HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Iowa State (5-0) vs Virginia Tech (4-1) 530PM ESPN

HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Iowa State (5-0) vs Virginia Tech (4-1) 530PM ESPN

Who's ready for seconds 🍽️😤🆚 Iowa State🕠 5:30 p.m. ET📺 ESPN2#StoneByStone pic.twitter.com/rJwoTXFHzB— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 24, 2023

Iowa State (5-0)
vs. Virginia Tech (4-1)
November 23, 2023
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Orlando, FL
530 p.m. ET
ESPN
Virginia Tech Sports Network

ESPN
Play-by-Play: Kevin Brown
Analyst: Fran Fraschilla

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

Current Spread: Cyclones -4.5
Over/Under: -140.5

Check out this video message from Hunter ⬇️Celebrate this moment » https://t.co/gOxuWKsryj https://t.co/zHPrTO3IXc pic.twitter.com/YoR0MjIm6B— Hokie Club (@HokieClub) November 24, 2023

Cattoor breaks a record....and builds on it
The Hokies are in the ESPN Events Invitational semifinals after beating Boise State and will face Iowa State and then either Texas A&M or Florida Atlantic depending on results. The Hokies face the Cyclones after an 82-75 win over Boise State.

The Iowa State Cyclones squad comes in 5-0. This will be the third meeting between the Hokies and Iowa State. The Hokies are 1-1 with the last meeting a 99-77 loss in 2015 during the Emerald Coast Classic when Iowa State was ranked 4th in the country. The only other meeting was in 1984, a Hokies win during the Volunteer Classic. In that one the Hokies were the 11th ranked team with Perry Young and Dell Curry.

The Cyclones are coached by T.J. Otzelberger, who is in his third season at Iowa State. The Cyclones are 46-27 under Otzelberger. This is his third head coaching job with assistant stops at Chipola, Iowa State and Washington. He was head coach at South Dakota State and UNLV where he was 99-63. Iowa State has been to the NCAA in both seasons. The Cyclones opened their season with wins over Green Bay, Lindenwood, Idaho State and Grambling State. They beat VCU yesterday 68-64 to advance. VCU is by far their best victory so far. They were 10th in the nation in scoring going into the game against VCU at over 90 points per game but that took a big hit with only 68 last night. Dropped them to 86.6 ppg so they may struggle against solid defense.

The big changes in the roster are the loss of Jeremiah Williams, Caleb Grill, Eli King and seldom used Burke Smith. They added five freshmen with two contributing in Omaha Biliew who did a year in prep school, and team scoring leader Milan Momcilovic. They also got commitments from transfers Curtis Jones (Buffalo), Keshon Gilbert (UNLV), and Jackson Paveletzke (Wofford). The eight newcomers see Momcilovic, Gilbert and Jones in the top four scorers combing for 39.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 6.6 apg. Biliew and Paveltzke add another 10 ppg, 3 rpg and 2 apg. These five additions represent roughly 50% of the teams scoring.

The Cyclones have five players averaging more than 20 mpg and nine average more than 12 mpg. The starting five are Momcilovic, Gilbert, PG Lipsey, King, and Ward although Ward will miss this game due to injury. In his place they likely will start Forward Robert Jones. The bench contributors of note are Robert Jones, Biliew and Demarion Watson. They have five players averaging double figure scoring.

Defensively, Iowa State play a high pressure man-to-man but occasionally switches to a 1-3-1 zone. Traps on the baseline and high intensity leading to turnovers that feed a high paced transition game on offense. They work to force teams off perimeter shots but the results have been hit or miss on that front. In three games they held opponents under 29% from outside on but Idaho State and VCU both shot above 42%. They have forced at least 16 turnovers in each game, with three games over 20. They average 21 points off turnovers.

Offensively, the Cyclones rely heavily on transition to create offense. Their coach wants quick attempts at scoring so expect the first open shot to be what they take. Until VCU their high-flying offense had not shot less than 47% from the floor but the Rams held them to 40% yesterday. They run a variety of screening actions, usually with three guards and two bigs on the floor. They may utilize a big lineup similar to how Boise State had success last night against the Hokies. They have the players to put five guys 6'5 or taller on the floor together.

Cyclones Backcourt
Keshon Gilbert
10 JR G 6-4 180
16.0 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 2.2 Ast

Tamin Lipsey
3 SO G 6-1 200
15.6 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 6.4 Ast

Curtis Jones
5 SR G 6-5 165
9.0 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 3.2 Ast

Demarion Watson
4 SO G 6-6 197
3.0 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast

Jackson Paveletzke
1 SO G 6-3 175
2.8 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast

Cyclones Frontcourt
Milan Momcilovic
22 FR F 6-8 220
12.6 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Robert Jones
12 SR F 6-10 225
9.0 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Tre King
0 SR F 6-9 225
9.0 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Omaha Biliew
33 FR F 6-8 225
5.2 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 0.8 Ast

Injured (Will not play)
Hason Ward
24 SR F 6-9 200
4.7 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
What to expect from Iowa States?
The Cyclones have won the rebounding contest in all five games by a margin of at least eleven. They box out on defensive shots extremely well and move up the court quickly. This may actually be a game where I am in favor of Young's scheme to be set in the half court in lieu of rebounds simply to slow the Cyclones down.

The starting guard duo of Gilbert and Lipsey will be a significant challenge for Pedulla and Cattoor to keep in check. They come in averaging over 30 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists combined. Gilbert is a slasher, rarely shooting outside while Lipsey is the primary ballhandler and will shoot from outside.

The biggest challenge to stopping the Cyclones though is Freshman Forward Milan Momcilovic. He is very similar to what Basile brought on offense last year for the Hokies. He actually takes more three-point attempts than interior shots. He is shooting 50% from outside on almost five shots per game. The Rams managed to limit him to four points so hopefully the Hokies staff took notes and can keep him off the board.

Due to the transition game, Iowa State gets to the line at a high rate. They average 26 attempts per game, most specifically Gilbert creating fouls. He was 12-15 from the line against VCU and averages seven attempts per game. They shoot 70% as a team which equates to 19-20 points per contest. They were 18-30 from the line yesterday. They only allow opponents to get to the line 16 times per contest. The Hokies though will be the largest team the Cyclones have seen and likely the most developed offensively.

The Hokies

Hunter Cattoor became the Hokies all-time three pointers made record holder last night, passing A.D. Vassallo enroute to a nineteen-point performance with five threes. Pretty fitting that he would do it in his hometown in front of 30 family and friends. Pedulla also dropped five threes on his way to an eighteen-point night.

The Hokies overcame a really poor start against Boise and closed out the game defensively. They can ill afford to allow Iowa State to get a double-digit advantage. This game, it is critical they are set on defense and able to prevent fast break opportunities.

Lynn Kidd flirted with another twenty-point night, finishing with 19. Tyler Nickel asserted himself for his third double digit performance but more importantly Coach Young kept him on the floor significantly more than previous games. He had several great slam dunks including this one from Pedulla.

Long and Beran put up 8 points in 41 minutes. Beran had one really strong defensive play that he transitioned to a basket but gave that back with three really poor possession mistakes on the offensive end. Collins did not score and was in foul trouble early so only saw 8 minutes on the floor. Young really needs the freshman guard duo to be able to take on a larger role because Cattoor and Pedulla cannot keep having to have 35+ minute nights. Both played 37 minutes against Boise.

In Closing
The Hokies face likely their hardest test of the season so far and most likely in this tournament overall due to the fast-paced game the Cyclones play. They have to be ready from the tip unlike against Boise where they took nearly ten minutes to turn the game around.

Can the Hokies disrupt the rhythm that the Cyclones guards are accustomed to? That answer likely determines the outcome of this game. I am not usually a proponent of mucking up the pace of a game but in this instance I hope the Hokies have buckets of muck ready. Force Iowa State to run a set offense and they will struggle. VCU did it and held Iowa State nearly 25 points off their season pace. They just didn't have enough offense to finish. The Hokies have that offense.

Lynn Kidd appreciation post 👏🫡 19 points🫡 6 rebounds🫡 7-7 FTs🫡 multiple game-winning plays🦃 @lynnkidd20 pic.twitter.com/uUmvcIbC4z— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 24, 2023