Television
RSN - Tim Brant & Debbie Antonelli
Radio
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network - Bill Roth & Mike Burnop
Also available on:
Satellite: Sirius: 91 XM: 91
Digital: Hokies Xtra & TuneIn
Looks like you may have to scroll through your channels tonight to find this game as its a toss up between ESPN3 and Regional Sports Networks.
This is the third of four straight games where Tech faces a ranked opponent, as Notre Dame comes to visit Cassell Coliseum for the first time as an ACC opponent. The good news is that we have beaten Notre Dame before, 92-91 in overtime in 1972 in the NIT tournament. The bad news is that those wont be the teams taking the court tonight.
Jerian Grant(#22), a tall point guard at 6'5, leads Notre Dame in scoring, averaging 16.7 ppg(5th in ACC) while also dishing out 6.4 apg(Top assist man in the ACC). This game will be largely impacted by what the Hokies guards can do against Grant.
There are three other Fighting Irish shooters averaging over 13 ppg, of which the biggest concern for us will be Zach Auguste(#30), putting up 13.7 ppg, while shooting at 64.7%, at 6'10, 242 lbs, this guy will be a match up nightmare down low for Tech if JVZ has not been greenlighted to return.
Another surprising player to watch is Pat Connaughton(#24), who at 6'5 is pulling in a surprising 8.3 rpg to go along with his 13.8 ppg. His rebounding prowess makes him the only guard in the Top 25 in the ACC at number 8 in the conference. He has that inate ability to position himself on the back side of the basket away from the big men that leads to quite a few rebounds with easy put backs.
The last of the double digit scorers is shooting guard Demetrius Jackson(#11), who chips in 13.6 ppg and also is tied for second in the ACC in steals per game at 2.1 so Hokies will need to be careful on controlling the ball around Jackson.
One other thing to note about Notre Dame is that they utilize their entire roster. This isnt going to be a team that we can wear out there starters and be up against scrubs on the bench.
Tech is going to have a tough time tonight with Auguste down low and with how Grant and Connaughton drive the basketball. If that wasnt difficult enough, Connaughton and Jackson are both +40% three point shooters to go along with one of their key bench players, Steve Vasturia(#32), who shoots the three at 51.7% on the season, hitting about three of them per game so far this season.
The one bright spot is that so far in conference, Notre Dame has not been able to separate from most of the conference slate so far. This is a home game, with the students back, so hopefully the crowd can help these young Hokies stay in this game. Notre Dame is not all that spectacular on defense either, allowing opponents to shoot better than 40% on the season. The only problem there is that the Fighting Irish shoot at 52.8% on the season themselves, #2 in the country so far this season. Tech will get open looks, they just have to capitalize on them.
I have given up on trying to anticipate who we will see start for Tech as Buzz continues to tinker with the matchups. Beyer will likely have to have a big game tonight for Tech as his energy and effort will be important down low.
I am just not sure that the Hokies have it in them to pull off this upset. Vegas has the line at 9, which I think is going to be fairly accurate. I see this game being within a basket late, but Notre Dame will hit its free throws to close out and come out with a win. Notre Dame is shooting 73% from the line for those wondering.
Notre Dame - 78- Virginia Tech 70
Comments
Comcast channel 846 (CSN) in the DC/Metro area. I will be tuning in! Thanks for the preview, Rob.
Really really wish we had Bibbs for this one.
If we somehow lose this game by less than 10, it's a win in my book. I think 8 and the vegas line 9 are verrrry optimistic.
JVZ has been released from the team so we're gonna be without a 5 for a while
link?
http://fightinggobbler.com/2015/01/22/hokies-basketball-joey-van-zegeren...
nice of Buzz to keep him on schollie so he can graduate.
good luck JVZ
Lemme just leave this as #source close to the situation. He's looking to graduate here at Tech.
Where do we watch this? It's blacked out on ESPN3 in christiansburg, and I can't find it on TV...
Call me crazy, but I feel like we can actually pull this one off.
crazy
Welp. I'm crazy. What a frustrating game to watch.
For as much promising things as we see, let's not forget that this team lost to Radford.
Gotta start making those free throws.
Pierce, just put it in.
Pierce just missed a wide open 2 hand dunk
Welp, I feel terrible for Pierce. That was embarrassing.
This team plays so freaking hard.
The fight in this team is amazing. In my opinion that's the major difference between last year's squad and this year's. Sure, the record may end up being about the same in the end, but this year's squad just never gives up.
We have had multiple shots rim out which sucks. Throw in the missed free throws and this would be a very close game still. It is astonishing how bad we are at FTs although the team average should go up slightly with JVZ gone...
I'm so encouraged by these points in the paint...you guys have no idea. To be as undersized as we are it's great to see them cutting and driving hard to the hoop.
Killing us with the inside out game though. Big threes at critical moments
I for one am sad to see JVZ go. Really wanted to see what he would be under Buzz next year.
I thought next year would be JVZ's time to shine, and I also hoped he would mentor Satch as well. It is unfortunate that he crossed the line in whatever he did. The positives are that Buzz used the rules to keep him on scholarship long enough so he can graduate from VT, and that Buzz did not compromise the program to keep JVZ just because we desperately needed all the bigs possible.
They are killing us with 3s
Buzz Animated gif at 30 seconds left in the 1st half
There may not be a Basketball GIFTORY, but at least we get Buzz Williams Animated.
For as hard as this team plays, we get no results from it. A lazy team would be down 60-40 right now too.
Isn't Notre Dame in the Top Ten? A lesser team might be down 60-20, as shown by a UVa game earlier this season.
Shooting almost 60% from behind the arc. Even the great three point shooters having their best night from behind the arc against us. Not a winning formula
Expect more of the same with JVZ gone and Bibbs out. Completely outmanned.
What's the word on Bibbs?
Might be back Sunday vs UVA. If not then he should definitely be back for Pitt next week.
That was bad. Are we sure the students are back?
The student section showed well tonight.
Most and loudest students of any game this year
Was the student section full? If not, about what percentage was it? I know the ath dept is doing all kinds of things to engage the kids now, hopefully it will take hold gradually & that they do not give up on the team.
As a student and season ticket holder, this team is going to have to start winning if they want people to come. No other way around it. People aren't very high on the team around here.
Why do you think there is such negativity about the team, that the students won't come out unless we're winning most of the time?
The aura around the team is just how bad they are. Everyone knows it. It's no fun to go watch them play awful basketball every game. People will go to the Duke/UNC/UVA games but otherwise what student is going to spend his Tuesday night watching that team struggle versus Pitt.
While the W-L record is no better than the last two seasons, the team is actually much improved. They don't play awful basketball, though the past two years the team did play pretty awfully. This year the team has a cohesive offense and plays much more aggressively on defense. The talent level is improving on the team as well.
Students who are too apathetic to watch the team now while it is so convenient and inexpensive will only regret it later when they have to pay for the tickets as alums. It is unfortunate, since the athletic department is making so many extra efforts to appeal to the students, who can make Cassell an extremely fun environment. As long as they show up.
Since nobody answered on the % of the student section that was filled, I presume it was a small number. That's a shame. A rocking student section helps the team and makes the games way more fun for the other fans, too.
I don't know. Last year I had season tickets and got to watch them beat WVU at home on ESPN. And they at least won one ACC game (Miami) at home. This year I've seen them lose to Radford and probably won't get to watch them win another home game.
as far as % filled, It was definitely the most this year. The section off to the side (not directly behind the hoop) even had a bunch of students. I couldn't give you an exact percent because I was 2nd row. But there was nothing to cheer for, every time the crowd got into it ND would hit a 3 the next possession.
The most this year - as in 2015 (our first home game with students back), or the most this season, because there is a huge difference. I've been to most of the home games, and the student section has never been more than 75% full. That's not a complaint, just a fact. There are easy tickets to get, if you care enough to try.
Also, you seem to be jumping off the bandwagon really quickly since the ACC schedule has just begun and anyone that checked in even occasionally on college basketball would understand how difficult our early ACC schedule was set up.
As far as 'nothing to cheer for', it seems like your expectations are set very high, especially if you actually have watched the team play any time in the last several seasons.
Lastly, anybody who wants to spend a mere five dollars - much less than the cost of two beers downtown - can buy a ticket outside of Cassell, then go sit with the students any time they desire for any home game they desire, outside of Duke/UNC/UVa. There are also almost always people giving away free tickets outside the main entrance for every game. Free. Tickets.
You can see any game you want, if you are actually into Hokie basketball. If folks think we should be magically on the same level as the elite teams in the ACC, then they really know nothing of college basketball.
Most this season. And I'm not jumping off the bandwaggon, you can't blame our losses on the ACC schedule. We lost to Radford at home. We already lost to Fla St another bottom ACC team. And no my expectations are not "too high". There is literally nothing to cheer for. Every time Tech cut it to even 7 points the crowd would get into it, and then they would immediately lose momentum. I'm not going to cheer for Pierce missed dunks and wide open 3's for ND all night. And nobody thinks we should be on the level of ACC basketball, they are pretty aware the team won't be winning games so they aren't going to go watch because of the "hustle" this team shows. Games are 100% entertainment, it's simple. Is a regular old college student going to be entertained by this particular team? No.
100% this. There are so many better things to do on a college campus than watch a team you don't care about get crushed. Just because I watch every game doesn't mean other people will. And I had low expectations for this year that doesn't mean I don't get royally pissed after every loss.
I wish I still lived close enough to catch basketball games. Even though the record isn't great, I find this team way less irritating to watch than teams of the last few years. There is just a lot more fight and effort in this team than we have seen recently.
Agreed. Anyone that cares about college basketball can see the difference. This year the team has an actual game plan, something that had been missing for years. This year the team looks like they have been coached about defense. This year the team actually looks like it has direction, which is a 180 shift from the past couple of years, if not more.
Folks that want to support the team can see all kinds of reasons to do so.
The thing is not everyone is you or me, which sucks, but we just have to deal with it. We're not Indiana, people aren't going to show up when the team is bad. And the complete lack of any mainstream basketball culture means that we won't even sell out to see the #8 team in the country, because people don't even know they're the #8 team.
The student section was probably 75% full but there were plenty of students not sitting in the student section, I have no idea why. Only the sections directly behind the basket were standing, the side section I was in were all sitting, again I don't know why. Students should be standing. So I would say good turnout, but meh crowd that was just there to watch, not to cheer. Right now it's the culture, and the only way to change that culture is to win. Cassell Guard and the Athletic Department have to be creative and proactive to get students engaged as the team gets better.