Will drop the game write up later but wanted to put out that it's the White Out Effect game.
POV: you tomorrow 😎Come out to watch @HokiesMBB take on No. 12 Duke tomorrow night and WEAR WHITE! Foam sticks will be given to the student section at halftime to use during the second half. pic.twitter.com/OXkCuu9cVv— HokieSports (@hokiesports) January 28, 2024
Hokies foam sticks will also be given out at the game.
HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: #12 Duke (15-4) At Virginia Tech (13-7) 7PM ESPN
Big Monday. Big Opportunity‼️🆚 Duke🕖 7PM ET📺 ESPN⚪️ Wear White🤝 @cmgleasing #StoneByStone x #Hokies pic.twitter.com/RXAi4w7ggj— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 29, 2024
#12 Duke (15-4)
At Virginia Tech (13-7)
January 29th, 2024
Cassell Coliseum
7 p.m. ET
ESPN
Virginia Tech Sports Network
ESPN
Play-by-Play:
Analyst:
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Current Spread: Duke -3.5
Over/Under: -146.5
White Out
The Hokies finish up the home stand with #12 Duke after winning their third straight conference game by beating Georgia Tech at home. The Hokies won the game 91-67 led by a huge game from Mylyjael Poteat who had 18 points, 6 rebounds and two huge blocks against the Yellow Jackets. The three post players combined for 50 points and 19 rebounds.
Booz knows ball 🗣️🔥@MisterCBooz 🏀 @mylyjael pic.twitter.com/A7CWC6yurW— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 28, 2024
The Blue Devils are coached by Jon Scheyer. He began his college coaching career at Duke as an assistant coach in 2014. He spent eight years working for Coach K before taking over upon his retirement. He has a 42-13 overall record guiding the Blue Devils.
Duke is off to a 6-2 start in ACC play. The Blue Devils lost to Georgia Tech in their ACC opener and lost to Pitt at home. Their conference wins are over Louisville, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame and escaping over Clemson at home by getting 11 free throws in the last five minutes all while trailing. This will be the 66th meeting between the Hokies and Duke. The Hokies are 13-52 overall against the Blue Devils and 4-1 in their last five home games.
Last time out....
Last time Duke came to Cassell 😏‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/jPVquPvgQh— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 28, 2024
The starting five are Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain, Mark Mitchell and the fifth spot has rotated between Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. The regular four starters and Tyrese Proctor are on the court at least 28 minutes per game. Foster plays roughly 25 mpg. They only have two other players averaging more than 11 mpg.
Duke returned 73.6% of minutes played and 77.9% of scoring return from 2022-23 roster. Freshman contributing right away with starter McCain and sixth man Foster. The other two freshmen play a few minutes in each game but are not contributing much. The lone transfer got in garbage time in five early games but has not played since.
Scheyer defensively plays primarily man-to-man, but they like to deploy zone in limited situations. Switching defenses kind of brings a chaos to the offense and they seem to utilize it most if an opponent has gotten on any sustained run. Duke also employs more zone against teams that use a significant amount of perimeter screening.
Offensively Scheyer mainly relies on the inside out game of Filipowski and Roach. The addition of freshman guard Jared McCain has given the Blue Devils two perimeter shooters though. Both Roach and McClain shoot over 42% from outside. Usually there will be a three guard-two forward set with high perimeter screens to allow penetration and force defenses to choose to shift and possibly leave Walking bucket Filipowski with space to contest the drive.
Blue Devils Backcourt
Jeremy Roach
3 SR G 6-1 175
13.8 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 3.1 Ast
Jared McCain
0 FR G 6-3
12.5 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Mark Mitchell
25 SO F 6-8 220
12.8 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Tyrese Proctor
5 SO G 6-5 175
11.1 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 3.8 Ast
Caleb Foster
1 FR G 6-5
7.9 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 2.3 Ast
Jaylen Blakes
2 JR G 6-1 208
2.6 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Blue Devils Frontcourt
Kyle Filipowski
30 SO C 7-0 230
17.7 Pts, 8.7 Reb, 2.9 Ast
Mark Mitchell
25 SO F 6-8 220
12.8 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Ryan Young
15 SR C 6-10 245
3.2 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 1.1 Ast
What to expect from Duke?
The Blue Devils will run primarily a three guard, two forward set that looks to get the ball inside to Filipowski. He has a soft touch inside and is an excellent passer so the Hokies wont be able to double him without risking leaving Roach or McClain open.
Touching on perimeter shooting, this season teams have put a heavy emphasis on guarding Filipowski down low so the Duke guards have enjoyed many wide open looks. Duke shoots 38% from outside led by McClain, but Kidd will have to defend out to the perimeter as Filipowski does take 3.5 perimeter shots per game.
One surprising stat, in conference play, opponents are actually shooting a higher interior percentage than Duke as opponents have shot 49.7% inside against the Blue Devils. They are slow to adjust across the paint and are allowing quite a few unchallenged layups.
Duke wins basketball games by shooting the three better and getting to the line for seven more attempts per game. They make .8 baskets per game more in conference play but are outscoring opponents by 8 points per game.
The Hokies
Pedulla and Cattoor continued to show improvement using dribble penetration to create offense both by getting to the rim or drawing Georgia Tech inside to open up an outside shot.
The Hokies limited the turnovers against Georgia Tech to seven which is the first time they have been under ten turnovers since out of conference play. Duke is 11th in the ACC at forcing turnovers so typically not a strength for the Blue Devils.
Rebounding against Georgia Tech was surprisingly strong, led by Beran with nine. They still struggled though allowing offensive rebounds. Georgia Tech pulled down 13 but fortunately were not able to convert them into significant points. Against Duke though, that could quickly be exploited by Filipowski on put backs down low. That said, Duke has not been dominant rebounding the ball either.
The Hokies should still manage open perimeter looks. Duke allows opponents to shoot 36% from outside and considering the poor perimeter shooting ACC teams they have faced I would expect the Hokies to be at or near 40% in this game.
In Closing
Duke is a far better perimeter shooting team than most of the ACC. The guy's shooting are the ones that can make it so not a lot of lost possessions on bad shots. The Hokies must close out the perimeter as well as they have all year to take away Duke's normal advantage here.
Can the Hokies limit the differential at the free throw line? Unlike the women's games where Kitley gets mauled repeatedly without calls, Filipowski and Mitchell have gotten calls all year and are combining for 15 free throw attempts per game between the pair. Fortunately, Filipowski is a relatively poor 67% from the line. Duke on the season has a 119 free throw attempt advantage. That's a 6+ advantage average per game.
Home Game, White Out Effect, sold out Cassell, Cassell Guard in full effect ...have to hope for Duke tears!!
It's gameday 😤@HokiesMBB is facing No. 12 Duke tonight at 7 p.m. ET. BE THERE & WEAR WHITE. pic.twitter.com/6LmGwb9KKL— HokieSports (@hokiesports) January 29, 2024
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Comments
LET'S GO! (ON JANUARY 29)
Hokies!
I'd like a win for my birthday please.
Bummer
Anyone know why this is the white-out game when one of the opposing team's colors is white. This will look like a Dookie home game. VT fans in white, Dookies in blue.
I had that same thought. Really odd selection.
Because the people making these decisions aren't the type of people who think about this stuff 🤦♂️🤷♂️
Yeah. No consistency either. They handed out Love T Shirts in limited quantities prior to GT game but blackout game was a shirt available to buy in the store, against Duke for White Out they aren't handing out the sticks until halftime. The ladies whiteout game it was clear no one knew it was happening. The marketing just really leaves alot that could be done better.
Isn't it pretty simple to have the away team wear their alternate/home jersey in the event of this sort of thing? I don't think it should be an issue.
It may be up to the visiting team to agree to that and I would not be shocked to know that Duke is not amenable to any of these requests.
Why wait to pass them out at halftime?
This plus the White Out game makes me think someone in promotions went to Duke for undergrad.
My first thought is that it was somehow exploiting a loophole in the rules, kind of like how the first HR of the game gets the hammer celebration, but then a warning is issued, so any HRs after that have to be celebrated without the hammer.
We shoot at that basket in the first half, so the students wouldn't need to use them. Seems like it would still be easier to do it before the game, though.
Turns out you can get a REAL white out by adopting the opposing team's colors.
Who knew?
Whatever, it's STILL fun.
Beat Duke and if it's bubble time- you get in. It carries huge weight all other things considered.
You'd have to be certifiably insane not to... Just ask Greenberg
Writeup dropped in above
Duke has laid 2 eggs at home in a row with the zebras bailing them out Saturday night. Have to believe they won't lay 3 in a row. Hokies need to be sharp in all accounts to pull the upset tonight. I very much doubt Duke will do anything to give it to us.
Definitely got bailed out against Clemson. That was an awful five minutes at the end.
Clemson coach said his last four trips to Duke they have been ahead going into the last minute. Every game they have had phantom fouls calls against the leading team and the free throws have given Duke the win.
Brownell sucks. He will figure out a way to miss the tournament this year too
Duke up to #7 in the AP poll this afternoon
Just in time for us have a Top 10 upset.
Do the referees travel with the team or do they have a separate bus?
Duke pays for luxury limo's for their games.
Hopefully we are the trap game. They do play UNCheat next.
3 out of 5 popcorns! I like the confidence. Dook does not seem to play well at VT.
Good ball movement to start and defense. And at least the refs are letting both big men walk under the basket
So, Foster is going to make everything tonight. As I expected, Duke is going to look the part after two consecutive subpar performances.
Why did Collins throw that up? Should of kept dribbling the baseline.
Just not nearly enough athleticism. Obviously Duke has superior talent, so a win is a tall order tonight. But the disparity in athleticism is mind boggling.
You just can't have three minute scoring droughts against a team like this. Offensively, the rotations are off right now. MJ desperately needs to find his shot.
I just wonder how many bunnies we are going to miss.
Cause he's a liability on offense
Pedulla needs to go back to the drive and dish that worked so well last week. Forcing contested threes is what got him in a slump
We are shooting 3s with nobody even trying to rebound...just heading back down the floor with the ball in the air.
Unfortunately that's what Young wants from the guys. He prioritizes being set in half court on defense over following shots/working for offensive boards. My biggest problem is that they still manage to get beat up the floor on about five possessions a game after a defensive rebound.
Reminds me of the football team on punt coverage. They hardly ever go for the block in favor of dropping back blockers, yet they always seem to let the gunners by and have a shot at the returner
TV Teddy on the call
LMAO classic
At some point the one and done on the offensive side simply isn't going to cut it. A rebound or two is going to be necessary.
Shit call on poteat.
An offseason MUST is a PG that can beat his on-ball defender consistently. You can't play drive and kick offense when you can't consistently drive. Pedulla has had a great stretch recently but tonight we have either missed bunnies or settling for a three with a hand in our face.
And we have them 1 short of the bonus....why are we dicking around on the perimeter? Drive the fuckin lane and get in the bonus!
Apparently because they refuse to call fouls underneath.
Duke 4-7 from 3. We're 1-8(!). Add to that four missed shots from inside the charge circle. No beuno
Filipowski with both hands on Poteat on that shot
And the one before.
And then hooked Poteat next trip to cause turnover
What does Poteat have to do to get a foul call? Two in row wear he can't even raise his arms to shoot (because they're holding his arms down).
Poteat fouled again with no call
That back door cut will be there all night for Catoor.
Keep it up Collins. I've been critical but he's having a night
man that 3 at the end hurt
Of course SMDH
Feels like it happens every game 😭
Great finish to the half by Collins. Also, do we lead the ACC in last-second first half field goals? Its insane.
Great finish to the half outside of that last defensive possession. We cannot rebound.
Terrible shot by Beran setup that final possession for Duke. There is no reason for him to take that shot. Let Kidd post up or work it back around to reset for the end of the shot clock. So frustrating to gift them that possession after you have all the momentum. The margin for error is too slim tonight. Just can't afford to do that.
Didn't like the play off the inbounds following the Pedulla drawn foul earlier in the half. But they've tightened up since. Need to track down the defensive rebounds.
Hokies have ZERO second chance opportunities in the first half.
Love how the replay showed the Duke guy had his hand around Pedullas neck on that layup but nope TV Teddy didn't see a thing
Everybody getting their 1st fouls.
Okay not complaining about fouls after that sequence 🤐
Poteat has butter fingers this game sheesh
Have to take it right at Roach. Get him fouled out.
Seems like Roach should already have 5 there
I heard the same. Sounded like he got 3 in a row.
He had four out of five in that stretch with what the announcers said but must have not put him in for at least one of the defensive ones.
GO INSIDE AND GET IN THE FUCKING BONUS!!!
Got to go at roach and get him on the bench here
Do they miss 3s sheesh
Pedulla needs to stop shooting the three today he's missing them all
Second time tonight Pedulla has ended up flat on his back after a three
Filipowski with about 7 steps there
Just can't keep up... Way too many open looks for Puke.
9-14 from 3 for Duke vs 5-18 for us. Difference in the game.
Not even making them work to get the open looks unfortunately
Seems like we're sagging inside to help on defense alot. With how poor a ft shooter flip is I'd rather stay tight to your man and live with him trying to make a FT than let them load up open 3s all night
We keep losing to the dribble and having help crash... and the helpers guy shoots a 3
Duke playing out of control on offense a lot
Okay four on philipowski helps... but we got to start draining buckets
Is my count off or should roach have 4 fouls?
They have announced five that they said were on him but appears they charged two of the defensive ones to other players at the table
If you're listening to the announcers, every foul has been his 4th.
And then kid gives that s*** up to Young
Just doesn't seem like we can put two complete possessions in a row
Man I been missing that sweet hook from Kidd that was automatic at the beginning of the year
Isn't it goaltending to touch the net while the balls on the rim?
Yes. The grab is why the ball jumped off the rim right to Young.
Ok this is horseshit.
Should have been offensive goaltending on Young there. He grabbed the net while ball was on rim. It's why it kicked to him.
Drink again buddy! Beat ya!
Stop. Shooting. 3s. Pedulla. You. Don't. Have. It. Tonight.
Pedulla needs to stop shooting
This is just ugly.
About 10 uncalled fouls against poteat tonight.
I'll keep saying it. We have a couple of P5 shooters but I'm not sure we have more than 1 or 2 players that possess P5 athleticism.
Not going to win missing free throws
Just can't make any shots. You can't have multiple four minute droughts against a Quad 1 team and expect to stay in the game.
Something off with the rim were shooting on, Duke had a ton rattle out in the first half too
I remember Georgia saying something about one of the rims
Three Point Line
Hokies 28.6% (6-21)
Duke 52.9% (9-17)
Duke is a good team. But we also aren't a very good team.
You get Dukes three top scorers to 4 fouls each with over 6 minutes to go and don't manage to get ANY of them out of the game.
They should have had about 8 fouls each.
Hokies drop to 2-5 in Quad 1 games now
Only 4 turnovers against a very solid aggressive defense. But can't win if you don't make shots.
The post game saying they "held" the Hokies to 27%. I won't go that far. Hokies just missed open looks and couldn't hit the barn tonight.
I. HATE. Duke!
That is all.
Why not try and start fouling super early and turn it into a FT contest which we should in theory win. That in combination with driving at their players with four fouls instead of waiting for 1:15 to start fouling and pressing?
Even with Duke draining tre's, I felt like we lost that game more so than them beating us. Our D did enough to keep us in the game where if we started getting hot and had a run, we could have closed in and made it an epic finish.
It's been said enough about his shooting tonight , but Pedulla has enough experience to make his own adjustment and move from perimeter player to drive and dish or drive and draw a foul. He should have focused on assists more.
Catoor was 50% from the perimeter. The team needed to pick and screen to give him more looks.
Though Poteat was mauled repeatedly, the foul count was drastically on our side. We simply didn't take advance of the bonus and missed a number of FT's.
Our shooting was off tonight and I didn't think was due to an overly aggressive and athletic D from Duke.
Team still shot 75% from line. It wasnt entirely on missed shots though. 6-21 has two problems, it's about 4 less attempts then our average AND it was about 3 misses short of our norm. Shooting was bad.
What was absolutely worse though was losing the rebounding battle 38-20. So not only were we missing shots, we weren't fighting for the ball.
An 18 rebound differential is not going to win you many games.
I think the main thing I took from watching this game is that Duke's center Ryan Young has a very punchable face.
As do most Duke players
Pedulla hits 3-4 of the 11 shots he missed and it's a different game. Just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn tonight. Sucks because that was a winnable game.
Too many lazy possessions. We were out worked by their consistent effort. Can't do that and beat a more talented team, even at home.
We didn't get blown out by the #7 team.
We had a bad night shooting otherwise we might have won or at least it would have looked different at the end.
The team was trying to build a new arena with all the bricks they laid last night. Could have been a win with average shooting.
After seeing the free throw disparity in the Purdue/Northwestern game last night, there might actually be a crew worse than TV Teddy and his Minions
In a game that went to OT, with a 105-96 final the disparity was
46-8 ...Purdue only managed to hit 29-46.
Fouling Zach "Shaq" Edey might be the way to beat them. He went 8-17.
Should I ask what their records were. I am kind of amazed Northwestern had any players left.
20-2 vs 15-6.
Northwestern similar to the Hokies, lives mostly on the perimeter while Purdue tries to get it inside to Edey every time down the floor. It explains some of the differential. There were also some get back in the game in final minutes fouls along with NW getting assessed two technicals at the very end. Even with the late stuff accounted for its still a 25+ attempt differential.