Buzzketball Central: Virginia Tech Hokies (16-5, 5-4) at #9 Virginia Cavaliers (16-4, 6-2) 8PM ACC Network

IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatUVa Charlottesville 8 PM ACC Network pic.twitter.com/nZxNUi7XCJ— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) February 1, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: February 1, 2017 / 8 p.m.
Opponent: Virginia
Site: Charlottesville, Virginia (John Paul Jones Arena)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: The ACC Network
Game Channels by Location
Talent: Tom Werme & Dan Bonner
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
XM Radio: XM Internet 969
The game will also be shown on-line on The ACC Network Extra and theACC.com (subject to blackout).

Once more unto the breach, a breaking pack line we must go

Buzzketball goes back on the road tonight after surviving a three point savant shooting performance. Boston College made the Hokies earn all of that win. The Hokies now run into the anathema to offense that is the in state rival Cavaliers. UVA is in position with a win tonight to take over the top spot in the ACC. They come in having lost a buzzer beater heartbreaker to then #1 Villanova. Prior to that they were on a five game glide through ACC play. Their only other losses this season have been at the hands of the Cousins, Florida State and Pitt. The Pitt game I chalk up to a hangover after losing to FSU on a three with four seconds left. The Wahoos have wins over Iowa, Ohio State, Cal in their OOC slate and Louisville, Wake Forest, Clemson, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame in the ACC.

Third away game in a four game stretch for the Hokies, most likely to a sellout crowd at John Paul Jones Arena, and the Wahoos smarting from a loss after having as much as a 15 point lead over Villanova. The Hokies need to be ready right out the gate to execute their offense effectively. This is not the opponent to let get out to an eighteen point lead, because they will slow the game down enough that there will be no hope of getting back into the contest.

This will be the One Hundred and Fourty Fourth meeting between the Hokies and Cavaliers. Virginia leads the all-time series 89-54. Last year, in two games, each home team won one. This is also a critical matchup in the Commonwealth Clash, with UVA currently out in front due to Swimming and Diving victories.

The Wahoos are coached by Tony Bennett, who has been at Virginia since 2009. His first season the Cavaliers won 15 games and have progressively added to that each season until having two 30 win seasons back to back these last two years. Bennett has been a great success guiding UVA to four NCAA tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight last season. He also guided them to an outright ACC Championship both in regular season and tournament in 2014, while also being the regular season Champ in 2015.

Defensively, UVA uses the Pack Line Defense which is a high pressure, man to man defense that sags to the middle of the court. It is designed to prevent penetration by driving the basketball. The "pack line" is an imaginary line two feet inside the three point line that all defenders not guarding the current ball handler are never supposed to be outside of. The defender that is on the ball handler is expected to be up close, hand in face to create turnovers on the outside. One other critical aspect of this defense that is different than most is that it's designed to deny the baseline. Defenders are taught to position themselves to not allow any baseline penetration, relying on help defense to close down an adjusted drive to the center of the lane. At the top of the post, expect to see defenders attempt to position themselves somewhat in front of the opposing offensive player to prevent the easy pass to the top of the lane.

Offensively, the Cavaliers run what is called a Block Mover Offense on the other end of the court. This is a variation of the Motion Offense, allowing the primary ball handler at the top of the key to attempt to use a screen provided by one of two lane personnel near the top of the key. At the point of the screen, the ball handler decides either to drive the lane, kick out to an open shooter or attempt a down low pass to their second lane player, who usually moves across the basket down at the baseline block to create space for the driving guard. The defensive rotation is what drives the guard's decision making process as he assesses what is in front of him. The guard essentially has three options coming off the pick or can spin back out to reset for another play. The key for the Hokies will be to limit the times where we allow dribble penetration by Perrantes or allow a clean pass into the lower lane player for an easy layup.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

16.3 PPG61.8 FG%51.7 3FG%@REALSETHALLEN has been TOUGH over the last six games pic.twitter.com/tanrAmFffp— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) January 31, 2017

The Hokies are getting an opponent with a very similar offensive approach and in terms of size. Now they must find a way to beat the ACCs top defense. Last season they were very successful in the home matchup because Leday was able to do just about anything he liked, even hitting four three pointers. This year, the Hokies are a much more balanced team scoring wise, so I expect even with the road game they will be able to find open shots against this mainly zone defense.

The Hokies need to take a page out of most of the UVA losses and get to 60 points on the night. The Cavaliers are a meager 3-4 when their opponents reach that magic number. This will require finding open shooters and being able to get to the rim against the UVA bigs. One critical aspect to this game could be how often the Hokies are able to get to the free throw line. The Cavaliers are currently allowing opponents an average of 15.75 attempts at the line.

This is another game where the Hokies need to run, run, run, to keep the Cavaliers off balance. The Wahoos make more mistakes as the tempo increases which means pushing the pace, and getting the ball out in front on the fast break before Virginia can close in with their stifling perimeter defense. They do however need to do so in control. They cannot afford a flurry of lost possessions from getting a stop and throwing it right back away. There will not be enough chances to score tonight so squandering them that way could be the difference in the game.

Cavaliers Backcourt

London Perrantes (#32) 6'2, 197 Lbs Senior Guard is averaging 11.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.9 APG. He is shooting 42% from behind the arc and 45% overall. London is their do everything guy this season. He is definitely their top defender and should be matched up with Seth Allen most of the evening.

Marial Shayok, (#4) 6'5, 196 Junior Guard comes in averaging 10.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.2 APG and 1.1 SPG. He is shooting 34% from outside and at the free throw line, shooting 78%. He is better known for his quick first step and ability to drive inside. So far on the season he is shooting better than 47% inside the arc.

Devon Hall, (#0) 6'5, 207 lbs Junior Guard is averaging 8.2 PPG, 4.2 RB . His shot outside the arc is going in at about 40% while inside the arc it drops in at to 45%. He is a terrific free throw shooter as well, hitting from the line at an 84% clip. Hall will likely be defending one of the baseline corners for most of this game.

Kyle Guy, (#5) 6'3, 165 Lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 7.8 PPG 1.7 RPG and 1.6 APG in a backup role across 17 minutes per game. So far this season he is shooting 46% from the field, 46% from behind the arc and 78% from the line. Considering how well he scores, he could see extended minutes this evening which will make for a wonderful competition tonight. Who would you rather see get a haircut between Guy and Perranted

Darius Thompson, (#51), 6'4, 196 Lbs, Junior Guard is averaging 7 PPG, 2 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1 SPG. This is Thompson's second season with the Wahoos since transferring from Tennessee. He has gradually improved across almost every aspect of his game this season, and will likely take over from Perrantes next season.

Cavaliers Frontcourt

Isaiah Wilkins, (#21), 6'7, 225 Lbs Junior Forward is averaging 7.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG. Wilkins's interior scoring is at 52% and perimeter scoring is at 57% on very limited attempts. Just to round things out, he shoots just under 74% from the free throw line as well. Wilkins is the primary big operating the center of the UVA offense. This is the Step Son of Dominique "The Human Highlight Film" Wilkins.

Jarred Reuter, (#31) 6'7, 243 Lbs Sophomore Forward, Mamadi Diakite, (#25) 6'9, 214 Lbs, and Jack Salt, (#33) 6'11, 247 Lbs Sophomore Center combine to provide one more spot on the floor for the Cavaliers while also backing up Wilkins when needed. They combine for 13.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.4 APG and 2 BPG.

Names the Announcers will Butcher
Really only one candidate this time. Mamadi Diakite is the winner.

What to expect from Virginia?
The Cavaliers rely mostly on their defense to limit opposing teams scoring, as we touched on, they have only allowed opponents above 60 points in seven games this season. Those are the games they struggle in though. Expect the Cavaliers to cause early turnovers by confusing the Hokies in terms of passing lanes and where the defense is coming from on the floor. UVA is excellent at back side help to keep the ball out of the basket.

Rebounding is also a huge key to Virginia's success this season. They slow the game down so much that they give up the 3rd fewest rebounds on the offensive glass and 4th fewest overall. Opponents average only about 20 rebounds per game against UVA. This doesn't translate to the Wahoos getting a ton of rebounds though as they are above 328 in offensive and total rebounds as a team.

They usually don't shoot often from outside but when they do, they have the best shooting percentage in the ACC from outside at 43%. Seems like a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

Perrantes drives the train, so if he isn't having a top performance than UVA is going to struggle.

UVA is allowing the fewest points per game this season at 53.7 on the fourth fewest shot attempts by an opponent in the nation. Such is the result when you have total team buy in to the style of defense that Tony Bennett utilizes. This is the epitome of selfless basketball, because many of these players in someone else' system would be putting up dramatically better numbers.

The Hokies

Tech needs to go fast again in this game. The standing around on offense has to stop or they will really struggle to find open shots against the Wahoo defense. This isn't a team the Hokies are likely to get tired since they utilize so many guards so being able to beat them down the court as often as possible is critical to their success.

Collectively the Hokies need to be able to step into three pointers to keep this defense spread out. If they are unable to do so it allows the Wahoos to do exactly what they want which is to pack the lane and make scoring down low that much harder. This is a case of team performance more so than any one shooter.

Score, just score, get to 60. Keep yourself in the game Hokies by hitting your shots like you have all season.

Highlight of the Boston College Game

The Chris Clarke highlight dunk hands down

Chris Clarke with an NBA caliber dunk play pic.twitter.com/8Z3MLYMl5Y— Treadmill Horse (@treadmillhorse) January 29, 2017

In Closing

Whoever wins the pace battle of this contest likely wins the game. If UVA is able to slow things down and keep the score really low than the game plays to their strengths. If the Hokies can speed it up and keep Virginia off balance a bit than the Hokies stand a good chance of winning this contest.

Don't expect to get to the line but don't stop driving inside to add to the offense. UVA does not foul much so the Hokies must count on playing stellar defense to balance out this game. A telling factor to this game will be if either team can managed a significant difference in made free throws.

This is not an absolute must win considering the Hokies are on the road and still control their fate in terms of conference record and overall record to lead them dancing. It still wouldn't hurt the Hokies to keep up the success by keeping UVA from becoming the top team in the ACC.

Hokies win 69-67 on a three at the end of the game, leaving UVA looking up at the top of the ACC and a great rival win under their belts.

Do NOT let anyone walk between your ears with dirty feet — Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) January 30, 2017