HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Virginia Tech (13-9) at Notre Dame (7-16) 6PM CW Network

HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Virginia Tech (13-9) at Notre Dame (7-16) 6PM CW Network

Gameday in the Midwest‼️🆚 Notre Dame🕕 6PM ET📺 The CW🏟️ Purcell Pavilion#StoneByStone x #Hokies pic.twitter.com/HmOxo8pexK— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 10, 2024

Virginia Tech (13-9)
At Notre Dame (7-16)
February 10th, 2024
Purcell Pavillion
6 p.m. ET
CW Network
Virginia Tech Sports Network

CW Network
Play-by-Play: Ryan Burr
Analyst: Jordan Cornette

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

Current Spread: Hokies -4.5
Over/Under: -129.5

Running over the Little Leprachauns
The Hokies go on the road again in a game they absolutely cannot afford to lose. After losing two Quad 1 opportunities last week they now face an Irish squad that is a Quad 3 battle. The Hokies will be looking to get back to .500 in ACC play after losing a 10 point lead against Miami with eleven minutes to play.

The Fighting Irish are coached by first year coach Micah Shrewsberry, who was hired away from Penn State after head coach Mike Brey left Notre Dame. This season has been a complete disaster for the Irish. Outside of beating UVA by 22 and Georgia Tech, the Irish only other Power Conference win was over Oklahoma State, a neutral site Thanksgiving tournament game. They had two really bad losses at the hands of The Citadel and Western Carolina. Coming into this game they have lost the last three by double-digits. Notre Dame are losers of seven straight ACC games and 7-16 overall. Its been an ugly growth year where not much has gone right for the Irish but not much was expected with heavy turnover on staff and roster.

Notre Dame with the coaching change, overhauled their lineup with three transfers and four incoming freshmen. Two of the freshmen and all three transfers are playing at least 25 mpg.

The starting five Shrewsberry has used most consistently are C. Booth, M. Burton, T. Davis, J. Konieczny, and K. Njie. Not certain if injuries have been the factor of just a new coach trying to find something that works. They have used eight different starting lineups this season. Outside of the starters, Shrewsberry's son is the only other player seeing over 20 minutes per game.

Defensively, Shrewsberry wants his team to force opponents to take the shots they don't want to take; his team makes it their goal to force teams into shooting contested mid-range jumpers - some of the toughest shots to make. Combined with getting stops, building accountability through communicating, and shrinking the floor. Its primarily a gap man-to-man defense looking to keep opponents out of the paint and force shooters to the sideline.

Offensively, the Irish are utilizing a Five Out Delay Offense which looks to create space and pace that allows significant latitude to the primary ballhandler Markus Burton to create with dribble penetration. They employ Wide splits and screens at the elbow of the lane to free up driving players. They also focus on drawing a defense in to give space to Shrewsberry and Konieczny.

Fighting Irish Backcourt
Markus Burton
3 FR G 5-11 166
16.2 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 4.0 Ast

Braeden Shrewsberry
11 FR G 6-3 189
9.3 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.8 Ast

J.R. Konieczny
20 JR G 6-6 195
9.0 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 0.7 Ast

Julian Roper II
1 JR G 6-3 180
6.2 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 0.6 Ast

Logan Imes
2 FR G 6-4 189
2.0 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.2 Ast

Fighting Irish Frontcourt
Tae Davis
13 SO F 6-9 204
8.0 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 0.8 Ast

Kebba Njie
14 SO F 6-10 237
4.1 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 0.7 Ast

Carey Booth
0 FR F 6-10 203
5.7 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 0.4 Ast

Matt Zona
25 SR F 6-9 243
2.2 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.6 Ast

What to expect from Notre Dame?
Notre Dame is in a growth year without much pressure and their season is essentially over so they are free to just go out and play. The results haven't been good, but they have shown the ability to take down a team that is off their game offensively. They have gotten behind double-digits in the first half in over half their ACC contests, most recently trailing Duke by as much as 15 points. They tend to surge in the second half so expect a run.

Expect to see a three guard, two forward set most of the game. They use a nine man rotation but primarily focus on the top 6.

Burton is the main threat, especially off the dribble. He may be in contention for ACC Rookie of the Year and is the Rookie scoring leader. He averages nearly 11 shots a game inside the perimeter.

The Irish have five shooters averaging at least three perimeter shots per game. As a team they are shooting only 32% in ACC play, led by Shrewsberry at 41%.

Defensively they lead the ACC in interior shooting allowed, holding opponents to 44% shooting. They look to prevent interior passes and force opponents into long possessions. They are allowing the second fewest points per game behind UVA so expect a low scoring game, making every possession that much more important. That said they are slow on transitioning around screens and get drawn into the lane allowing multiple open perimeter looks.

Offensively they are sloppy with the basketball, averaging thirteen turnovers per game while creating less than ten on defense. Shooting the ball is another significant weakness, as a team they shoot 44% overall and 32% from outside.

The Hokies
The Hokies continued to struggle to close in big games. They were pretty dominant for thirty minutes at Miami and then folded down the stretch, allowing the Canes to outscore them by 18 points in the last ten minutes.

Going on the road against a good defensive team is not exactly a recipe for success. The Hokies need to use their passing on the perimeter and screening actions to get Cattoor and Pedulla free to shoot. This is also a game where Young might be best served giving Poteat a longer run. Notre Dame struggles defensively in the paint against stronger bigs.

The Hokies are the more experienced team here but the Irish definitely have the athleticism edge in their favor.
The biggest area Tech needs to be focused on defensively is dribble penetration as it drives everything Notre Dame does. Denying access through pick and rolls at the elbow and maintaining coverage on off ball slashers paralleling the ball handlers drive is another key.
In Closing
Can the Hokies mitigate the Irish athleticism edge? Might be the theme of the season. Opponents have found success outside against the Irish which bodes well for the Hokies.

Can Kidd, Beran and Poteat find a way to score inside? The teams that win by double-digits are those that successfully get their bigs to contribute. The Irish are consistent defensive rebounders so there will not be a lot of second chance opportunities.

In the only "big" win for the Irish in ACC play, they throttled UVA at home. It was a rare Notre Dame made everything and UVA went 2-11 from outside kind of game. I don't expect that but the Hokies need to maintain their season long defensive effort by closing out on shooters and harassing passes into the paint.

No word yet on Rechsteiner or Long for this game. Of the two, Rechsteiner returning is more likely.

Should they win? Yes. Do I trust them to do it? Not really. Kind of a Prove It!! game

Confidence Factor:

For those looking at going to next years Thanksgiving Tournament

Open up Thanksgiving Week in SW Florida with us 😎🦃🌴MORE: https://t.co/rDC1LKPzf0 pic.twitter.com/ImzTWEnKd5— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 8, 2024