VCU (4-3)
vs
Virginia Tech (6-1)
1030am
ESPN2
TV
Dave O'Brien
Jimmy Dykes
Radio
Mike Burnop
Zach Mackey
Rams favored by 2.5 right now and ESPN analytics is 69% in their favor.
3rd Place Game
Both teams come into this one after a loss. This will be the Hokies first chance at a back bounce game so will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Have seen no updates on Tobi Lawal status after he missed yesterday's game but considering he was in a boot, I will speculate he wont play again today.
VCU is 4-3 after a complete overhaul of their program after Ryan Odom left to coach UVA and took several key players with. Wins are over Wagner, St Peters, Coppin State, and USF. Losses to South Carolina Upstate, NC State, and Vanderbilt.
New head coach Phil Martelli came over from Bryant with a 43-25 record. He brought a couple of his guys with but results have been mixed so far.
Starting Forward Barry Evans and bench Forward Keyshawn Mitchell followed Martelli from Bryant but Martelli picked up several from the portal from big time programs. (Oregon, LSU and UConn) He is also relying on a couple freshman as part of his transition.
Starting Wing Jadrian Tracey came in from Oregon. Starting Forward Lazar Djokovic transferred from College of Charleston and leads the Rams in scoring. Starting Guard Brandon Jennings was a carryover and Guard Nyk Lewis is a Freshman.
The next couple bench guys are also transfers, with Guard Tyrell Ward coming from LSU and Guard Ahmad Nowell coming from UConn.
There are four former Top 100 guys on this roster so the talent is there but clearly they need more time to gel.
Offensively expect an up-tempo, transition-heavy attack that emphasizes quick scores after defensive stops and turnovers. His half-court offense features flexible plays relying on the players to anticipate opponent movement to create openings but this has been a struggle so far as these guys learn to play together. This IS a team that we may be better off with Mike Youngs preference of preventing transition at the sacrifice of some second chances.
They are hitting almost 55% of shots from the floor but only 32% from the perimeter. They are averaging over 30 attempts per game from the line, primarily from odd man rushes in transition so being set is an important factor against this team. Turnovers and rebounding are solid but nothing spectacular.
Martelli emphasizes a defensive system that mixes a 2-3 zone with aggressive gap principles and the ability to switch into man-to-man coverage. The core ideas include using physical touches to communicate switches and help defense, preventing slips off screens, and rotating players to disrupt the offense and create turnovers. They frequently change their approach on defense to unsettled opposing offenses. This is something I wish Coach Young did much more opponent to opponent.
Looking at their game logs, the losses come from not being able to get easy baskets at the rim and forcing a much higher number of perimeter shots. The loss to South Carolina Upstate was from a complete breakdown at the free throw line. Missed twelve free throws in an 80-77 loss. The losses also coincide with yhe only three games they allowed opponents to shoot better than 45% from the floor.
RAMS STARTERS
Lazar Djokovic
#17 JR F 6-10 230
12.1 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Jadrian Tracey
#2 SR F 6-5 190
12.1 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 2.9 Ast
Nyk Lewis
#1 FR G 6-1 195
11.0 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Brandon Jennings
#0 SO G 6-4 175
7.4 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Barry Evans
#5 SR F 6-8 205
8.3 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 2.4 Ast
RAMS BENCH
Terrence Hill
#6 SO G 6-3 180
10.7 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.7 Ast
Tyrell Ward
#15 SR F 6-6 185
8.0 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Ahmad Nowell
#4 SO G 6-0 195
5.6 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Michael Belle
#8 JR F 6-7 215
5.1 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Jordan Tillery
#14 FR G 6-5 180
5.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Keyshawn Mitchell
#22 JR F 6-11 215
3.3 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Jordann Dumont
#10 JR F 6-8 200
2.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
HOKIES STARTERS
Neoklis Avdalas
#17 FR G 6-9 215
14.6 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 4.6 Ast
Amani Hansberry
#13 JR F 6-8 240
15.3 Pts, 7.8 Reb, 2.7 Ast
Jailen Bedford
#0 SR G 6-4 181
11.7 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Toibu Lawal (Unknown)
#1 SR F 6-8 200
12.8 Pts, 10.3 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Jaden Schutt
#2 JR G 6-5 185
9.6 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Tyler Johnson
#10 SO G 6-5 215
8.9 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Ben Hammond
#3 SO G 5-11 170
8.6 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 4.1 Ast
Christian Gurdak
#32 FR C 6-10 260
4.5 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Antonio Dorn
#77 FR C 7-0 230
3.2 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Izaiah Pasha
#4 SO G 6-4 190
1.6 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Attack the rim. The Rams are handsy and get whistled often in the paint. Even if Lawal is out you have to get the ball inside. Need to see a more aggressive Neo in this regard.
Get set in the half court defense. Rams are averaging almost 40 points a game in transition either by basket or fouls.
Have to solve the shooting woes from yesterday. Thats only the second time the Hokues have shot lower than 45% from the floor. The other time was the scare from Charlotte.
The Rams aren't an imposing team size wise so really would like to see Gurdak and Hansberry inside exerting their will on this game.
Hokies win 77-71
Comments
It seems all the games of this tournament are lower scoring w lower shooting %s. The lighting seems odd on tv, maybe that is an impact.
The team has been sliding against our competition the past several games. We were winning by less and less, then by 2, and then a loss. Gotta figure it out, there are issues to work through. A win will help.
Let's! Go!
HOKIES!
Bedford should never be switched to cover Lazar Djokovic
Hansberry never touched that ball
Ours guys never got out of bed. The clear energy difference is clear. VCU is energized to blow the doors off us
The hand checks they are allowing VCU on Neo are frustrating. Alot of contact, no whistles.
hand checking, moving screens, three seconds, chicken wing... they seem to be letting a whole lot of these things go. it ain't like the basketball I was raised on.
Yep...refs just letting them play street ball
can we not make a layup?
Alot of contact being allowed on those layup attempts. Hansberry was fouled on both his attempts but no whistles
And another one with two guys making heavy contact
Thank goodness for Schutt so far
Schutt shooting us out of a shooting slump!
Why do we always look so tentative under the basket? We apparently love allowing their players to get in position to make our shots in the paint as hard as possible.
Good defense under the rim there
Why no Gurdak so far?
Hummm... good question.
Guess they woke up....Schutt just blowing them up from outside
Schutt 13 points
Rest of Team 14 points
Have to attack the press. Get those easy buckets in transition. Win on the defensive end as well to take the press away from them. This run is what this team needs to do on the regular. Hoping they keep it up.
8 assist on 11 made FG. This is an improvement over the last few games
Welp Hansberry just cost Schutt another three with moving screen
Should have gotten a technical for that slam well after whistle
Evans (#5) for vcu travels every time he does a jump stop. He'll always shuffle his feet after the stop.
SLOPPY
4:00 left in the half and Gurdack now in the game.
Yeah Dorn just isn't athletic enough against this type of opponent
These 40 foot 3 pointers killing us
Hansberry just took an elbow to the head on rebound attempt but side out on us no whistle
Got to give the Rams credit, they are hitting every contested shot
Hopefully they can't keep it up. Some of them I'm just smh. Like that last one. They are 53% FG and 62% from distance.
If they're going to make 3's from the logo, it will be tough to come back from this deficit. Lawal is an athletic big, but we just haven't been able to figure out how to play without him. If we hadn't gotten that burst by Schutt, we'd be down by 20+.
Rams shooting 53% from floor and 63% from 3.
Craziest stat is Rams only have 3 personal fouls.
We panic offensively after the first set fails. Then we have to settle for a mid-range which we aren't hitting. It's only game 8 and I know the team will improve, but really disappointing offensive efforts against real competition. Obviously, Lawal's athleticism would help but still, it's ugly.
Well shit, after fast forwarding through most of the second half yesterday I finally turn this one on to see us down 18 to flipping VCU. Might just turn it right back off. Holy hell.
Man, the offense has gone totally MIA since the Charlotte game.
We settle for far too many tough, contested shots and give up much better looks on the other end.
Not a recipe for winning against anybody.
Expectations for this team have really taken a step backwards in the Bahamas.
What an awful broadcast this has been. How has ESPN gotten so bad at live sports?
Gotta cut back to make room for all the talking heads. Oh and dont forget the shareholders.
To be fair to ESPN, there are like 40 of the holiday tournaments going on at the same time so not exactly able to focus on production. Not worth the money to ship equipment to the Bahamas for a third tier tournament.
To be honest I forgot about the game, but last year's tournament about did me in with that one announcer refusing to go more than 10 seconds without mentioning Chunky Bartfast or whatever that kid from Louisville's name was. Unwatchable with the volume up.
VCU aloud to run into our players at will.
Made it a game, probably need to back off the press now
Clear jersey pull...coach screams at ref for bad call.
How is espn going to glaze SMC when they're playing media darling $EC school Vandy?
Lol..we can't buy a 3 (other than Schutt in qst Half) and they're hitting prayers
3 offensive rebounds in a single possession...terrible
Boy that was embarrassing
No way this game should have been Hokies 20 fouls to VCU 16 fouls with how the game was played.
they did shoot 52% FG and 52% from 3.
we had too many turnovers, 13. (need to keep it below 10)
they out rebounded us by 8.