Virginia Tech finally gets a break from ranked opponents, and also opponents that dominate them in the lane size wise. Pitt in a very unlikely scenario for their program, comes in sitting in the middle of the ACC, having lost to the top teams and beaten the cellar dwellers. This is about the worst this team has been in over a decade. They have wins against Boston College, Florida State, and Georgia Tech. They have lost to NC State, Duke, Louisville and Clemson. Their losses have tended to be double digit while their wins extremely close.
Pitt is a rather well balanced team when it comes to scoring from their top five. What you really need to know can be summed up 0,1,2....as in uniform numbers of our opponents that score the most.
Michael Young(#2) leads them in scoring at 13.6 ppg as well as rebounds at 7.7 rpg. Young is there sole dominant lane player at 6'9, 235 lbs and will give Pierce and Henry a solid challenge to contain down low.
Jamel Artis(#1) is averaging 10.9 ppg and 5.2 rpg as the starting small forward for this group. He is 6'7 and 220 lbs. so plays larger than our guards but will likely fall to Muller or Bibbs (if playing) to guard.
The last Panther in double figures this season is James Robinson(#0), the point guard that makes things go for the Panthers. He is averaging 10.1 ppg along with 4.8 apg this season. Pretty stout for a PG at 6'3 and 198 lbs so expect that whichever of Muller and Bibbs (if playing) are not guarding Artis to have the assignment of Robinson.
There are three other Panthers to note, contributing between 7.4 and 9 ppg, are Chris Jones(#12), Cameron Wright(#3), and Josh Newkirk(#13). For lack of size in the big man department, their wing players are pretty hefty, with Newkirk the only one at a lowly 6'1. Jones and Wright come in at 6'6 and 6'5 both over 200 lbs, so as much as "size shouldnt be an issue" is what we have heard going into this game, there are still going to be some big bodies on the court for Pitt tonight. It worries me that having come off such a demanding effort against UVA that the wear and tear might come to a crux late in this game.
As for our achilles heel of allowing amazing three point shooting, there are four Panthers with over 40 attempts from behind the arc this season. All four shoot about 35% from this area, which against us could easily ramp up to 40%, although fortunately Pitt only attempts about 14 threes a game so far. The primary two to watch in this area with be Artis and Newkirk, even though Jones has attempted the most by far with 70 attempts.
Expect Pitt to play alot of man to man defense, sprinkling in zone when playing both Artis and Young on the floor together. They will play some extended defense to try to create turnovers, but not nearly like WVU did so this shouldnt create too much heartache.
Another thing to note is that Pitt is extremely good at getting to the foul line, averaging almost 20 attempts per game so far this season and they shoot about 72% from the line. Our bigs especially will need to avoid fouls, but all Hokies need to be aware that Pitt is looking to create free chances at any time.
If Tech can come out and play even a semblance of the game they gave UVA, then the Hokies win this game by ten or more, but if they come out flat for a half as they have tended to do, this game likely comes down to the last few baskets and unfortunately that hasnt gone Tech's way much this season.
Virginia Tech 72 - Pitt 59
Yes I think they can get their first ACC win tonight, but it will take a 40 minute effort like they gave on Sunday.
Comments
Past teams from the Greenberg and Johnson era would probably come out flat tonight. I think that Buzz won't allow that. Got a feeling the Hokies get their first ACC win of the year tonight.
Bibbs was announced as out yesterday.
Well that likely makes this game alot closer, taking 15 points off the board. This likely comes down to the last few baskets without Bibbs, very similar to the UVA game. Hopefully the Hokies drive the ball more into the lane and get layups rather than kicking out for threes.
Rob sees the future. Well called, sir!
Soooo close last year. Let's hope the team isn't still exhausted from Sunday and grinds one out.
That first picture:
"boop"
Maybe for this game, we can concentrate a little more on perimeter defense and maybe keep Pitt to their season average for threes. That would require Henry and Pierce to stay out of foul trouble. If we can do that, we can win.
I hope Cassell is at least nearly as full as it was for the UVA game. I know that was a weekend and fairly early in the day, but still. That was ridiculous. You could just tell as Tech kept hanging around that the place was just waiting to lose it's collective shi!t. If the game had ended a couple minutes earlier, that might've rivaled a few big football games for the most fun I've had at a Tech sporting event. I want more. See y'all tonight.
It's going to take a while before we get Cassell back to that atmosphere for the majority of the games. I think it will happen, though. Buzz seems to connect with the students, and certainly with the alums/donors. Also, Whit has lots of initiatives to engage the students, which is really, really a great thing to do.
We'll get there on the atmosphere. Not every night, but far more than just once or twice a season. Cassell is as intimidating as Lane when it is rocking, so it will be very cool to see it there as a habit.
I don't get ESPNU so any other ways to watch this game?
http://tvtoss.com/pages/player.php?ch_id=1800353689&ctd=1&t=Sports%20Cha...
A lot emptier in Cassell than it was on Sunday. MAYBE 30% full right now
I'm to the point where I want a win so bad I would offer my firstborn son....or at least all the beer I have in my fridge. Let's goooooo Hokies!
Ahmed Mill playing like a boss. We got the lead right now guys!!
Way to much perimeter shooting. Five straight trips down the court. One basket. Won't win games that way.
Definitely chucking a lot of threes. Had a good run where we were at least breaking down their D.
We have also missed a handful of easy ones inside the paint.
5 point lead at the half.
36% from behind the arc
35% inside (wut?)
67% from charity
Mark Berman tweeted that Buzz should be T'd up. I think he should be ejected from watching VT basketball, the little troll.
Berman is a bitter little man. Both physically & emotionally. I wish the RT would switch him with AMcFarling so we'd have decent coverage. Berman is way too busy trying to poke a bee's nest to report in an unbiased manner.
That moment you realize while everyone is talking about Mike Berman, you've been thinking of Chris Berman.
I could take his position and not be biased against VT... There is the problem of being too biased towards VT though.
I doubt anyone could be legitimately concerned about Berman ever being a media cheerleader for the Hokies. He's about 179 degrees away from approaching that. He does a disservice to all the Hokie fans who read the RT, though, because he ignores the opportunity to provide even moderate coverage of Hokie basketball in order to chase after some imagined negative angle.
Both David Teel & Mike Barber provide unbiased reports on Hokie hoops without being lap dogs. It is a shame that people in SW Va have to look to the 757 & Richmond in order to get decent coverage of Tech basketball.
Loving the penetrate and dish looks we're getting. Satchel Pierce had a pretty good half. Aggressive down low, asserting his will a little at the start. Not a bad crowd at Cassell. Was hoping for a little better turn out, but the ones that are here are loud. Good first half..Lets hit some free throws down the stretch and close out a win!
And the last 3 possessions show the inconsistency of Pierce. Needs to hit the weights.
That is gross
MUELLER SMASH
Solid effort so far, but we seriously need to close this game out.
Buckets McGee!
ADAM FREAKING SMITH. ICE IN HIS VEINZZZZ
Clutch
OMGOMGOMGOMG.
What happened to Pitt? They used to be a top 15 program. Check out their recruiting class from last year. Pretty ugly.
Edit: not to jinx us or anything...
ADAM "CLUTCH" SMITH, SON
Onions!
VicTory!
Let's Go! Undefeated all the way thru ACCT!
And boom goes the dynamite.
Also I like when the SEC is the game already in progress.
At halftime most of the discussion on ESPNU was on how many SEC teams make it to the tournament. Jeesh, can we get away from SEC headspin,.... ever!
Congrats to Buzz Williams for his first career ACC in conference win.
Go Hokies!
Well 45 minutes of solid basketball and an unconscious Adam Smith gets it done. Good feeling to see these guys pull through, especially without Bibbs.
Holy damn! What a fantastic win.
This calls for a beer. Payback for football
Haha, was gonna post that I wasn't planning on drinking tonight but my plans have been changed. Cheers everybody!
Adam Smith is my homeboy.
Adam Smith, I forgive you for all your garbage 3s in the second half vs. UVA!
Haha, you were in the reddit thread too right?
Somebody has to hold it down for our gamethreads on /r/cbb!
That is indeed super, mega, ultra...
Indeed, for a while, I thought I was the only one in the thread.
Maybe this is a sign ESPN should start showing us a little more often on one of their networks?! That was one fun finish
Yes. ACC win number 1 of many for the Buzzinator. And we beat Pitt in something. Always a good day
Finally!
It's great to see these guys win their first ACC game. I've been to a good number of their home games, and boy do they work hard. Can't wait to see what the future brings
I said it after the UVa game and I'll say it again... The potential this team is showing recently is mouth watering. When these guys start to put it together over the course of a full game, this is going to be a very, very fun team to watch. Absolutely love that we have some pure shooters on the outside.
For some reason, I kept reading this as "mouth washing" and I was very, very confused........
This painful year may be a great blessing in disguise. This young team getting tons of game reps in a trial by fire fashion will have them tougher next year when the talent of this team doubles. The guys sitting out a year and the class coming in will make this team twice as good instantly (literally if you consider just having a full roster). We talk about the positives of having camp battles in football, but this basketball team will have players fighting for starting roles at every position next year and it won't just be only coaches creating the competition. I have no idea who the starting 5 will be next season, my only bet would be on Bibbs being one of them, the other 4 positions will be settled in camp.
Not nearly enough about Beyer on here. Smith and das Mull-train were great, but Beyer was solid down low all game and fought his tail off to come up with some big rebounds and scores. The last 3 of regulation was set up because Beyer pulled down a tough offensive rebound and dished it out to Smith. Dude has no business being on an ACC court from a talent point, but he outplays his talent level and just keeps on fighting. So Christian, for your efforts,
I second and wrote the same thing on the game recap board. Did Pierce and Henry even see more than 5 min combined in the second half and OT?
First of many. Congrats to Buzz and the guys.
A great win for the Hokies! The players have clearly bought into Buzz & are growing to match his expectations. Congrats to Buzz & most of the team on their first ACC win! Think about that, folks - most of these guys have never won in the ACC, either, so they are in the same situation as Buzz on that. Wilson & Smith are 'grizzled veterans' with two years of experience.
Also very appropriate that our first victory came against another blue collar team, one that Buzz was familiar with from the old Big East days. Dixon is an elite level coach, so they're never a pushover.
Way to go Hokies!
Great win! Even without Bibbs! Where are the guys who said we would not win an ACC game? Crickets!