Television/Internet
ESPN3 - Andrew Allegretta & Mack McCarthy
Radio
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network - Bill Roth & Mike Burnop
Also available on Digital: Hokies Xtra & TuneIn
Both teams come into this New River matchup 4-3. Tech lost a disappointing game to Penn State, falling 61-58, missing a three pointer at the Buzzer. Radford comes in off a 57-46 win over Texas A&M Corpus Cristi. The records may be the same but the competition level has been quite different between these two teams.
Radford is led by two seniors, Guard R. J. Price(#10) and Forward Javonte Green(#2). Price comes in averaging 11.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 2.1 apg while Green packs a double double almost every game, averaging 13.1 ppg, 10 rpg, and 1 apg. These two are supported by Point Guard Rashun Davis(#5) who also averages 10 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 3.4 apg. Beyond those three the Highlanders contributions drop off considerably.
The team comes in averaging 62 points per game so far this season, running a fairly up tempo style of offense created by playing a high pressure defense from all parts of the court, regularly employing a full court press. They utilize this defense to turn their opponents over 12 times per game, averaging almost 18 points off turnovers. This team could prove to be a difficult matchup for Tech as they rebound offensively very well and turn turnovers into points. These have been two of Tech's achilles heels this season. The other thing Radford does well is shoot free throws, so if the game comes down to the charity stripe, the edge by far goes to the Highlanders.
I anticipate that Tech will come in prepared for this game, possibly a little angry with the way they lost the last game and will likely outclass Radford in the early going. Expect Tech to build an early lead but Radford to climb back into the game by way of their post players creating foul problems for Tech's big men. I would expect this to be a two basket game at the half along the lines of 31-27 Tech leading. In the second half, I would expect to see Tech's young talent start to find their range again while being able to take the ball to the basket. Tech should win this game by about ten points. If Tech is unable to break Radford's press defense late in the game it could be significantly closer, which doesnt bode well for the Hokies with how poorly they have been doing at the foul line.
Final Score: Tech 67 - Radford 59
Comments
I was supposed to be at this game, but I got surprise drunk last night and I didn't want to drive a few hours on a hangover (I would have been the driver of the group.) If the rest of this game goes like the first few minutes are going I'm glad I didn't go. Jesus, Radford is hitting everything out there.
You have to be fucking kidding me.
We really need a beast on the boards. Too may good shots miss with no rebounds. But still a one point game now.
Yeah, no joke about needing a rebounder. Even on the defensive side I'm getting really tired of seeing opponents getting three possessions from one trip down the court. That seems to happen at least once or twice a game.
yeesh
hey, did everybody hear we're headed to the military bowl?
*tries to avert eyes from ESPN3*
I keep telling self no expectations for BBall this year, but then get pumped about Buzz and watch and hope anyway. Not sure I can get my expectations low enough to not expect to beat Radford, but I guess I can set them lower for next game.
Holy shit. I knew we would not be good this year, but losing to raddy just hurts.
I'll take the blame for this one, guys. I went to highlander pizza in Radford and got highlander rolls because they are amazing.
I'm sorry :(
Seth Allen can't be eligible soon enough. Devin Wilson is hard to watch.
Has to be a threat to shoot from outside. Someone has to be a leader and take it to the rack and finish from the line..
Up 4 with 90 seconds to go and the opponent goes on a 6-0 run to close it out. Really, that kind of loss isn't acceptable and the team needs to learn that. I know Buzz will fix it, but man they can be an absolute disaster when they're not clicking.
I knew that we were going to be pretty bad at some points this year, but I had no idea we would be "lose to Appy State and The Duuurty R" kind of bad. Yikes.
I didn't see this game but our lack of big guys will hurt us a lot this season. I'm not expecting much but I expect us to lose some games we shouldn't and I think we will win a few games we shouldn't this year.
This is the second game in a row that we lost the game in the first half. Allowing Radford to shoot 7 for 12 from behind the arc in the first half gave them all the scoring and confidence they would need. Allowing the game to slip away with a six point lead and less than two minutes to go is unacceptable. The fact that we couldnt close out the game by taking the ball to the hoop to force the fouls or score late in the game is due to our lack of someone with the killer instinct so far. I would have preferred to see Bibbs isolated with the ball to create in the lane on every possession down the stretch. He is the only one so far that shows the confidence to take the ball in and go up for the shot rather than jump looking to pass.
If you were to look at the stat lines of this game you would think that this was just a really balanced game that came down to the end. That may be true for the stat line but it never should have come that close. The fact that we attempted two three pointers in our last two possessions when we are down by two is ridiculous.
I know that this is a learning season but these are mistakes in regards to the fundamentals of the game. These are the things that to play at this level you know how to execute so it worries me to see these common mistakes even on a developing team.
Once again, free throws played a part, 50% for the evening on only 5-10 from the line. Its the number of attempts that stick out the most in those numbers. Coming into the game, Radford had been sending its opponents to the foul line 18 times a game. Even shooting 50%, Tech would have added four more points by getting to 18 opportunities. Our inability to create these opportunities is another direct sign of our guards lack of lane presence. Devin seems to be able to drive at will but refuses to force the issue by taking the shot up into bodies. The same needs to be true of our other guards though. The refs were a bit light on the whistles tonight but they werent given much to force the issue on.
Turnovers tonight actually worked in Tech's favor, Tech getting 22 points compared to giving up 14. We also actually improved greatly on reducing second chance points as much as it may have seemed differently. Radford only managed 10 points off 8 offensive rebounds. Tech had 11 points off 11 offensive rebounds. Its a poor transition of these second chances on both teams. Second chance conversion is usually about 1.5 points per opportunity. That would have been 4-5 more points for Tech if it had managed it.
If I had told you before the game that we would shoot 50% from the field, 47% from behind the arc and were not outrebounded almost everyone would have expected this game to be a win. Unfortunately we allowed Radford to shoot 52% from the field, 40% from behind the arc and 7-10 from the free throw line. 5 versus 7 makes a two point difference at the line between the teams.
All this said, its going to be a rough ride this season. Its obvious that Buzz is working on improving the team but there is only so much that can be done from game to game. The next two weeks we have two games so I expect Buzz to maximize his practice time during this window to work on the flaws so far this season.
The biggest flaw I hope gets fixed is if we are going to run a four guard rotation, then those guards have got to be able to drive the lane and also be able to provide back side rebounding and soft side help defensively.