Hokie Hoops Central: St Mary's (7-0) vs Virginia Tech (6-0) Battle4Atlantis ESPN 230pm

St Mary's (7-0)
vs
Virginia Tech (6-0)
Marriott Bonvoy Battle4Atlantis
ESPN
230pm

TV I ESPN Announcers
Dave O'Brien PxP
Jimmy Dykes Analyst

Not confirmed
RADIO | VT Sports Network
Zach Mackey, PxP
Mike Burnop, Analyst

VIDEO STREAM LIVE STATS
ESPN.com and ESPN app stats.hokiesports.com

Hokies Back to Back

Hokies men coming off a 66-64 victory over former Hokie Brandon Rechsteiner and Colorado State. Tomorrow at 230pm they will face off against undefeated St Mary's in the Semifinals of the Battle4Atlantis tournament. The men will be followed by the women facing BYU at 530pm on ESPN+ in the Paradise Jam Classic.

St Mary's defeated Wichita State 70-65 to advance to face the Hokies. It moved them to 7-0 early in the season. The Hokies will be the toughest team they have faced so far this season. Their wins are over St Thomas, Tenn Chattanooga, Ohio, North Texas, Arkansas St, and California Merced. Before Wichita State, five of their six wins were by 20 or more points.

Last season they were 29-6 and 17-1 in the West Coast Conference. They are projected to finish 2nd this season in conference behind Gonzaga. They are coached by Randy Bennett, who is in his 26th season at St Mary's where he is 569-222. St Mary's has won 20+ games under him 18 of those 25 prior seasons.

He returned about a third of his minutes and points from last season but surprisingly did not need the portal. All five starters are returning players from last season. Its not until you get to the 7th man that the portal comes into play in Sophomore Guard Tony Duckett, who transferred in Conference from San Diego.

This is a very International heavy roster with three players from Australia, two from Lithuania and a Canadian. Coach Bennett is also very tied in to the high schools in about a three hour radius of campus with six players from that perimeter.

Sophomore Guard Mikey Lewis and Junior Forward Paulius Murauskas lead this team offensively. They combine for 38 points, 10.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Only one other double-digit scorer in Sophomore Guard Joshua Dent. Junior Center Andrew McKeever and Junior Forward Kevin Gad round out the starters.

Gad is a bit of a misnomer as a starter as he only averages about 10 minutes per game but has started every game. I think Bennett uses a very large starting five to set an early physical environment. Gad seems to start both halves. Sophomore Guard Liam Campbell is then inserted to change the pace of the game by speeding things up.

Offensively St Mary's is known for being a ballscreen-heavy, efficient, and physical team. Key elements include using misdirection to set up ball screens, attacking with various motions, and a focus on efficient scoring and strong rebounding. He has built one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball by effectively using these strategies, which often result in high field goal percentages.

After today against Colorado State, where the Rams used a high number of cutting actions to get easy layups in the paint, facing a more efficient version of that offense is pretty concerning. The Gaels are a flurry of movement across the paint every possession. We know Young wont employ a zone but it would be highly beneficial to disrupt this offense. The team will need to protect the paint.

Defensively expect a physical, on-ball, man-to-man system that focuses on preventing three-point shots, aggressive on-ball screens, and strong rebounding.

The defense excels at forcing the ball to one side of the court and creating pressure on the ball handler. The team sends all five players to the glass to limit offensive rebounds.

Due to the level of effort Bennett expects, he goes deep into his bench with a rotation of about 10 to 11 players getting 10+ minutes.

Opposing offenses have brutally low numbers. Shooting 41% from the floor and 27% from outside. The Gaels also hold about a 15 rebounds per game average advantage.

That said, against Wichita State it was a 2 rebound advantage although the shooting percentages were about the same. The only reason it wasnt a blowout loss was the Gaels had their worst 3pt shooting night of the season, shooting 2 for 16 which had them shooting only 39% from the floor and 13% from the perimeter. Prior to this game, St Mary's was shooting 46% from the perimeter and the fewest makes had been 8 with the highest 12.

GAELS STARTERS
Mikey Lewis
#0 SO G 6-3 180
19.7 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 4.2 Ast

Paulius Murauskas
#23 JR F 6-8 225
18.3 Pts, 7.0 Reb, 3.0 Ast

Joshua Dent
#7 SO G 6-3 190
11.7 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 5.5 Ast

Kevin Gad
#24 JR F 6-6 195
1.7 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.7 Ast

Andrew McKeever
# 45 JR C 7-1 255
8.0 Pts, 10.5 Reb, 1.7 Ast

GAELS BENCH
Liam Campbell
#33 SO G 6-4 200
8.5 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.5 Ast

Dillan Shaw
#11 FR G 6-7 205
6.3 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Tony Duckett
#2 SO G 6-5 185
5.8 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.4 Ast

Harry Wessels
#1 SR C 7-1 255
4.4 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 0.8 Ast

Rory Hawke
#8 JR G 6-5 190
2.2 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.5 Ast

HOKIES STARTERS
Neoklis Avdalas
#17 FR G 6-9 215
15.2 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 5.8 Ast

Toibu Lawal
#1 SR F 6-8 200
14.8 Pts, 12.0 Reb, 0.6 Ast

Amani Hansberry
#13 JR F 6-8 240
16.0 Pts, 8.3 Reb, 2.5 Ast

Jailen Bedford
#0 SR G 6-4 181
12.6 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.2 Ast

Tyler Johnson
#10 SO G 6-5 215
9.6 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 2.6 Ast

HOKIES BENCH
Jaden Schutt
#2 JR G 6-5 185
9.0 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.6 Ast

Ben Hammond
#3 SO G 5-11 170
8.4 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 4.0 Ast

Christian Gurdak
#32 FR C 6-10 260
6.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.3 Ast

Antonio Dorn
#77 FR C 7-0 230
3.5 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.8 Ast

Izaiah Pasha
#4 SO G 6-4 190
2.0 Pts, 0.3 Reb, 0.0 Ast

Hokies have four starters in double-digits and Tyler Johnson on the threshold of joining them with 9.6 ppg.

They get much more consistent scoring eight players deep than the Gaels, who rely heavily on two players to carry them.

Mike Young would be smart to take the offense early and often right at Murauskas. He has had foul trouble in prior games and the Gaels need him on the floor to make their movement in the paint flow. He is very much what Justyn Mutts used to be for the Hokies in creating inside out opportunities.

The Hokies must be prepared for movement off the ball, many times in unexpected directions much like we saw against Colorado State. The other key defensive priority needs to be high perimeter pressure to keep the Gaels from getting in rhythm. This is something they have done well this season as opponents are shooting 27% from outside.

The Hokies will need a much better game from Tobi Lawal today. He had a three point and two rebound performance against the Rams. That wont cut it against the Gaels if the Hokies are going to win.

Last point of concern, hopefully the Hokies medical staff is doing everything possible to ensure Neo is healthy for this game. He had a bit of a scare and appeared to be a bit hobbled the rest of the game. Most athletes know that those type of bumps are worse on day two so hopefully that wont be the case.

Player of the Game
Jailen Bedford
Led the Hokies in scoring with 17 points. The points were important but more important was when he scored them. From 10:39 remaining in second half, he scored twelve of the last twenty one Hokies points. He almost went from Hero to Zero though missing the front end of a one and one in the waning seconds that gave the Rams the chance to win at the end. His defense though throughout was superb and he is a big reason the Hokies allow so few perimeter baskets.