2025-26 Hokie Hoops Statistical Notes: Volume 6 (degrees)

The Men's Team

Now that all of our beta blockers have leveled us out, it's prudent to point out that the Hokies did, in fact, go 3-1 over the last four games. CMY now has his 120th win as the head coach and 57th in ACC play.

As for the quality of opponents, the Hokies went 1-1 against Quad 1 opponents, and 1-0 against their Quad 2 and Quad 3 opponents. All told, the Hokies are 2-3 against Quad 1, 5-2 against Quad 2, 2-0 against Quad 3, and 6-0 against Quad 4. And to hammer home the point that we're not as bad as our record is, we're the best ACC team for 39' 53 seconds, we're only three missed opponent last second heaves away from being undefeated in ACC play, 4-1 against Quad 1, and 6-1 against Quad 2.

We're currently in ESPN's last 4 in team list as the final team in, so let's compare that current Hokies' record.
USC: 1-4 vs Q1, 5-2 vs Q2, WL #69 home
Ohio St: 1-4 vs Q1, 3-1 vs Q2, WL #120 road
New Mexico: 1-3 vs Q1, 3-1 vs Q2, WL #124 road
Virginia Tech: 2-3 vs Q1, 5-2 vs Q2. WL #67 home.

The Hokies are the only team with multiple Q1 wins. The Hokies' worst loss is still a higher ranked loss than the others.

Oh, and the Hokies are a half game back of the double bye, with a 15-5 (4-3) record .

Scoring

As a team, the Hokies scored just 1 point shy of 80 for the frame, which would have been three consecutive editions of the Hokies averaging 80 or more.

The return of Lawal cannot be understated. In his first full set back, he led the Hokies with 14.5 ppg. Joining him in double figures were the dynamo Ben Hammond (14.25 ppg), Bedford (13.5 ppg), and Hansberry (13.0 ppg). Neo Avdalas missed out by 1 point, finishing at 9.75 ppg, followed by Schutt's 7.75 ppg and Gurdack's 7 ppg.

The Hokies had four 20+ point performances, bringing the season total to 13, including three 30-pointers.

While the Hokies don't have anybody in the top 10 in scoring in the conference, they do have five in the top 75 , but 7 if you were able to count Lawal and Johnson. Regardless, Miami, Duke and UVA have 4, UNC and Clemson have 3. Only SMU, UNC State and Louisville also have 5. When fully healthy, the Hokies are a threat to any team in the ACC.

Rebounding

Lawal's return is also felt on the boards, as he led all Hokies in rebounding, as well, with 9.25 boards per game. Hansberry pulled down 6.75, Bedford 3.75, Gurdack 3.5, Schutt 2.5, Hammond 2.25, Avdalas 1.75, and Dorn 1.5.

Unfortunately, that meant the Hokies only pulled down 30.5 rpg during the four game window.

Assists

For the second straight frame, the Hokies only had 47 assists. Turnovers dropped to 42, but steals rose up to 30, giving Tech a 47:12 AATO, bringing the season-long AATO to 292:60 with 144 steals.

Shocker, things go well when Neo is dishing the ball. He finished with 22 assists to 9 TOs, but clawed back 4 steals.

Ben MFin Hammond was second with 12 assists, and tied for third with 7 turnovers, but had more than double the number two in turnovers with 11. The Hokies' two primary ball handlers had a combined AATO of 34:1. Add in Hansberry, and that becomes 40:3. Add in Gurdack, and it becomes 42:1.

Experience/Depth

Legs were kept fresh, especially in the frontcourt. Hammond got the most minutes, at 33.25, followed closely by Avdalas' 32.5. The 20+ window was crowded, led by Schutt's 28.75, and joined by Hansberry's 28.25, Lawal's 26.75, Bedford's 26.25, and Gurdack's 20.5. Dorn managed a few appearances, getting an additional 7 mpg.

Next Four

Buckle up. Three of the next four are Q1 games.

We start at #15 Louisville, who comes in at 13-5, with all loses, except Stanford, being against ranked opponents. The Cardinals are also day-to-day without Fr PG Mikel Brown Jr who just returned to practice on Thursday. Attacking inside will be a challenge, to say the least, as Louisville plays all three 6-10+ players pretty regularly. Also, the Cardinals are the top scoring team in the ACC, averaging just a touch under 88 per game. They also lead in assists. They're also the second best rebounding team in the conference, as well as second best from the charity stripe. They aren't a particularly good shooting team, coming in middle-of-the-pack in both FG% and 3pt%, which tells me they take a lot of shots from range. Their weakness is that they lead the conference in fouls per game at almost 20.

Our sole "reprieve" is Q3 11-8 Georgia Tech. Two 6-10+ players split duty at the C, while SF Reeves and PF Ndongo provide most of the inside scoring, though Reeves also leads the team in 3pters with about 2 made per game out of 5 shots. In fact, the Jackets make the fewest 3ptA in the ACC and they take the fewest. There's really nothing that George Tech does well except defensive rebounding, where they are 3rd in the conference. Oh, they also commit the most turnovers.

Back up to Q1, the Hokies welcome one-loss Duke, a team that was one last second FT allowed from undefeated. The Blue Devils have what appears at first to be a very limited frontcourt depth, as they have one 6-11 C who plays 23 mpg, ACCPOY candidate 6-9 PF Cameron Booker who plays 32 mpg, and 6-9 PF Maliq Brown who puts in 18.2 mpgs. However, they do have serious wing height, with two 6-8 guards who also split a spot. Duke is one of the best shooting, rebounding, and assisting teams in the ACC. They allow the fewest points, second fewest rebounds, fewest blocks, and most opponent fouls in the conference.

The Hokies finish by taking the drive to Raleigh to battle NC State. Unlike Duke, the Pack have a deep frontcourt, but only consistently play 6-10 Fr Musa Sagnia, 6-9 Sr Ven-Allen Lubin, and 6-6 Sr Darrion Williams. That being said, like Duke, they have some 6-6 guards in Sr Quadir Copeland and Fr Matt Able. Those five combine for about 60% of all minutes and a little over 61% of all scoring. All told, expect State to go 8-9 deep. Their offensive output is exactly the same as Duke, even down to FGM per game, though the Pack are better from range and from the line. Surprisingly, this is a team that Tech (barely) outrebounds. However, they are a very good passing team, leading the ACC in fewest turnovers. They are also adept at stealing the ball as they are only losing about 1 possession per game; best in the ACC. Weaknesses for the Pack are that they allow their opponents to shoot just as well as we do, and they allow opponents to hit from range at a higher clip. Opponents have better defensive rebounding numbers against them than against us. It also appears that they don't attack the rim as much, as their opponents only get called for fouls on them about 17.6 times per game, whereas the Hokies are one of the best at getting fouls called on their opponents.

Prediction

Until we can do it consistently, I will never say we're gonna win in Louisville. That's a fool's errand.

The other Tech is bad and they should feel bad. And we will make them look bad.

Duke. All-Time, the Hokies are 13-54 against the Blue Devils. However, in Cassell, we're 7-8. In Cassell, over the last 6 contests, the Hokies are 4-2. Call me crazy, but I think we have a solid chance to pull this off.

Mike Young led Hokies are undefeated in Raleigh. That does not change.

3-1. Hokies improve to 18-6 (7-4) and should move into the double-bye.

The Women's Team

4-0. All in ACC play. 1-0 vs each Quadrant. Gotta love it.

CMD earned her 33rd W in Orange and Maroon and her 14th ACC win.

The Hokies are now just 1 win back of the double bye after starting off 1-3.

After 20 games, the Hokies' resume is 1-3 v Q1, 4-2 v Q2, 2-0 v Q3, 8-0 vs Q4, with the worst loss coming against neutral BYU (#51).

Scoring

In four wins, the Hokies averaged 76.25 ppg, led by Carys Baker's 17.25, with Carleigh Wenzel (15.5), Samyha Suffren (13.75), and Kilah Freelon (11.75) also averaging double figures. After those four, however, scoring falls off a cliff. Mel Daley is the next leading scorer, averaging 5.25 ppg, joined by Mack Nelson's 4.75 as the only other two to average a bucket per half. Swanson (3.5 ppg), Wells (3 ppg), Trent (1.5 ppg), Jenkins (1.33 ppg), and Petersen (1 ppg) round out all scorers.

Rebounding

Rebounding has been a challenge for the Hokies, of late, as they only averaged 33.5 personal rebounds, down considerably from the 40.75 from the last edition. Freelon still leads (8.25 per game), but she's the only one significantly over 1 rebound per quarter. Suffren has 4.25 rebounds per contest, while Wenzel and Daley both have 4 per. Baker fell just short at 3.75, and was followed by Nelson (2.25), Wells and Swanson (2 per), among those getting a board per half. Trent (1.75), Jenkins (1.33), and Petersen and Brecelj (1 per) rounded out all rebounders.

Assists

Though they've flirted with it several times, this edition is the first in which the unadjusted ATO margin is poor, at 63:64. Defensive intensity is roughly the same as the last window, giving the Hokies an AATO of 63:36. Nelson and Wenzel led the Hokies in assists (15 and 14 respectively), but also committed the most turnovers (10 each). Nelson also led the team in steals. Combined, Nelson, Wenzel, Baker, Suffren, and Freelon have an AATO of 50:23.

Experience/Depth

Every Hokie got playing time this frame. [- Only Carys Baker earned more than 30mpg, putting in 31.25 mpg of work. Wenzel came close at 29.75, followed by Nelson (27.25), Freelon (27), and Suffren (23.75) in working at least half the game. Wells (19.5) and Daley (16) provided the immediate bench support, with Petersen (8.33), Swanson (8), and Trent (7.5) providing the ready mid-bench. Representing the deep bench were Jenkins (5 mpg) and Brecelj (3.5 mpg)

Next Four

Coming up, the Hokies have an excellent opportunity to get quality wins, while not necessarily going against the highest caliber of opponents.

First up is a Q2 matchup in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is 12-8 (2-6) and currently riding a five game skid where they failed to put up more than 60 points in three contests. The Deacs tend to go about 9 deep,with one big in the rotation, but some other help in the post as well, playing four players taller than 6'. As mentioned, scoring is a problem for Wake, as they put up about 66 ppg on 45% shooting, though they are passable as a team from range. If you're gonna foul a team, this is the one to do it against, as they are dead last in the ACC in FT%. This should be a game the Hokies control the boards. Their lack of height should also allow for fewer blocks. Wake is the better passing team, as they get about 17.5 assists per game on 25.5 made shots per game.

Coming back to Blacksburg, the Hokies take on Q4 Pitt, and in the pit they are. Coming in at 8-13 (1-7) the Panthers have a grand total of two wins since December 1st. Pitt does play about 9 on a regular basis, including two 6-5 trees who split time at the post. However, that's it for their height. No other contributor is taller than 6'. Pitt is dead last in the ACC in scoring, even shooting worse than us from range. They have the second fewest steals in conference and are prone to turnovers. However, they don't foul. Trips to the line for the Hokies will be rare.
Pitt is also one of the worst scoring defenses in the ACC and are slightly worse than the Hokies at opposing 3pt%. Despite the 6-5 presence down low, they give up the 3rd most rebounds in the ACC. Despite the heavy guard presence, they give up the most assists per game and allow the second most steals and force the second fewest turnovers. They also don't appear to attack the rim that often, as their opponents commit the fewest fouls per game in the conference.

Now time to welcome Q2 v UVA. Virginia is currently 14-5 and 6-2 in conference. The Hoos play a total of 8, of whom 3 are 6-4 or 6-5. UVA is scoring about a bucket a game more than the Hokies by being one of the more capable inside scoring teams in the conference. The Hoos are not a particularly good FT shooting team. Their size leads them to be one of the best rebounding and shot blocking teams in the conference, which leads to them also allowing the lowest FG% in the ACC, though the Hokies are 3rd. Skilled ballhandling also puts UVA at the top in assists. Being good at rebounding means their opponents have not had the opportunity to pull down as many. For as good as they are, they don't force many turnovers.

Wrapping up this edition, we head to Indiana for a showdown with Q1 Notre Dame. Coming into this window at 13-6 (5-3), the Irish are a hodgepodge triage of walking wounded and inconsistency. Only three players have seen action in all games. As far as consistency, they've only had 6 play in 75% of team games. That does include two bigs in 6-4 Sr Gisela Sanchez and 6-3 Sr Malaya Cowles and the ACC scoring leader in Hannah Hidalgo and 6-3 Sr Guard Cassandre Prosper. Despite this, the Irish are second in the conference in scoring, while also leading in FG% and 3pt% AND FT%. One critical weakness is that they are one of the worst ACC teams in rebounding. They average 15 assists to 13.1 turnovers, but are top 10 in the nation in steals. Opponents do shoot well against the Irish, averaging almost 42% from the floor. The Irish also don't get opposing teams in foul trouble,

Prediction

I just saw where the Wake game was pushed up a day. Generally speaking, I'd say this would be a walk in the park for the Hokies, but Wake is coming in on a six day break. That being said, we outclass them at every position and in every statistic.

Pitt should be a blowout. This is the absolute worst team the Hokies will play the rest of the season. Their NET ranking is smack dab between Radford and BC: games the Hokies won by 32 and 22 respectively.

Duffy lost her first matchup in Blacksburg against the Hoos, but rebounded less than a month later to dominate the Hoos in Charlottesville. In the loss, Latasha Lattimore and Kymora Johnson combined to go 17-38 from the field and 4-11 from the line, contributing 40 of UVA's 73 points, while the Hokies were abysmal from range and the stripe. In the win, those two were held to just 24 points and 1 of 6 from range, while the Hokies annihilated them from range and the line. Johnson still remains, but the Hoos have not made up the production of Lattimore. Hokies W.

Notre Dame, in Indiana, is going to be a tough job. The Hokies haven't won there since February of 2020. In fact, that's the last time the Hokies beat Notre Dame at all. Prior to that you gotta go back to the year before I started at Tech as a dumbass Freshman from Southwest Virginia. I really have a hard time picturing us winning that game. Last year Hidalgo dropped 30. But Notre Dame had to replace their other four starters from that game and all but 1 of their bench from that game. This Notre Dame team is nowhere near the juggernaut they were last year, nor are we the slouch from last year. Maybe it's the delirium from the incoming winter storm, but Hokies with the W.

4-0, advancing to 9-3 in conference. If we're not on the double-bye, we're tied for 4th.

Stay Safe.

Stay Warm.

Go Hokies!.