IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatUNC Dean E. Smith Center 8 PM ESPN pic.twitter.com/nGOndIJ2DX— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) January 26, 2017
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: January 26, 2017 / 8 p.m.
Opponent: North Carolina
Site: Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Dean E. Smith Center)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN
Talent: Karl Ravech & LaPhonso Ellis
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
XM Radio: XM 81 (Internet 81)
Entering the Belly of the Beast, ACC Road Game Hell
Buzzketball goes back on the road after successfully finishing off Clemson in the first of four road contests over a five game stretch. Now its time for what could be the hardest remaining road game the Hokies have this season. The North Carolina Tar Heels welcome the Hokies in to the Dean Smith Center boasting an 18-3 overall record. The Tar Heels only losses this season are #13 Indiana, #6 Kentucky and Georgia Tech. Only the Kentucky loss was a home game. They have P5 wins over Oklahoma State, #16 Wisconsin, Tennessee, and six wins in conference thus far. So far in the ACC, outside the loss to Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels lowest offensive output is 85, with their high an astounding 107 against NC State.
On the road, in one of the hardest places to play, with an assured packed house spewing vitriol their way, this is going to be a monumental task for the Hokies. The Tar Heels come in 15 point favorites. They also have gotten a major boost to their lineup with the recent return of Theo Pinson as well as Tony Bradley coming back from a short term injury. Both of these players will contribute about 20 minutes tonight so a major impact to have them back on the floor.
This will be the Eightieth meeting between the Hokies and Tigers. UNC leads the all-time series 66-13. UNC won last years matchup 75-70. The Hokies are 5-30 on the road against UNC all time.
We want more of this image tonight than the second
The Tar Heels are coached by Roy Williams, who has been at UNC since 2003. His first season is the only year the Tar Heels have not won at least 20 games(19 wins) under his tutelage. They have 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, and one NIT appearance. They have made it to the Elite Eight seven times, the Final Four three times, NCAA runner up once and NCAA Champion once all under Williams. The amazing thing about Williams is that before coming to UNC, his Kansas teams also only failed to reach 20 wins once (19 wins), also in his first season there. He has a career 79% winning percentage as a coach and just recently reached 800 career wins.
Defensively, the Tar Heels run almost exclusively a man to man defense. Coach Williams relies on the talent of his players to win out in one on one matchups. Their defense is designed to drive their offense, as Williams like to tell his players that they need to be playing 94 feet of offense all the time.
Offensively, North Carolina runs a constant motion offense with the goal of being primarily a transition offense. Coach Williams tells his guys that if there are less than 2 defenders back they they should score with 2 or less passes. If more than two they need to move to their motion offense. Expect to see two bigs in play in the lane at the same time. They are trying to find the point where the defense lapses on one or the other and take advantage of it. The Tar Heels also don't focus nearly as much on shooting from outside, especially compared to the competition. The Tar Heels are ninth in threes attempted and made in the ACC this year.
What does that mean for the Hokies?
The Hokies are going to have their hands full down low all game. Leday and Sy likely will not be enough to keep the North Carolina bigs in check. Its going to take total team defense to deny the easy buckets underneath from this Tar Heels squad.
The Hokies have a second opportunity in a row to find their way back defensively. A tough end to end defense is how Georgia Tech managed to keep this opponent off balance and get a big win earlier this season. I would hope that Buzz has his guys turn the pressure all the way up, especially early on in each half.
The Hokies need to do something that is almost anathema to them, and that is to slow this game down almost to a snails pace. They need to block interior passing lanes while controlling the clock, limit the fluidity of motion so that they have a tough time establishing a rhythm.
Today, the Hokies perimeter players need to be almost perfect. There is no room for the Hokies to go cold over an extended period from outside.
#TBT to the last time we beat UNC in the Dean Dome#getB3TTER pic.twitter.com/BtX5SBsx6B— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) January 26, 2017
Tar Heels Backcourt
Joel Berry II (#2) 6', 195 Lbs Junior Guard is averaging 15.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.9 APG and 1.5 SPG. He is shooting 43% from behind the arc and 49% overall. He makes about 2.5 threes per game. He just happens to shoot free throws at about 90% so all around, if you can limit his possessions and shots it improves your chances of winning.
Kenny Williams, (#24) 6'4, 180 Lbs Sophomore Guard comes in averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.1 SPG. He is shooting 35% from outside but only attempts three per game. He also struggles at the free throw line shooting 66%.
Nate Britt (#0), 6'1, 175 Lbs Senior Guard was expected to be the catalyst that made everything go this season but has fallen short of that so far. He is averaging 5 PPG, 2 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.3 SPG. Britt comes in averaging 20 MPG. He is probably their best on ball defender amongst the guards so expect him to be locked up with Seth Allen for a good portion of the night, especially if UNC gets out to a big lead.
Tar Heels Frontcourt
Justin Jackson, (#44), 6'8, 210 Lbs Junior Forward is averaging 18.2 PPG, 5 RPG, and 2.7 APG. Jackson's interior scoring is at 46%. Playing almost as many minutes as last season, Jackson has seen an almost six point jump in his production and almost all of it can be attributed to improving his perimeter shooting. He has improved from 29% to 40% on over 6 attempts per game compared to only taking 3 last season. Just to round things out, he shoots just under 80% from the free throw line as well. The scariest thing about this guy is that he has the size of a power forward and the ball handling of a point guard. Very fluid in motion with or without the ball.
Isaiah Hicks, (#4) 6'9, 242 Lbs Senior Forward, is averaging over 23 MPG and comes in putting up 13.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.2 APG. He is shooting 61% from the field, does not even mess with shooting from the perimeter and is a solid 83% from the line. Hicks playing time gets limited because of foul trouble more than anything else. He comes in averaging over 3 fouls per game. If not for this, he would probably be their top scorer considering his offensive efficiency.
Kennedy Meeks, (#3) 6'10, 260 Lbs Senior Forward is averaging 13 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and .9 BPG so far this season. He comes in shooting 52% from the field but a lowly 62% from the free throw line. He also experiences foul trouble, limiting him to about 24 minutes per game. The one thing you can say about Meeks is that his improvement in physical appearance is amazing from the big baby soft kid that started at UNC to what he looks like now.
Tony Bradley, (#5), 6'10, 240 Lbs, Freshman Center is just back from an injury that saw him miss a couple games. He is averaging 7.9 PPG and 5.7 RPG. He was averaging about 15 MPG but he may seem less time coming back from the injury.
Theo Pinson, (#1), 6'6, 211 Lbs, Junior Forward missed the first 16 games with a foot injury. He has returned in limited action to provide the Tar Heels 6.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG in about 18 minutes per game. As he recovers, so too do the Tar Heels chances of competing for another National Title at the end of the season. Pinson is very much their energy guy, kind of do everything like Clarke is for the Hokies.
Names the Announcers will Butcher
Very vanilla name roster, no candidates. One we would like to hear them say but probably wont is Kanler Coker. Just has a sort of UNC Crazy eloquence to it.
What to expect from UNC?
The Tar Heels rely on a rotation of eight players. They rely heavily on their bigs to do most of the scoring. That's not good news for the Hokies, who have struggled against size at every turn. They will be looking to get the ball in the paint on almost every possession tonight.
The other thing that is unusual about the Tar Heels, in the age of all these one and done's, look at how experienced Roy Williams team is. Only one Freshmen is playing a meaningful role and that is still as a backup. Three Seniors and three Juniors comprise the center of this roster. Something that plays into how this team closes things out.
The Tar Heels will struggle if forced to go to more perimeter shooting so something to watch for, especially if a few of their bigs get in early foul trouble. Tougher to do with this being at UNC but still something to watch for.
The Tar Heels will look to expose weaknesses in the lane. Don't be surprised to see quite a few alley oops or high pass lay ins as Berry lobs the ball over the top to a big under the basket for an easy score.
One other thing to keep in mind. This is the NUMBER ONE TEAM in the country in terms of offensive rebounding. They average over 16 offensive rebounds per game. This is troubling for a team that does not seem to have developed much in the way of a rebounding game, especially with the constant guidance to get back on defense rather than attempt to get offensive rebounds of their own. If they score at about the same percentage they do now as a team, that will be an extra 15 points per game they manage from the second chance opportunities.
The Hokies
Tech has two choices in this game. Attempt to slow things down and limit UNC opportunities to score dramatically to try to keep it a close game or they will attempt to run UNC out of the gym, especially with how they rely on big men across their roster for most of their offense. I expect to see Buzz have them go with the second option even though my thoughts are the first is their best chance.
Tech needs to drive inside to get fouled. Controlled drives right at a specific big. They need to disrupt the UNC offense that relies so heavily on having three or four bigs on the court at any point and time. Early foul trouble could give the Hokies a window to work up a lead.
Ahmed Hill and Justin Bibbs need to have their best games of the season tonight. Shooting from the arc needs to probably be around 60% for the Hokies to keep this game close.
Highlight of the Clemson Game
"It's clear - @REALSETHALLEN is not afraid of the moment." #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/gKmykX1q8w— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) January 23, 2017
Seth Allen gets this one all to himself. Critical plays and a few brilliant passes late in this game made a huge difference. Team free throws also sealed this win.
In Closing
UNC is going to look to pound the paint either by pass or by drive. The Hokies have to find a way to keep the ball out of the interior. Expect to see a lot of 1-3-1 zone with defenders blocking their big counterparts from the front. This still may not prevent scoring as these bigs are more than capable of accepting a lob or directed pass for alley oops or lay ups. This matchup probably decides the game.
The offense has to be operating at a fluid clip. The Hokies should have some mismatches in terms of speed versus size on the offensive end so using that to their advantage and getting the UNC bigs in foul trouble could play a key role in a Hokies upset.
Sorry but this is likely a mountain too far tonight. I expect the Hokies to play much better than they did against NC State but the line on this game is 15 and I think that's legitimately what we will see, especially if the Hokies get in foul trouble themselves. If Leday and Sy aren't able to combine for 40 minutes than this game could get to blow out status. UNC wins 93-75.
If something is out of your control, U still control your reactionU might not be responsible for what transpired, but U are response-able— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) January 26, 2017
Comments
20 minutes to game time. Cutting that one close.
Who's loving this pro-bowl dodgeball coverage?
Is that Karl Ravech I hear?
Go Hokies!
Not a bad start. All without LeDay or Clarke.
Need to keep this shooting up though.
Why does the ref have to meander over to the spot, poke the floor, and then call the turnover?
I hate basketball ref theatrics.
What the fuck man? They're sinking these 3's from Raleigh.
Welp UNC continuing the hot 3 shooting against us. They are also not an outside shooting team.
Lack of a big man continues to kill us. I really hope Buzz makes it a point to recruit more big men. I know Hamilton and Blackshear are hurt, but we have guards by the dozen it seems.
Well, I guess there's a reason UNC is a final four contender
Well at least we started decent tonight. Unfortunately closing out there point shooters remains a problem
Bricked 4 wide open 3s.
Make it 6!
Still don't get the, nobody go for an offensive rebound approach.
1)unc is much taller than us
2)unc loves playing at a fast pace, and going for offensive rebounds puts us out of position. our best case scenario is we force them into half court offense and they go cold
And to force them into a half court offense, we have to make our shots, or drive and get to the free throw line.
I feel like these announcers have zero respect for our program and basically will just talk about Carolina like they are the only thing that matters.
That's pretty much par for the course.
They just Vah Tech'd us to add insult to injury.
So can we talk about the 50 point lead LOLUVA women have on the Tech woman right now?
I'd prefer not to.
Well the women have seemingly fallen off a cliff after their start
So far the announcer has called us both "Virginia" and "Va Tech"
a defensive rebound would be super. Less standing and shooting. We need to penetrate and try to get them in foul trouble.
This is a pathetic defensive effort tonight. This has 2nd half throttling written all over it. Sadly I'm smelling a repeat of the NCSU game
only so much you can do against a team thats on average nearly a foot taller than you haha this is just a BAD matchup for us
Why is unc ranked 9? They look fantastic in every game I've seen this year and should be top 5
They lost to Georgia Tech before people realized the Jackets are decent this year
They have 16 offensive rebounds in the first half.
There is no excuse for this. It's the same lackadaisical shit they showed against NCSU. At a certain point you have to question the coaches on how the fuck this keeps happening. Yes they are bigger and more talented than us but it's not this much.
The team had no fucking testicles around the rim this year. No heart to rebound. It's a trend and it's a bad one. They're barely even fighting for the ball.
not even close to the same performance. against ncsu, was the team missing d assignments and had lazy turnovers. unc is just reaching over vt because they can.
unc is just worlds better. UNC has at least 3 or 4 future nba players playing for them, VT maybe has 2.
what would you like to see, someone throw a punch?
Don't let Zach LeDay find out you wrote this.
serious question - is it on purpose that every time we have a guy shoot a three that the other 4 guys absolutely bolt for the other end of the floor? Is there a plan that we're too undersized to even compete for offensive rebounds and its just better to run back and set up the defense instead of getting caught in transition? If so...i gotta say it's not working, especially when they just come down the floor and bury 3 after 3 after 3 with nobody closing out on them even though they 'got back and got set up on D'
I've asked this in almost all the game threads.
sorry - hadn't really noticed you asking this same thing, and i hadn't noticed us doing it as much before as we have tonight....seems like our plan tonight may have been to hoist up more outside shots and hope they were falling instead of looking to drive the lane. Think we need to change that in the second half to have any chance tonight....
Yeah, even when you're a team with decent size, your odds of getting an offensive board aren't that high. The odds of getting beat in transition are pretty substantial though if you've got limited numbers back there. With our size situation, crashing the boards makes no sense unless we are in DIRE need of a board - like last possession of the game type need. With an even size matchup, staying in for the board = relatively low chance of a reward, relatively high risk. When you're undersized, it's an even lower chance of a reward, and an even higher risk.
We clearly have issues rebounding, and can barely get defensive rebounds as it is. It makes sense to get back on D and play the possession out and hope to start transition to get a better matchup. Idk if thats the intended strategy but that would be my logic behind it.
At this point try for them something.
This has been Buzz style of coaching as a standard. It just doesn't stand out as much until you are getting killed on both ends. Buzz has always stressed preventing transition baskets over rebounding. Part of that also goes to the type of players he recruits. He prefers more Clarke's then Blackshear, and that worked when he was at Marquette. Not sure it's going to work in the ACC. Tough to know since every year to date we have lost big men from the rotation doing double damage of shortening the bench but also shortening the guys on the floor. It's been two bigs lost per season on average so far. That's tough to overcome.
the big east was a very good league while he was there and successful, albeit maybe the refs allowed more physical defending overall. if he gets enough 6'5-6'8 talented guys on your roster i think it'll work with just 1 big; unfortunately we only really have chris clarke and the inconsistent bibbs and hill
i thought after the ooc games that we'd be good without KBJ, and i still think we make the dance, but there could be some other ugly games if we run into teams that are talented AND big
we obviously don't teach boxing out
76-27 UVa over women's VT basketball.... Final
That's..... Poor
7% three point shooting. 2 of 29
It wouldn't bother me if Buzz signed an entire class of Bigs.
Shane Beamer directly behind Tech bench....interesting
Even Sy doesn't want anything to do with rebounding on the offensive end.
Bigger problem I have is not going to man to man defense when you are getting lit up from outside. I know it puts the interior more at risk but what does that matter if the opponent is shooting 60% from outside.
It annoys me more that we seem to allow bad shooting teams the opportunity to get into a rhythm with the zone. And then we're wondering why teams can't miss once they're comfortable even after we switch things up defensively. It always seems like "bad" 3pt shooting teams go off against us because of this.
Doesn't help when the other team can shoot over our guards too.
Yeah I've seen enough of this. Til next time, guys
How many times tonight do I have to see JRob trying to guard Josh Jackson
Can the announcers praise UNC anymore? I get it. They're good.
What do you want them to say? They are getting paid to talk and if they have nothing good to say about us than I would rather they talk all UNC
*sigh*
could we at least get a sidline cam of grayson allen?
/s
Well done sir, you have earned your Internet merit badge for the day.
Now we are getting worked by third string guys
yeah, i knew UNC was good.
...just...damn though.
If you are going to run the press than please press, so tired of the slow retreat that just burns clock.
Wow I thought Sy had that block clean there
Just tough sledding when they have a 6'9 guy draining shots from 30 feet
Honestly, the fact we only lost by 19 is something. That team is an offensive rebounding machine and we struggle on the glass. Really tough matchup for us. Even with a more experienced Sy and Blackshear we would have struggled to bring in boards. UNC is big, long, and quick. That's a damn good team. Especially when they hit their jump shots like they did tonight.
Living in tarheel country, basketball season can't end soon enough!
I've always found UNC fans to be much more tolerable than NCSU fans. But yeah, after having lived down in the Carolinas for the better part of 12 year, I get you.