It's 🆙 in B'more tonight‼️🆚 Penn State🏀 CFG Bank Arena🕢 7:30 p.m. ET📺 Peacock🔗 https://t.co/Ypqs6c7UWE pic.twitter.com/WT19K6aE2c— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 15, 2024
Virginia Tech (3-0)
vs
Penn State (3-0)
730pm Peacock
CFG Bank Arena
Baltimore MD
TV | Peacock
Jason Knapp, PxP
Nik Stauskas, Analyst
RADIO | VT Sports Network
Zach Mackey, PxP
Mike Burnop, Analyst
VIDEO STREAM LIVE STATS
stats.hokiesports.com
Spread: PSU -7.5
O/U: 150.5
Neutral Site, P4 Opponent, What do they have?
This is a truth game for Coach Young. Do the Hokies have the roster to hang with a P4 opponent that is outside the top 40 for now? They will be at a neutral site in Baltimore so we also get to see how they react to not being in the confines of Cassell Coliseum.
Hokies are 3-0 but it's a tenuous one at best. They have had long scoring droughts in every game. They can't afford to do that tonight.
Penn State also comes in 3-0 but they have cruised to it. Their opponents were like most P4 teams early on. Paid lambs to the slaughter. They have faced Binghamton, UMBC, and St Francis PA. Those teams are 5-8 to start the season and only that good thanks to UMBC being 3-1 after playing their own cupcakes.
That said, Penn State has done what every coach would want to see against that competition. Their lowest output is 92 points so far and smallest margin of victory was 30 points.
It's tough to put much value in how they performed considering the competition on much other than they were consistent. They did not have scoring droughts and they scored in the paint, in the mid-range and from outside consistently. They also were above 70% from the free throw line in each game.
The biggest key to this game will be whether the Hokies can't stop the Lions from filling it up outside. Penn State comes in shooting 39.5% from the perimeter on 27 attempts per game. The other challenge is how do the Hokies post players stand up against the size inside. The big German center is very nimble inside. Puff Johnson brings height as well but will extend out to the perimeter in what is more a four guard one center lineup.
The real concerns on the perimeter though will be Zach Hicks and Ace Baldwin. This will be a return home for Baldwin, a Baltimore native, so expect him to want to ball out in front of a home crowd.
Defensively, the Hokies are going to face a Havoc style of pressure. Penn State will often extend the defense to 3/4th quarter of the floor. High pressure to create turnovers and force guards into faster decisions.
The Lions will be looking to move from turnover to transition baskets on offense quickly. D'Marco Dunn and Kern are frequently leading those transitions.
In all three games so far, Penn State has had a different leading scorer. This is a well balanced starting five so it's not a team you take away one or two shooters from and expect much relief.
Bottom line, Hokies can't go 5 or more minutes putting up bricks if they want a chance to win this one.
We love having you here Tobi 🦃🤟 pic.twitter.com/l1v69qsJDy— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 14, 2024
Hokies Starting Five
Toibu Lawal
#1 JR F 6-8 200
14.3 Pts, 8.7 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Mylyjael Poteat
#34 SR F 6-9 260
12.7 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 2.7 Ast
Jaden Schutt
#2 SO G 6-5 185
12.0 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 2.3 Ast
Jaydon Young
#3 SO G 6-4 205
11.0 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Brandon Rechsteiner
#7 SO G 6-1 185
9.7 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Key Bench Players
Tyler Johnson
#10 FR G 6-5 215
9.3 Pts, 6.7 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Ben Hammond
#11 FR G 5-11 170
3.3 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 1.7 Ast
Patrick Wessler
#5 SO C 7-0 245
2.7 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Ben Burnham
#13 SR F 6-7 200
1.7 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Nittany Lions Starting Five
Yanic Konan Niederhauser
14 JR F 6-10 215
15.0 Pts, 7.7 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Zach Hicks
24 SR F 6-7 185
14.3 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Ace Baldwin
1 SR G 6-0 190
12.7 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 6.0 Ast
Freddie Dilione
4 SO G 6-5 195
6.7 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Puff Johnson
5 SR G 6-8 190
11.3 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Key Bench Players
D'Marco Dunn
2 SR G 6-4 185
12.7 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Dominick Stewart
7 FR G 6-5 195
8.3 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Nicholas Kern
3 SR G 6-6 190
7.3 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 2.7 Ast
Jahvin Carter
0 FR G 6-3 185
6.7 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 2.7 Ast
Comments
So irritated that this game is on Peacock.
Agreed, after cutting Comcast, I no longer have Peacock access.
Neutral site game on a Neutral Network. Going to try to find a way to watch but suspect I will be forced to listen online.
Streameast.app has it listed as being on tonight. Site has worked well for me watching on desktop without having to play whackamole. Sometimes 1 pop up at the beginning that says you need to install a player or something. Just close that one and you're good to go. Has been good video quality as well for the few games I've had to go there for.
No stream available yet ot that site.....anybody know if the game has started?
Ok. So not working there. Oh well.
Yeah kept taking me to ads
It's up
finally got it to work on my phone.... still not working on desktop.
I have had no luck. Getting bad gateway and virus warnings and all kinds of ads
Yeah sorry...working for me now...haven't had those sketchy problems before. I hope I didn't cause issues on your device....
CBS Sports just alerted me to the game start.
Especially since the UVA/Villanova game that precedes it is on TNT. Strange that Turner would get one of the two games and NBC would get the other one to put on Peacock.
The Hall of Fame series this year is all over the place. They have four locations (Vegas, Phoenix, Baltimore and NYC) Vegas will be both games on TNT, Phoenix both will be on ESPN channels, Baltimore is split and NYC is on Fox)
Who would've thought that (Pea)cock would end up giving most of us the shaft...
Fuck peacock. Time to sail the seven seas.
I wish I could give this all the legs ever given out on TKP. Additionally fuck this cash-grab shitshow we have these days with broadcasted sports. It sucked back in the day because there were so many events we couldn't see, ever, but at least we knew it wasn't possible. These days it's just like a giant peter-tease of "You can watch literally ANY sporting event on the planet! (in fine print)...but you'll need to subscribe to 37 different platforms at $79.99/month each! Tee hee hee."
Glad to see ole Nik Stauskas on the call. Never heard him talk, but he had a nice stroke for Michigan back in his day.
This game will probably tell us if this team will be able to at least compete in conference on a nightly basis, or if we're looking at 4-6 conference wins. Not sure why, but I do have Peacock - will report back, and hopefully will do so well imbibed. Cheers!
So far so bad!
Hoping to watch tonight for the first time this season.
Also, I feel like we always lose to psu, even in years when we're decent
Hokie hoops is in the wire!!!
So far we're shooting lights out... as in, the lights must be out. 1-6, 0-4, 16.7%. Terrible!
It does look weirdly dark in the arena
It is. Several mentions of it on Virginia Villanova game
Lt, correct me if I am wrong, but I think what is going to hurt us big time in both men's and women's bball this year is the fact that neither have at least one dominant PG. So we'll live & die by the perimeter shooting, which is also bolstered by the fact that neither team (at present) really has anyone that can create space/buckets around the rim.
Additionally, it's worrisome that the poor shooting is affecting us already, not in January when the ACC slate starts to kill our conditioning.
I have only been able to see a small subset of this PSU game, but it seems like the Lions are doing a great job of isolating our players on offense, effectively limiting our ability to create shots.
Yes not having the ability to drive inside consistently is a big problem.
Another is Poteat rarely gets ball in lane and looks for open shooter when defense crashes in.
I'm not 100% sure about your second sentence...
I know of 1 problem (from prior seasons) where sometimes Poteat gets the ball underneath the basket, looks around for 2 seconds, realizes he's wide open, but then can't put the ball in the basket because the defense has converged on him.
But are you talking about a propensity to dish it out instead of using his size advantage to put up the bucket or draw a foul? (As I say that I'm proud of how he drew the foul there at 1:32 left in the 1st).
I agree. Poteat gets the ball frequently imo but just isn't effective. He is too soft for his size and has been quite bad in this first half.
No, I am saying his ability to pass out is either not there or he just gets basket on the brain. Rarely gets it and looks for an open teammate.
Gotcha. I'll look out for that moving forward.
It was something Aluma and Mutts were amazing at. Led to a ton of wide open threes.
Poteat could also never be a wide receiver
Malcolm Delaney is at the game. Pretty sure he's the one in the maroon long sleeve sitting courtside opposite of the Hokies bench
That might be the first technical I've ever seen coach young get
I love it!! Even though it was a bit of BS given how every damn coach in the NCAA goes outside their box all the time.
It's like when the refs hold up the game to tell certain players to tuck in their shirts. They only do it when they have a bone to pick with the player or when they want to flex as black&whites...otherwise it's shirts out all they want.
This is a way more fun team to watch than last year. The ball movement is better, more driving to the hoop.
No idea what to expect over the course of the season (seems like we struggle to actually put the ball in the hoop, not good), but it will be nice for the scheme to be more then just pass around the arc and chuck a three
I agree. I just don't see any real structure yet (other than your pass & pray you mentioned). Seems very street ball at this point. Will be nice if it starts to gel into something more cohesive by the time we get into the meat of the ACC schedule.
Poteat missing that layup was painful
Every 50/50 call going penn st way
Peacock is putting on a pretty good broadcast imo.
These kind of games always remind me I have no idea what is and isn't a foul to a basketball official as it is wildly varying from second to second.
LOL. Where have you been since way before any of us were born?
My favorite part of basketball has always been the "rules of emphasis" from year to year. As if some parts of the rule book are just like "meh"...but calling a blocking foul inside the halo is really important this year!
Oh. I complain every game. It's just teams like this that play that aggressive defense like auburn did last year reminds me of football and holding, you could call a foul on every play if you wanted but since they play aggressive all game they don't get so particular against those teams
Very true, and very frustrating. It'll haunt my nightmares for years thinking back on that VT vs LSU game in the women's final four in 2023.
37-29 psu at the half.
Hokies have had 12 turnovers thus far. Not good at all. They out scored us 11-5 in points off turnovers. And 7-2 on fast break points.
Got to do better in the second half.
Way to pass to your feet, Poteat
Schutt saying "that's fucking bullshit". I agree.
Ugh 17 turnovers in 25 minutes
I can't watch it but ESPN stats say that we are fouling all over the place to their pristine boys. Real or PSU getting home court vibes.
The refs are calling more fouls on both teams than I've ever seen called in a game; and there's no way we've fouled more than Penn state who has lived in our laps
Watching this game...... man, VT is not good.
We're gonna get our asses kicked in the ACC this year.
At the 11:46 mark of the 2nd half, there have been 24 fouls called on the Hokies and 17 on the other team.
Yeah...it's been a whistlefest
That's VT being held to the finesse standards of ACC play while an opponent gets to play at the physicality of their conference.
Just checked the score. Apparently I don't need to invest a bunch of time this winter watching basketball.
Holy foul calls. Glad I don't get peacock. Also... yikes.
As much as the foul count was high, it only was a 3 point edge.
All about the 24 turnovers and slightly worse shooting. Hokies got killed in the paint. A 14 point differential.
Fire whit.
Well, this is a crushing blow to my hopes of winning a national championship this season.
Can't go 54-1 without losing 1.
We're aren't as talented as we've been in the past few years (another problem), but god damn do I want to root for this team. The dudes seem to try hard.
Yea this is where I'm at