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All right Hokies fans, if there ever should be a laugher on our schedule, this is the game. No way you slice this game should Tech come out on the losing end unless they absolutely sleep walk through the game. The North Carolina Agriculture and Technology Aggies come in 0-5, with double digit losses in three games and a loss to Division III Roanoke College. Their latest loss was the closest as they fell by one to Niagara in the last seconds.
A bit of a change of pace though for the Hokies, as this is a team that actually likes to employ "big" men rather than running four and five guard sets. Tech should still have a size advantage at every position.
The Aggies are led by Senior forward Bruce Beckford, (#32) 6'7, 215 Lbs that is putting up 18.4 PPG, with 8.4 RPG while shooting better than 50% from the field. The only problem is that he is the only Aggies player scoring in double figures.
Sam Hunt, (#2) Sophomore guard 6'2, 175 Lbs, is their "point guard" but is only contributing a team leading 2.8 APG while scoring 9.5 PPG
After these two the scoring drops off dramatically, with five players ranging from 6.6 PPG down to 4.3 PPG. Based on minutes alone, we likely will see Senior guard Ahmad Abdullah, (#12) 6'0, 175 lbs and Senior forward Joshea Singleton, (#1) 6'4, 211 Lbs. Both are averaging about 22 MPG so far this season.
Holding down the center for the Aggies will be Junior Steven Burrough, (#44) 6'9, 245 lbs. The first man off the bench to back up the bigs should be Senior forward Ede Egharevba, (#3) 6'6, 210 lbs or Sophomore forward Jamin Lackey, (#5) 6'8, 200 Lbs. These three gentlemen are bringing a combined 14 PPG and 9 RPG.
The Hokies need to play solid defense, for the first time being able to concentrate on defending the lane rather than the perimeter. Abdullah and Beckford can shoot from outside, the rest of the team not so much. This game should be a good chance to get everyone involved and hopefully kick start Pierce and Hudson out of whatever funk they are in. Johnny Hamilton could end up having a field day against these guys. I would expect to see at least six Hokies reach double figures in this game. Hopefully those same Hokies play defense and make this a fun way to go into Thanksgiving.
To give you an idea of how well Tech defended against VMI, they held the Keydets to 25.6% shooting for the game. That is the lowest percentage under Buzz Williams thus far.
I would say Tech by 30 points, but inevitably this team does something that draws them in closer. I am going to still go ahead and give Tech the victory in this one, 78 – 60.
Comments
I can't wait until this team matures and that turns into "I WILL say Tech by 30"
A couple years ago and I would have had to say "I would say Tech by 3 but you just never know if they have the talent to close this team down considering A&T has some senior big men that could dominate us down low."
Expectations, they'll get after ya.
Late to the party. Kinda surprised we're down early. Hamilton looks like he's picking up where he left off last game. And....Is that a Devin Wilson I see?
Showing up big with 3 assists.
Nice. I'm glad he's back and playing well. Say what you want about all the other guards, but Wilson has a (relative) ton of experience and is a pretty decent ball handler. We will need him when we run into teams that like to press a lot.
Chris Clarke doing Chris Clarke things. Two putbacks off of missed free throws already.
Also I think we'll see a lot more of Devin Wilson than people thought before the season.
Matt Galloway in the game today before Pierce. Different positions but I take it as a more and more of a sign. Pierce must not be getting it done in practice as well as the game to sit like this.
You can tell Buzz is treating this game as a learning opportunity. Trying out different pressure defenses, utilizing the whole roster, letting guys make mistakes, even calling a timeout at the end there to practice a set play against real competition. You could argue that the score should be more in the Hokies favor but lets be honest, other than the first couple minutes, Tech has never been in jeopardy. Hopefully they continue with a strong second half and head to the tournament this weekend with a little momentum.
Not so special tonight from the free throw line though, shooting 57% on 15/26 shooting. Was hoping last game was a turning point on this.
I love my apple tv. Watching this game on the big screen! LeDay and Clarke are huge gets for us!
I'm hoping Seth Allen gets his act together before ACC play. Not impressed so far.
Hate to speculate but Buzz is still recruiting for this years class amongst AAU so I have to think he must anticipate some guys leaving. Have to think Hudson, Pierce and possibly Devin depending on how things shake out at the point guard spot, would be the top of that list right now. The only scholarship open, for Henry graduating, has already been committed to by Khadim Sy from Oak Hill.
I hope that's not true, but if it is it kinda feels like Pierce is the odd man out. I don't want to lose a 7 footer because we will need him in ACC play, but it feels like he's in Buzz's doghouse right now.
Hate to lose a seven footer but its not hard to believe that Buzz might bring in a more skilled big man to replace him, just look at this year, Blackshear and Hamilton are contributing 12 points and 12 boards across 30 minutes a game right now. Khadim Sy, the signee for next year is already 6'10, 245 Lbs and still growing, still learning the game of basketball. So far through 7 games this year for Oak Hill, he is averaging 8.3 PPG and 7.3 RPG against the top high school competition in the country. I have faith that if Buzz feels he has to push Satchel out, it will be with someone already lined up to take his place. Its sad, but its also what D-1 basketball has become if you arent one of the schools getting all blue chip players. I thought Pierce under Buzz was really going to improve but so far we havent seen it.
Still not impressed with Allen, sad to say I trust Robinson way more but its true. Allen is too much of a wild card.
Leday is a show. I am not sure how he only managed so little playing for South Florida. Must have either seen significant development with Buzz or just wasn't used properly before. His touch around the basket is amazing.
I love Clarke's energy too. It's certainly helping full the void from Hill being out.
I like the amount of time that Wilson is getting. I'm really concerned about the amount of time Big Satch is getting.
I think the same things about Satchel's playing time, but then I watch him actually play and see why he doesn't play.
Attitude and effort are not the issues, it's ability.
I love how hard this team is playing against an 0-5 team. Very, very pleased.
Lol. Cassell is chanting "Don-Lon! Don-Lon!"
That was us. You're welcome.
You can't stop Donlon, you can only hope to contain him.
Should have stuck to the 30 point prediction. :)
Iowa State is gonna hopefully show what team we really have. Looking forward to seeing Leday and Clarke compete with the big boys.
So I was wrong, they did finish the 30 point win like they should have. Pierce is an after thought right now which is sad. Donlon getting a couple baskets was fun. Saturday we will see how things really are progressing. I just hope we remain competitive.
Hate to say it, but I'm not sure Pierce is an ACC level player at the moment. Hopefully he can turn it around.
Yeah, its looking more and more that way. Part of it is drive I think though, cause even when he gets in, he seems to move a step slower than the rest of the squad. He did have a nice pass in the lane to Donlon at the end of the game but that was about it.
Seriously Rob that's some kind of
darkdork magic prognostication ability you have there.The Donlon thing is precisely why I love college sports. Also, Buzz gives fantastic post game interviews. This season is gonna be fun, regardless of record.
I would say to those who are worrying about Seth Allen, don't. The guy can play. Still shaking off rust. Most guys NEVER go a year without playing a season and he had to take a full one off last year. Not easy to not play one game for an entire season and come back playing at or above the level you were. He was scorer for MD and I can see the talent. Give him time.
He's got until Friday.
Just kidding. I agree with you.
The rust needs to come off soon, as shooting 32% isnt going to cut it when we are in close games, especially coupled with being below 70% from the line. He just seems to be off in all aspects of the game from where he was for Maryland. 10% less from the field, the line and behind the arc. Twice as many turnovers. You can tell he is a scorer but we probably will be better off with him scoring from the 2 position rather than the point until he gets things figured out.
I see the talent is there with Allen, but Leday had to take off last year as well yet he has been one of our best contributors.
I do have concerns about how Leday will hold up against ACC players.
I think we see Leday's role change a bit as we move to the ACC slate. He will likely play more of a 3/Hybrid 4 rather than the 4/5 role he has been playing. Still in the lane but matching up against other 6'7 or 6'8 players on ACC rosters while Blackshear and Hamilton have to grow up fast.
Looking ahead to this weekend, how do we match-up with Iowa State? I do not know much about them except for their #4 ranking but would love to see Buzz knock off his first ranked team.
I am going to have my analysis of Iowa State hopefully done by Friday. That should give you an idea of what to expect. Being a bigger school, there is a lot more published about style of play and quirks of their roster than the smaller teams we have been playing so I should have a much more rounded evaluation for you.
I hope they get to the point where I don't feel the need to proclaim this, however
