HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: OKLAHOMA STATE (6-3) AT VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (9-1) 2PM ESPN2
On a mission ๐ค๐ Oklahoma State๐ 2PM๐บ ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/lH3afFJfpLโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022
December 11, 2022
Barclays Center
2:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network
TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Mike Monaco
Analyst: Noah Savage
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Current Spread: Hokies -2.5
Over/Under: -133
Deck the Halls....
The Hokies (29th in AP Poll/27th in Coaches Poll) head to the Nasketball Hall of Fame Invitational to beat the Cowboys for the fifth. The Hokies are 4-0 against Oklahoma State, and look to repeat the success they had at Barclays Center last year.
Looks great @barclayscenter ๐คฉ๐ pic.twitter.com/DKzZ3JQroJโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022
The Cowboys are coached by Michael Boynton. He began his college coaching career at Furman as an assistant coach in 2004. Oklahoma State is his first college head coaching job, taking over the job in 2017 after being an assistant there for a year. He has a 93-76 overall record guiding the Cowboys and has taken them to post-season play twice. His job of recruiting was made a lot more difficult due to sanctions imposed by the NCAA last season. Coach Boynton had this to say after the NCAA ruled; "I'm disappointed, disgusted, appalled, frustrated -- but somewhere in Indianapolis there's a group of people celebrating. They won. Our players don't deserve and shouldn't have to deal with this.
"It was a single NCAA violation. One player received $300. One player. Not a recruit. Not a future recruit. Not a family member. One current player received $300. And in and of itself, because it was self-reported by us, it's a secondary violation. So the punishment is you pay the money back, serve your suspension -- which the kid did -- and you move on.
"It's no wonder that nobody trusts [the NCAA]. They don't have to come and do this, and answer questions, and talk to kids, and talk to parents."
The Cowboys come into this contest having played really solid basketball so far. All of their wins were by double-digits. Their three losses were to former Hokie Naheem Alleyne and #8 UConn, a surprisingly good UCF squad and a head scratching one poit loss to Southern Illinois. The Cowboys are the strongest defensive team and one of the most veteran the Hokies will have faced so far.
The Cowboys bring a very Senior squad to the court with no freshman or sophomores in their regular rotation. The lineup will normally be a three guard, two forward/center mix. The most important number involved with this team so far is that they are 7th Nationally in FG% allowed. Opponents are shooting 36% from the floor this season. Nine players average 10 or more minutes per game. Coach Boynton is constantly subbing to keep fresh legs on the court.
Coach Boynton defensively uses as an aggressive mix of man-to-man and zone defense. Center Moussa Cisse is third in the nation in blocked shots, averaging more than three per game. The Cowboys excel at disrupting passing lanes and turning that into points. The Cowboys average almost 20 points a game converting turnovers.
Offensively, Coach Boynton uses a motion offense focused on the guards scoring primarily but its also a very balanced lineup that does not allow a single player to be shutdown to tilt the game. Seven players are averaging 7.9 points per game and with their defensive prowess that's usually good enough t win. They are also usually very good at taking care of the basketball but against UConn this broke down and UConn turned it into 24 points.
The Cowboys Backcourt
Avery Anderson #0, SR, G, 6-3, 170 12.6 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Bryce Thompson #1, JR, G, 6-5, 188 11.3 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 1.8 Ast
John-Michael Wright #51, SR, G, 6-1, 185 9.6 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 1.9 Ast
Caleb Asberry #5, SR, G, 6-3, 170 7.9 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.8 Ast
The Cowboys Frontcourt
Kalib Boone #22, SR, F, 6-9, 210 9.6 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 1.8 Ast
Moussa Cisse #33, JR, C, 6-10, 220 8.4 Pts, 10.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Tyreek Smith #23, JR, F, 6-7, 220 7.3 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast
What to expect from Oklahoma State?
As a team the Cowboys focus on defense first and let the offense come. Their ability to score in transition after creating a turnover is unparalleled, scoring 1.35 points per turnover. Expect to see an additional 10 Hokies possessions stopped by shot deflection or forced bad shot.
The Cowboys like a face paced contest with high energy on both sides of the ball. The contest may end a bit more low scoring than most but possessions per team will be very similar.
Oklahoma State has outrebounded opponents in all but one game this season. They have nearly a ten rebound per game differential, mainly driven on the defensive end. Moussa and Boone combine for over 16 rebounds per game
Not surprising of a team that is constantly reaching defensively they do have foul troubles. Five of their seven rotation players average over two fouls per game.
The Hokies
The Hokies need to protect the ball and create space to get open shots. This game could come down to how the Hokies shoot from the perimeter. So far the Cowboys have held opponents 28% shooting from outside. The Hokies need to finish closer to 35% or a 6-9 point plus to win this game. The good news here per David Cunningham:
As of today, Virginia Tech men's basketball leads the country in turnover percentage (turnovers/possessions) at 13%. Through nine games, #Hokies have 86 turnovers on 646 possessions.Six players have double-digit assists, led by Sean Pedulla's 38 (to 14 turnovers).โ David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) December 9, 2022
Mutts, Basile and the other bigs must avoid foul trouble. Moussa is going to give them fits on both ends of the court. The Hokies cannot afford Mutts being on the bench for a significant portion if they are going to be successful.
Dribble penetration by the Hokies guards to force the Cowboy bigs to adjust position in the lane with off ball help will create opportunities for the Hokies both inside and out. Finding ways to make their aggressive defensive posture work against them is a critical piece of victory.
Highlight of the Dayton game
Silly Basile
Game 10 ๐ฅโช โข Dayton๐ป๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ฝ pic.twitter.com/oMybg4P9Riโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 9, 2022
In Closing
The Hokies continued to dominate the paint for a third game in a row. This opponent though rules the paint and the Hokies will need to be creative in scoring or en fuego from outside.
Protect the ball, find clean shots, and play the style of defense we have seen these last three games and the path to win #10 is clear.
Hokies make it tough to watch, will struggle to adjust early but are in gear at the end. Hokies win 68-61.
๐Cassell Coliseum North pic.twitter.com/YfyNzXpUJaโ Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022
Comments
Let's Go.....
Hokies!!!
Gonna be an ugly one today, I think. OSU defense is good and so is ours.
Big advantage for OSU down low
That big for them is really good on the defensive end, but he doesn't have a great offensive skill set. The way they are helping defend, it looks like we have opportunities to kick it out and/or crash the offensive glass. Poteat got a nice offensive board (and a foul on the put back)
That Mutts 3! Ice cold. ๐ฅถ
I love these dunks.
Good little baby run facilited by strong defense, lead stretched to 9
Anyone know if there's another game we advance to if we win? And if so, who?
Pretty sure its a one and done
Doesn't look like it - just a collection of 16 teams playing 8 games today and tomorrow.
To everyone, I believe chumps' sarcasm is in reference to the last time we played in this arena we won 4 in a row for the acc tourney ๐
Nah it was me and my brother trying to figure out if any games could potentially be scheduled between now and next weekend.
We're close enough to brooklyn that an after-work trip to see the guys isn't entirely out of the question
Cattoor can't buy one, right now.
Maddox all ball there
That pass by Mutts should be there all day
Need to start hitting the open 3's
I love this team
If we can get hot from three this is a blow out. Hopefully we can continue to grind in case we stay cold...
That three to escape is just painful
May of gotten away with a hook? Ya think
Terribly sloppy start to the half.
It like they're acc officials. We get called for everything, but they literally throw us around for no calls.
Our guys are getting mauled!
Basile gets knocked down and cannot get back up. No call. Not even a replay.
#1 punched in the nuts. Then on the next D, forearmed Pedulla through a screen. At least they called the second one.
We have guys on the floor every trip down the court
They say after the break that they did a replay and it was just the guy fighting through a screen.
With his fist on a dudes nuts.
Why do we do This to ourselves ๐
Because we play the first half even. Then the other team figures they have to come out and be overly physical. They don't get any calls so just maul us.
Mutts whistled but no whistle for the hook that gave the guy the step past him. Sixth or seventh time today
I turned it on and we were up 8. Now we're down 2. I turned it back off again, sorry everyone
As soon as we went up 11, they started calling us for hand fouls and stapled calling tackles on the other side.
Yes, mr announcer, the physicality the refs are blind to
Getting our arms slapped Obviosuly every single time
Guys are trigger shy now. Just have to finish
They're shoot like they're going to get mauled. When they don't they shoot too hard.
Jesus christ we can't buy a bucket
And the muggings continue.......
Wow just can take all the steps and then shoot.
I'm usually not a wtf refs guy, but they do look like they're traveling a lot
Kidd got all ball there after Cicce walked like a champ
Apparently Cicce is so tall the refs can't see his feet.
There's clearly something wrong with the rim at this side of the court
Feels like we are in Charleston all over again
Can we calm down about the refs? Every game thread it's like this. Yeah, they'll miss some calls, but fouls are 12 Ok. St. - 10 VT. It's not some conspiracy...
I usually don't like these threads because of that. We need to match their physicality if they're going to call the game like this. The only complaint I have is possible missed travels.
Point is based on the actual game it should be about 18 to 10. I am more upset with the ball control no calls. They have 9 points now after blatant no calls on the walks.
I mean, maybe? A lot of the fouls have been bang bang calls that you could argue either way if you watch enough replays.
I've noticed a couple of probable travels, too, but Collins got away with one on his dunk in the first half, and if you're wanting refs to call more travels, and carries in this basketball economy, you're just going to end up disappointed.
I heard the announcing crew question three calls. All against VT (Mutts block-out, Pedulla no call drawing a charge, and Poteat getting called for a block). When the 'impartial' guys point out that many missed calls, all on one team, that's not a coincidence. That's bad officialting.
I'm not saying there are no bad calls, but three in one game is not a ton, and none of them were that egregious. Mutts looked like he might have been holding the other guy's arm, Poteat probably should have been a no-call, and Pedulla tried to draw so many charges, I'm not sure what one we're even specifically talking about.
This is more about the broader picture, not just this game though. Every game thread where a game is reasonably close, every fifth comment is about how terrible the refs are. It's a fast paced game! Most calls are going to be close. If you went to other teams' message boards, I'm sure they'd feel the same way for calls that go our way. It's just a lot of crying over spilt milk.
This is a poorly officiated rock fight. I'm all for physical games, but this has crossed the line into uncalled mugging.
How the hell do we not get the rebound on FT? We had four guys in the lane to their two.
This is the type of game where Camden would be helpful. Mutts in foul trouble, Maddox cold from outside, playing a team with lots of size.
Pedulla getting hugged running into the lane and no call wtf
Padulla literally got tackled (guys wrapped up around his waist). No call.
I'll drink.
and every fucking call on us this is some absolute bullshit
That might be the worst call of the day on Mutts there
Total joke that call on Mutts
How does Mutts get a foul when he boxed out and the guy went over his back?
...even the announcers said "hmm, that looked clean".
Wow... one of the worst calls of the season
KIDD TACKLED WTF
Cisse took four steps before the "blocking" foul.
Man I'd be ok with an intentional tech from Coach if this keeps up tbh
Officiating is always bad. however, we are not a very physical team. We can make excuses for that as much as we want (the guys being worried about the whistle), but this team is deep enough to absorb some of the foul issues that being physical might produce.
Agree. But when they call inconsistent from half to half you can't fault us for playing the same game both halves.
Agree with this, we need to dish like we're getting it. Basile has started to do that a little on the defensive end.
Refs got it out for us here lately today
Bacon
Need the pedulla one man wrecking crew to go to work
Man Maddox can't catch a break
Funny they were watching his feet instead of the arms wrapped our Kidd's waist underneath.
Maddox finally drains a 3, and his foot is on the line...sheesh
FFS can we get a new commercial? We have some great graphic design and marketing programs and we put out the shittiest school ad ever. If I was looking at schools I might not go to VT solely based on how bad that commercial is.
Agreed. Bring back the "Invent the Future" ad series.
I'm amazed we're in the bonus. Doesn't seem like they've called anything on them.
Free throws will be big the rest of the way
Only if they call the fouls correctly.
Guess it's not a foul to knock Hunter into the lane before the shot?
Nice dime by Basile
Again, definite charge call called a block
Poteat was set and out of the restricted area?
They said he "jumped". But his feet didn't leave the ground.
How was that not a charge.
Quote of the game, "it's hard to understand how that wasn't a charge."
"it's hard to understand how that's not a charge."
- Announcer
Poteat with "block". Feet set
Announcers "hard to understand why that wasn't a charge"
GET EM MAD OX
Poteat giving us some GREAT minutes!
He needs throw some asses around.
buttsformutts.gif
This is the style of game made for Poteat. In a finesse game, he gets called for a lot of fouls. With Mutts, Basile, Kidd and Poteat, we have the ability to play different styles. It was good to see us step up and win a physical game.
Basile started throwing his weight around, too. Had a couple of nice defensive plays either blocking or forcing some difficult shots.
Poteat may have won the game on an awkward finesse play. His IQ to throw his arm up when he was turning around out of position and deflecting that pass was critical. If that ball gets through it was going to be an easy dunk.
he was 6 for 6 from the foul line too!
Hopefully Maddox can get it right today. Stroked that one and the one he stepped out on.
There we go Mad Ox ๐ก๐
Feel like we've been on the wrong end of a ton of bad calls today.
Crazy that the physiclal mugging style team has half as many fouls as us.
I was afraid this game would be ugly if the Refs let OSU play thugball. The first half was called tighter. Not so much in the second.
"Another missed call."
- Announcer
From an X's & O's standpoint why do our bigs never help once someone slashes into the lane?
Who are these refs? Geeeeeeesus
Poteat solid from the line.
Cassi with 4 fouls. Need to go right at him next time down the floor.
Did anyone else see on Pedulla's missed FT that the two OSU players on both sides of Mutts are linking arms in front of him. They just did it again. That is a foul holding off Mutts. This crew is terrible.
They've done it all game don't know why Mike isn't all over the refs about it
And again, if you just noticed
Great deflection by Poteat there, great active hands
BUTTS FOR MUTTS
Thank God Mutts didn't get fouled for taking a shot there.
Good D on the last two possessions to force TOs. And then converting on the other end (well 1 of 2 for Mutts at the line.)
Another TO!
Close up of Cattoor at the line, and his arms look like he is fostering kittens with all those scratches
got a time stamp? I want to see that.
Some of the last free throws he was taking there near the end; arms were scratched to death from all the fouls that weren't called
Missed most of the second half, been back last 5 mins of game play...sorry but glad Mutts plays for us lol.
FAM!
Phew. I had VT(-2.5). Was a little worried we wouldn't cover for a minute there
Way to fight through it with a nice win.
Poteat, Kidd, getting some great minutes for us. Love their spirit! Glad they play for the good guys!