Television
ESPN2 - Bob Wischusen & LaPhonso Ellis
Radio
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network - Bill Roth & Mike Burnop
Also available on:
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Digital: Hokies Xtra & TuneIn
Tonights matchup brings the second best team in the ACC up against the second worst team in the ACC. Unfortunately, we are on the wrong end of that statement and have shown why in our last three contests. All three games were lost by 16 or more. The formula to defeat the Hokies is pretty much written in stone for everyone at this point. Prevent the three, get their bigs in foul trouble by driving the lane, keep one big man on the floor to clean up offensive rebounds and allow wide open outside shots and then rain threes like its your birthday. Hopefully Buzz will come out with something different for this game to throw a hammer at the stone. Call me crazy but having Buzz put Henry, Beyer and Pierce on the floor together with Bibbs and Smith outside would at least open my eyes to start the game. Throw something at the Devils that they never thought they would see, even if its just for small spurts to keep things slightly off balance.
That said, lets take a look at what to expect from the Dukies tonight. The top question on everyone's mind is whether or not Jahlil Okafor will play. He sat out their last game against Clemson with a sprained ankle and they won by 22, so Duke showed they can handle things without him on the floor. It does look like he will play but no way Coach K risks him for long if the game isnt close. Duke is in that precarious spot of having to win out to ensure they get a #1 seed in the NCAA but know they will need Okafor in the tourney if they hope to win it all.
Okafor(#15), is a 6'11, 270 lbs forward that has averaged 17.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg and shoots better than 66% from the field. He is a dreadful free throw shooter at 58% and has no outside game to speak of. Almost all of his points come from inside of six feet of the basket. If preventing him from scoring were the only problem here, I would say pack the lane. The problem is he has really talented teammates, so much so that they might be a better team when he isnt on the floor.
Quinn Cook(#2) 6'2, 185 lbs senior guard is second for the Blue Devils in scoring with 15.5 ppg. He also contributes
3.3 rpg and 2.9 apg.
Justise Winslow, (#12) 6'6, 225 lbs freshman forward, is averaging 11.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 1.9 apg. Winslow is another Duke player with a free throw problem though, shooting a miserable 61%.
The third freshmen phenom for the Devils is Tyus Jones, (#5) 6'1, 190 lbs guard. So far this season he has brought 11.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 5.6 apg as the primary point guard for this roster. He shoots better than 40% from outside the arc, so expect a big night from him as well as Cook, who also shoots better than 40% from the three.
All the components are present for a recipe for disaster for Tech. Big man, check, outside shooters, check. If Okafor is unable to go tonight, expect to see alot of Marshall Plumlee,(#40) 7', 255 lbs center who in limited time this season has shot 76% from the field although the scoring will likely come from the other stars putting in a few more baskets each it still gives Duke that dominant body under the basket to clean up uncontested rebounds.
For Tech to win this game, they MUST DEFEND THE PERIMETER, prevent easy drives to the basket and shoot better than 50% from the field on offense. I know how Buzz looks at it, but its been the outside shooting or open points from outside allowing easy drives for our opponents that has unraveled the last three contests. Clemson hit 11 three's, Miami had 11 layups by guards plus 7 three's, and NC State hit 10 three's, thats 33 of 75 points for Clemson, 43 of 76 points for Miami, and 30 out of 69 points from NC State.
How are they going to manage this? They need to play a 2-1-2 or 2-2-1 zone defense for most of the game. Too often the open looks are from guards crossing the lanes and their defenders getting picked. We have to be able to switch off defenders as guards cross the lane.
Duke's three losses came in games where they shot poorly and their opponents shot lights out, especially from outside. Miami shot 50% from outside, and NC State shot over 62% from beyond the arc. Both opponents kept Duke under 29% from outside.
Its a home game, the student section will be packed to see Duke. The fans will also be there to see the opponents. Hopefully the Hokies can find some magic, but I just dont see it happening.
Duke 75 - Virginia Tech 60
Comments
I expect us to be manhandled, but I'll be yelling/cheering till the bitter end.
So, good chance that Okafor doesn't play right? Or limited minutes if he does?
All the reports I am seeing say he will play. How much will likely be determined by the flow of the game and whether he is effective on the floor. Mike Barber tweeted that he did participate in their pre game shoot around and will be a game time decision.
TEA BAG PAULUS! *Clap clap clap-clap-clap*
Edit: Tweet added for imagery
All these years and only NOW do I get the reference.
Me and my friend were thinking that Ohio State basketball should come to play us because Paulus is an assistant coach for them.
If that happened, the concession stand should serve tea
We've also beaten Ohio State in (as far as I know) in every head-to-head sporting contest so far this year (football and wrestling). So yeah, bring 'em on.
Time for Buzz and the Hokies to shock the world. (that would make my night). But I will settle for at least being in the game.
If we shock the world tonight it wouldn't make my night. It would make my whole season.
I learned on /r/collegebasketball the other night that the only time anyone can remember Duke fans storming the court at Cameron was that 2005 game when they beat us with the half court buzzer beater. So we got that going for us, which is nice.
That was my freshman year, and if I remember correctly, that was the same weekend we lost to FSU in the ACC Championship. Tough couple of days for us Tech fans.
But enough with that negativity.
TEE-BAG PAUL-US [CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP]
I want to see the sweater tonight.
I will rush the court with my pants on my head if we win tonight.
Stay within 10 and keep the fans entertained. As long as we are competitive, it builds momentum for next season
The game has started on WatchESPN since VCU and Richmond just went to OT.
Damnit VCU!
And now double OT, sheesh!
3 pointers keeping us in this thing though.
We need just a few more rebounds. We can do this, but we have to slow down their second chance points.
Also Pierce is having an awesome game so far.
Looks like Buzz is limiting Pierce's minutes to only when Okafor is on the floor.
I officially hate Richmond and VCU making me miss us play a close half against Duke
Graham got hacked tho on that final play. Glad refs decided to swallow the whistle or else we'd still be watching that game
You need to get Google Chromecast and you'll never miss a minute. Watched the entire first half on my tv streaming from my phone. You won't always use Chromecast, but when you need it, it's great to have.
My phone and computer both are not very functional at the moment unfortunately.
what is happening
WE CAME TO PLAY FULLY DIPPED
Devin Wilson is playing out of his mind tonight.
This is the quickest and sharpest I have seen tech play in weeks. Our movement and driving to the basket has been exciting and has Duke flat footed
Doesn't matter who the coach is, this program brings it when a top team comes into Cassell.
Games like tonight show that once the team fully buys into what Buzz is selling they have the potential to be really good. Get better bigs and we very well could go places.
I completely agree but it is refreshing to see a performance like this after the last few games. Plus it would be nice to do something that UVA hasn't done yet this year!
That's a goddamn clear out with the elbow... Come on refs call it fair
Very nice half!
Coulda been there. First month since moving to Roanoke in September I haven't made it to Blacksburg. I feel ASHAMED.
It's time:
the students will lose their goddamn minds if he comes out in that sweater.
Just leaving the VCU-Richmond game. Insane. Hope Tech can pull off the upset as well!
Buzz and I must have been watching the same videos showing Duke's weaknesses this week. So glad to see us change our strategy enough to give Duke a run for their money. Hopefully the boys keep it up in the second half. Coach K is famous for halftime adjustments.
Plus, we've had some good halves against good teams, but can't put together that complete game. Let's see if we can turn that around. This might be worth cracking a beer over. . .
I have already cracked one!
cheers brother
Just cracked my 5th...
Unleash the Harlequin!
That play showed maturity from the team... Pierce gets the offensive rebound and then passes to a guy who had a shot from 3 but he pulled it down and reset the offense knowing we had no rebound help. Ensuing possession ends with a foul on Okafor.
That's showing a team where the game is starting to slow down. This is good.
Pierce can't leave Okafor like that.
Any links to watching this online?
http://firstrowusa.eu/basketball/first-4-duke-virginia-tech-row58b6b4
Make sure you have a good ad blocker.
Espngo as well, you'll need someones cable password though, but no crap ads.
Adam Smith with a miserable decision... Might be the turning point of the game... That was awful shot selection
What do you think Capel's waiting for? Put VCU on the map then kinda flopped at Oklahoma but come on. Guy needs to get off the Duke bench.
gotta start driving to the bucket again
Quinn Cook is a punk. Giving Buzz the timeout signal after that last three. This is why people hate Duke.
among the reasons
Coach K will chew his ass out for it. He's not a guy that puts up with crap like that.
People hate Duke cause their fans are nauseating and a massive bandwagon.
That, and Greg Paulus.
Oh I go all the way back to floor slapping Wojo...
That, and Reddick
For me it was Battier
Gracias. My amazing girlfriend knows I couldn't stomach it tonight and would be playing video games or something of the sort. Sent me a friendly text message..
How about Hudson tonight?
Not many players his height can block Okafor.
Another heart breaker against a blue blood tonight or do we finally pull it off...?
Win or lose, hold your head high after this game. Incredible effort by these boys. Incredibly impressed with the game by Pierce. Held his own against the #1 player in the country.
Win or lose, I'm talking shit to the Duke fans at work tomorrow.
Lower your shoulder? Automatic charge
That charge call was atrocious. Somehow the announcer agreed with it.
2 for 1... Love it... No matter what we'll get a chance to respond
So Okafor throws two shoulder/elbows, and Pierce gets called for a foul?
That was when I knew we were going to lose. The ref's decided to let Okafor do whatever he wanted.
Oh..... Man.....
They missed the hook call earlier, but I'll take it now!
I have no faith in overtime, but let's go Hokies
I don't know how much more of this I can take.
So much stress. So little bourbon. Really could use that snow to pile up tonight either way this goes
Thrilling game. I never thought I would say that again about college basketball.
Next possession has to be right at Winslow to foul him out. Wilson killing me.
Pierce is out.... That hurts
Cmon Beyer!
With Pierce out Okafor might as well be playing against air.
Pierce put together a man's game tonight. I know Okafor went off, but you can't play it any more physical than he did, made him earn it.
This is the best game Pierce has played all season. He had two bad passes, everything else was great.
ACC officiating killed this team tonight. They deserved better, but they just arn't good enough to pull off this kind of anamoly
Without Pierce in the rest of this game will be a layup drill for Duke...
That said, Pierce had the best game of his year so far. He keeps that up, we might not be as dire down low as originally thought.
How do refs decide the amount of physicality allowed per game? Seems like its different from every minute
If Duke commits it is allowed, if Tech commits it, it is a foul. Simple rule.
That's why I despise all basketball refs on principle. Too flashy/showboaty, too emotional, too fickle. Almost impossible to see any consistency game to game. It was pretty evident that they were aware they were officiating a Duke game last night.
Off topic: The TV announcers are calling our gym "The Cassell", is this a new thing? I wonder if it was a brading effort
I've heard "The Cassell" for years.
Decades.
Ballgame...
Ugh as well as they played Duke beat us because of the mistakes we committed. We had about 5 bad possessions and that was the difference.
Frustrating but encouraging.
I feel like I have been watching the Hokies give up wide open 3s for a decade plus
Cant really be upset about this one. The guys played great and Im really looking forward to competing every game next season
If we had a competent big to back up Pierce, we win this game.
Like Marshall Wood? /s
Completely agree with you
The refs didn't cost us that game, but Okafor could've been called for at least 3 offensive fouls that ended up sending him to the line. He literally got every call his way
When you're the top player in the country you will get the benefit of the doubt. Combine that with being on a team coached by K and... Yeah....
Yeah, the officials were definitely letting one side be a bit more physical than the other. I think they called all the blatant stuff right, but their gray areas definitely favored the Devils.
BURN.
And my man crush on Sands grows ever bigger. The hair, the suits, the patents, the tweets... the man can do no wrong.
I love this team, and I can't wait until next season. The speed of this program turnaround is going to surprise people.
On to @UVA on Saturday!
We are in the process of inventing the future of ACC basketball. Give Buzz a few years to establish his plan, develop the players he got when he arrived and get a few of his own recruiting classes, I really believe something special is taking place and U.VA and Duke games are evidence! I really love that we got Whit Babcock, he is going to help Va Tech sports out tremendously!
Thomas Guerry agrees.
This team is due for one big, and probably unexplainable, win this season. I'd rather it happen in the ACC tournament than in a regular season game though.
I'm waiting for the big, inexplicable win
We are down to UVA or winning the tournament for this year.
A Final Four run would be interesting to say the least.
Well our only chance of playing in the big dance is to win the ACC tournament. That would shock the world over UVA, Miami, Duke, UNC, Louisville, etc.
While this may sting now, we are all gonna be glad in a couple years (maybe next) when we beat them to get ourselves off the bubble. With more talent/experience this team will be really good. Heck even this years team just went to OT with a 1 seed. If they could play like this every night we'd probably be at least .500 in the ACC.
I still have no faith whatsoever in Duke come tournament time. They're like the Clippers of the NCAA: flashy and brilliant in the regular season and average at best come postseason. That is one weak 1 seed if we're counting them as one.
Their defense is terrible. Team like Villanova would be a terrible matchup for them.
Well, my back hurts, my throat may never recover, and I'm not sure if/when my ears will stop ringing. But that was a heck of a game. Hudson had himself a ball game, Wilson distributed the ball to the tune of 11 assists, and Pierce may have just had his best game as a Hokie. I know he didn't light up the stat sheet, but he made Okafor (seriously, guy may be the best player I've ever seen live. Dude's just ridiculous) work for darn near everything he got. If the refs hadn't realized they were watching a Duke game, things might've gone a bit differently for Pierce and Okafor. Heck of an effort by the big guy finally playing like a big guy. I'm sure Buzz is as upset as any of us that we lost it, and so help the person who says, "moral victory" within earshot of him, but it's games like these that make it blatantly clear that we're at least on the right track. Go get 'em Buzz.
I was thinking the same stuff about Okafor. His touch is incredible, every play (except the one where he hooked Pierce in the first half) was like poetry in motion.
My ears are still ringing, cant believe we took Dook to the wire AND scored 86 points.
Also, Whit is my favorite.
#Whitness
Well, I'll be listening to this song on repeat.
That last layup in regulation though....
I was just happy to see Buzz getting these guys back on track a bit and forcing Duke to make quite a few mistakes. Buzz came a bit out of his norm but none of it happens if every guy out there hadnt knocked down their open shots. If we shoot like that every night we win more than we lose for sure.
Was shooting the only/biggest significant difference you saw? Guys looked a lot more confident breaking the press as well.
Well, the performances of Hudson (most of which I didnt get to see since he really went off in the first half, so will be watching the game again today) and Pierce were great, but until I see them consistently, I look at them as an anomaly. You cant drop 20 points one night and then disappear for a month or manage to play tough against the best player in the conference arguably and manage not to foul out until late in the game, and turn around and get four fouls in five minutes the next three games....
The confidence, while great tonight, needs to be out there more often as well for me to think it wasnt just a case of big game adrenaline surge. Packed house, home game, lots of energy in the building. It shows that these guys can be capable of playing like that but consistency is key for me to get excited about it. The reason I focused on the shooting is that we have seen them do that pretty consistently until this last three game slide.
I was pleasantly surprised that we shot 80% from the free throw line as a team. The line almost cost Duke the game. They only managed 50%, a big reason being Okafor going 4-9 from the stripe. We shot a better three point percentage than we did from the field as a whole, which you would think is a great thing, but it shows how hard it is for our team to finish near the rim and definitely cost us key points.
If I had to pick out that one other thing I was truly excited about, it would be that we finally spent a game trying to get rebounds. And guess what, it worked. If you make the effort, you might not get outrebounded by over 11 per game, which had been our average in the ACC coming into the game. We still got beat on the boards, but it wasnt glaring and it made the difference in how we played the game as well.
Good game by my hokies I'm not disappointed at all and was so pumped I got to watch it. So happy to be a hokie and couldn't be more proud of this team. I'll be sad to leave this year but they're definitely sending me out on a high in more than one instance. Even if we didn't win tonight this game was about as much fun as that Ohio state game and I'm not even a huge basketball fan
Hopefully we'll continue to see crowds like that as well. Cassell can be awesome with the kind of crowd we saw tonight. Key is consistency. The future looks bright though with some of our freshman playing excellent especially Hudson. Thought he was unbelievable tonight.
Hudson finally showed what he can do out there from night to night if allowed, but Satchel Pierce was also huge. Without him being physical on Jahlil Okafor all night, it would have been much more lopsided. Without Jalen Hudson, who knows what our offense and defense would have looked like, so he was the key piece for us tonight.
That game was a killer for the team... Personally, I believe that it should have been a foul call on Hudson's drive to the basket in the final seconds of regulation that should have sent him to the line, but the refs missed/blew so many other calls this game. It was horrible, but I'm glad that we were able to put up with Duke AND UVa at home in the same season, Buzz's first season here at Tech. Games like this will make next year so much better, as we will know how to handle ourselves down the stretch, and we'll win a couple more games too.
Bottomline: Next year's basketball team will be much better, and will be at least a middle of the pack ACC team in my opinion. The talent and depth we will have available, plus returning experience will be beneficial when it comes to be this time next year. I'm excited for the future, but for now, we just have to deal with a little bit of heartbreak. We did almost everything we needed to do to win today, and we just came up short against the #4 team nationally. Nothing to be ashamed of on our end when we were 15.5 point dogs coming in. Go Hokies, and go #Buzzketball
Hey, this was another good game write up.
Kudos for that.
Any place to catch a replay? Great game, worth watching again.
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/id/2312333/
Thanks. Leg for you.
Hudson got fouled on the final play of regulation. Even he talked to the media about it.
He's gotta learn... at that time in the game, the refs are going to swallow the whistle and aren't going to put the game in their hands. Just won't happen unless its especially egregious, and what happened to Hudson wasn't egregious. And to be honest, I'm ok with it. If the roles were reversed and the refs called a foul on that play when Duke was driving to the rim, this place would be apoplectic this morning, and rightfully so.
I agree with the first comment. Hudson has to learn that the officials are not going to call a foul unless it is totally egregious on the final play of the game. In that specific situation, what he needed to do was take a jump step back and go up with a clean shot rather than continue his drive, flailing at contact and lofting up a prayer shot. He had his defender on his heels so that step back would have been wide open. All that of course is 20-20 rearview though.
I am just kinda giddy that, with a team of first year players, we're consistently putting ourselves in position to win games against teams we have no business beating at this stage in their careers. With the experience they're gaining right now, this team has legitimate ACC title contention potential a couple years from now.
Like Buzz, I cannot stand the moral victory narrative. With that said, I am extremely proud of this team and more specifically Pierce's effort last night. Got a well deserved round of applause(and a standing ovation from me) when he fouled out. Okafor had 30 points but I'd be hard pressed to find a game where he had to battle harder for his points. Satchel got a couple questionable foul calls on him which hurt, obviously. I hope Okafor eventually starts getting called for leading with the forearm as well as the ol shaq wrap around with the arm, that he does a lot in the post. Could've been a different outcome if he gets called for that a few times. Seeing Mueller have to guard Okafor in OT just made me feel even more proud of this time. Great crowd at the Cassell. Hope we can send our 2 seniors out properly in these last few games.
Satchel needs help. I am REALLY impressed that he really managed to hang with the #1 guy in the country essentially keeping him in check (which is crazy to think that... he got 30 and he was still kept in check for the most part). The problem is, teams know to take it right to him, because if they can get Pierce fouled out, we have no answers.
Get another competent big man, take some of the weight off his shoulders, and we're set. If the Pierce that showed up last night is the Pierce we see every game next year, our starting lineup is set for a long time.
I had to laugh at the moaning & crying by Mark Berman of the Roanoke Times about having to wait for Buzz to answer his insulting questions in the post game press conference. Perhaps if the little general ever asked a question that wasn't an obvious attack on VT basketball, he might deserve even a modicum of respect. As it is, he has earned all the scorn he receives from both Whit & Buzz. He is not only a negative of representation for Hokie basketball, but he is a black hole of information about the program.
I really, really hope that Whit makes a few calls to the execs at RT in an effort to scorch the earth all around Berman.
Nathan Warters complained about that too, just on twitter instead.
The difference is that Warters has actually published objective media about Tech basketball, while Berman has not ever done that in all the years he has covered it.
The print media might not like having to wait on Buzz, but what they continually fail to understand is that VT basketball does NOT need them to maintain a public presence. The only people who 'care' about print media (outside of the writers) are those over 50 yrs old, and probably only half of them.
Little Berman thinks he creates an impression of Hokie basketball, but he does not. he is a uselesss little troll - in terms of physical stature and emotional stability - and he provides absolutely nothing of substance about the program. Ever.
David Teel & Mike Barber both manage to provide content without the venom. Personally, I don't even read Berman's columns any more, as his spitefulness is just too insulting and pointless. The few comments I even see about him are all mirrors of his bitterness. I have to admit I would love it if Whit got him removed from the VT assignment.