action and the UCLA Cut from the top of the key to set up the high/low game. The bigs passing abilities are critical in making this offense work. They will be looking for guards on back door cuts, baseline cuts and perimeter swings to get open looks.

The Cougars Backcourt
Reyne Smith (#2, SO, G, 6-2, 180lbs) 13.8 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Dalton Bolon (#3, SR, G, 6-4, 205lbs) 12.6 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Pat Robinson III (#15, SR, G, 6-3, 195lbs) 10.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Ryan Larson (#11, SR, G, 6-1, 175lbs) 10.0 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 3.2 Ast
Jaylon Scott (#21, SR, G, 6-5, 195lbs) 7.6 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 3.8 Ast

The Cougars Frontcourt
Ben Burnham (#25, SO, F, 6-7, 200lbs) 7.8 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Raekwon Horton (#5, SO, F, 6-6, 200lbs) 7.6 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Babacar Faye (#35, SO, F, 6-8, 175lbs) 7.0 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Ante Brzovic (#10, SO, F, 6-10, 229lbs) 6.4 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.6 Ast

What to expect from College of Charleston?
As a team the Cougars are averaging nearly ten more shots per game than their opponents, helping them score nearly 85 points per contest. This is driven primarily by incredible offensive rebounding at nearly 15 rebounds per game.

Coach Kelsey emphasizes an extremely fast paced offense looking to wear the opposing defenses down to help close out high scoring games with a win. The offense is centered more on speed and utilizing bigs in the high post passing game. The guards on this roster do the majority of the scoring.

Perimeter shooting accounts for nearly 45% of the Cougars total attempts. They come in averaging over 30 attempts per game from outside although they are only shooting 31%.

College of Charleston focuses on defensive rebounds where they average nearly 24 per contest. Chattanooga was the only team to outrebound the Cougars so far this season. They outrebounded UNC by 5 rebounds in that loss.

The Cougars struggle with fouls which was the major factor in their loss to UNC. The Tar Heels went to the line 38 times. Two other opponents have had at least 26 attempts from the line. This is a significant impact area, especially for the limited experience on the bench. There are five players averaging more than 2.5 personal fouls per game. Senior forward Charles Lampten struggles the most here, significantly limiting his playing time.

The Hokies
The Hokies need to focus on taking the ball inside. The entire team should be able to get to the rim or the line in this contest. An early focus inside will take key players off the floor for the Cougars and open up the perimeter shooting.

The Hokies face an arguably the best rebounding team they have faced all season. Keeping the Cougars off the offensive glass will significantly hamper their performance. Charleston averages nearly 16 second chance points per game. Reduce that to below 10 and it goes a long way to victory.

Pedulla, Cattoor and Maddox will have their hands against these guards. The balanced scoring across four guards means they can't just focus on any one player. This will be a game of contest the hot hand with your best counter.

Basile and Mutts in the high post will create the offense in the contest. It will force College of Charleston defenders into decision points on lane defense or staying with their man. Pedulla and Cattoor are the two that get the open looks in this situation if the defense collapses in. Otherwise Mutts and the other bigs need to be able to go to the rim.

Expect a lot of time at the line unless the officials continue their Pro Wrestling stance on lane defense. It wasn't only the Hokies against Penn State that was a Royal Rumble, the Cougars got away with extremely physical lane play against Colorado State, where they were only called for a season low 16 personal fouls and only 9 free throw attempts for Colorado State.

Highlight of the ODU game
Hokies win without the three....

In Closing
The Hokies are going to have to earn this one. They will have the home crowd against them, questionable officiating and an experienced starting five opponent. If they want this championship, they cannot afford a breakdown in rebounding or perimeter shooting. Either of these areas will likely determine the final result.

College of Charleston prefers high scoring, close games decided on who executes better in the final two minutes of play. The Hokies will not be the best team the Cougars have faced. The Cougars have also won in overtime and three of their five games were decided in those final minutes.

This Hokies should be the more talented team on the floor but this will be countered by the team that wants it more. Charleston obviously is motivated to win the Championship on their home floor in front of a heavy contingent of their own fans.

The oddsmakers have the over/under at 110 points which is surprisingly low so they expect a much more defensive minded game than any Charleston has played this season. This would definitely work in the Hokies favor.

Hokies return to form on the perimeter and wear down the Cougars at the line. 81-73 win for W #6 and a trophy to bring home. Pedulla wins MVP.

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

Comments

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My wife takes the kids and leaves the house while I watch my Hokie games.........nuff said

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Bob: What would ya say ya do here?

Brad: I already told you! I iron out the minutiae so Justin doesn't have to. I have people skills dammit! What the hell is wrong with you people?

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We put the K in Kwality

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Hokie Club member since 2017, TriumphNIL subscriber since 2023

Football school, Womenโ€™s basketball school

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We put the K in Kwality

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If you don't want to recruit clowns, don't run a clown show.

"I want to punch people from UVA right in the neck." - Colin Cowherd

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If you feel the leather in your hand let it rip.

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We put the K in Kwality

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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The proud "V" in Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University spelled out in chest paint.
North Endzone @ 03 Miami.

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Hokie Club member since 2017, TriumphNIL subscriber since 2023

Football school, Womenโ€™s basketball school

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The proud "V" in Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University spelled out in chest paint.
North Endzone @ 03 Miami.

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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This is my school
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This is my school
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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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This is my school
This is home

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If you feel the leather in your hand let it rip.

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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We put the K in Kwality

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We put the K in Kwality

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We put the K in Kwality

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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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This is my school
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We put the K in Kwality

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This is my school
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We put the K in Kwality

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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Hey! It goes beyond big brother in the sky
Beyond the threat of martial law, No Horus eye
No one came to cuff you they just handed you the chain
Blind follows the blind and now the one-eyed man is king

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"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BROTHER, THE CUP IS COMINโ€™ ON HOME!โ€

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This is my school
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This is my school
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This is my school
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We put the K in Kwality

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We put the K in Kwality

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We put the K in Kwality

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

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If you don't want to recruit clowns, don't run a clown show.

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

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โญโญโญโญโญโญ #YNWA

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

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