Buzzketball Central: Miami Hurricanes (20-8, 10-6) at Virginia Tech Hokies (20-8, 9-7) 9PM ESPN2

IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatMiami Cassell 9 PM ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/PPKkcWAZfX— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) February 27, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: February 27, 2017 / 9 p.m.
Opponent: Miami
Site: Blacksburg, Virginia (Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN2
Talent: Doug Sherman & LaPhonso Ellis
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
XM 193 (Internet 955)

LET'S PACK CASSELL!-$10 student tickets-Hokie Ticket Share-Wear White-#BeatMiami pic.twitter.com/UrOcohsxPB— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) February 27, 2017

Which way is the wind blowing?

Buzzketball seems to have challenges travelling when Hurricane games are near. Last trip to Miami they had a bus mishap on their way to Miami. Now there were issues both coming and going to Boston, although it all worked out, as the team came home with a little help from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

You get back fast when fly with a champion @DaleJr @TeamCoachBuzz pic.twitter.com/j3CAGmMW4I— Mike Burnop (@MikeBurnopVT) February 26, 2017

The Hokies now face a Hurricanes squad that is also trying to keep its ACC season on track with a win. The last time these two met they had identical ACC records. This time they have one game separating them. A Tech win would even them back up in the standings. Miami comes in having just dealt Duke another loss while the Hokies return after sorting out some demons with Chestnut Hills and Boston College.

Home game with a strong desire to provide a packed house. Hopefully the administration does the right thing tonight and fills the empty seats to raise the intensity. Tough late night matchup for both teams with the 9pm tip.

This will be the thirty fourth meeting between the Hokies and Hurricanes. Miami leads the all-time series 20-13. Miami won the earlier matchup this season 74-68.

The Hurricanes are coached by Jim Larranaga, who has been at Miami since 2011. Miami has won at least twenty games in five of his six seasons, including this year. Larranaga has taken the Hurricanes to two NCAA tournament berths. He also guided them to an ACC Championship both in the regular season and tournament in 2012-2013.

Defensively, Miami runs three different defensive schemes, primarily playing a high pressure man to man which usually rotates into the Scramble defense which is essentially a man to man defense with some zone trapping techniques utilized and then rounding it out with a curveball they call a 3-2 Disrupting Camouflage Defense which is a high pressure, perimeter zone defense that sags to the middle of the court. The 3-2 Disrupting Camouflage is almost the reverse of the Scramble defense. This defense has players back off their offensive players as if they were going to trap but then they shift into passing lanes rather than close the trap.

Offensively, the Hurricanes switch between a four out, one in and a three out, two in Motion Offense, based on the personnel on the floor. When Miami is in with two bigs, those bigs typically rotate between the top and bottom of the lane to create gaps in the defensive coverage while also opening up opportunities for the guards to drive to the basket. The Hurricanes usually only attempt about 18 threes per game but this is a game against the Hokies, where everyone seems to add 5-10 attempts. They take fewer outside shots because they are one of the lower 3P% teams in the ACC.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies are getting an opponent with a very similar offensive approach especially in terms of guard focused scoring. Last time out the Hokies couldn't contain the guards scoring for Miami. Davon Reed and Jaquan Newton combined for 34 points in the Miami win. Tech needs to be able to keep Miami out of the lane. Playing interior defense is what the Hokies do much better than playing perimeter defense so hopefully they are able to slow the Miami guards down this time.

This game should be a high scoring affair, with the fast paced offense that both these squads run, but last game Miami sought to slow the pace down which took the Hokies out of their rhythm. The Hokies just need to remember what got them to where they are now. Shooting the ball proficiently. Make your shots and stay in the game.

The Hokies need to find that rhythm of turning energetic defense into a quick scoring offense tonight. They should be able to keep the Hurricanes a step behind if they force early turnovers, get out in transition and take confident shots. Miami once it sets up its defense though is a much harder opponent to face. They rank in the top five in the ACC in almost every defensive category. They are especially good at keeping opponents off the board and out of the paint, allowing the fewest interior shots of any ACC team so far.

Lastly, the Hokies have to find a way to limit the turnovers. Too many times to count during ACC play, the Hokies have committed turnovers on more than 20% of their possessions. You cant win consistently when you give the ball away that many times.

Hurricanes Backcourt

Davon Reed (#5) 6'6, 220 Lbs Senior Guard is averaging 15.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.3 SPG. He is shooting 40% from behind the arc and 44% overall. Also shoots 83% from the line. Reed is a bigger guard that likes to get into the lane to score but also leads the Hurricanes in every three point category. Last time out he hit 4 of 8 from behind the arc on his way to 18 points against the Hokies. Reed is rarely in foul trouble and plays almost 35 minutes per contest so he will be a constant presence that the Tech guards will be dealing with all night.

Ja'Quan Newton, (#0) 6'2, 187 Junior Guard comes in averaging 14.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.1 SPG. He is shooting a miserable 28% from outside and at the free throw line, shooting 71%. He is better known for his quick first step and ability to drive inside. So far on the season he is shooting better than 46% inside the arc. Newton is the primary ball handler for the Hurricanes and is excellent at driving in and distributing to a perimeter shooter like Reed or Brown so the Hokies need to be prepared to cover down when he attempts to go inside. He found his way to the basket for six layups on his way to 16 points in the first contest.

Bruce Brown, (#11) 6'5, 190 lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 12 PPG, 6 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.5 SPG. His shot outside the arc is going in at about 36% while inside the arc it drops in at to 46%. He is still working on the free throws though, hitting about 74%. Brown is a very streaky scorer. He put up 25 against Duke in their upset win last game but only managed 8 against Georgia Tech. He does seem to step up when the spotlight is brightest, so hopefully tonight will be a bit of an off night.

Dejan Vasilkevic, (#4) 6'3, 198 Lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 5.6 PPG and 1.3 RPG in a backup role across 16 minutes per game. So far this season he is shooting 36% from the field, 36% from behind the arc and 85% from the line. If the Hokies can force Miami to use him for a larger role tonight its in their best interest considering how much of a drop off he is compared to the other three guards in terms of shooting capability.

Hurricanes Frontcourt

Anthony Lawrence Jr., (#3), 6'7, 210 Lbs Sophomore Forward is averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.3 SPG. Most of those numbers went out the window in the last contest, where he dropped in 12 against the Hokies. Lawrence is shooting about 42% inside and 35% from beyond the arc. He is only a 74% free throw shooter as well. He has the tendency to totally disappear in ACC games, mainly because he is Zach Leday's height without the toughness down low or the savvy to create a better shot. In his last five games he has only reached double figures once.

Kamari Murphy (#21) 6'8, 220 Lbs Senior Forward is averaging 7 PPG and 7.6 RPG. Last time out he had 10 points against the Hokies. Murphy is more the starting center and plays the big man role even with Huell on the floor. He shoots about 53% from inside and never ventures a shot outside the arc. He does sometimes struggle with fouls though so getting him on the bench early would be a big benefit to the Hokies. Also a terrible free throw shooter at 59%.

Ebuka Izundu, (#15) 6'10, 231 Lbs Sophomore Center is averaging 4.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and almost 1 BPG in about 13 minutes per game. He definitely struggles staying out of foul trouble, averaging 2.5 fouls per contest over those 13 MPG. He does shoot 57% from the floor and 72% from the line so keeping him out of the game considering our size disadvantage could be huge.

Dewan Huell, (#20) 6'11, 220 Lbs Freshman Forward is averaging 6.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG as the primary backup to Lawrence. There will be some time that these two are both on the court together. This tandem is very much like Leday and Sy in how their coaches utilize them but Huell is seeing the floor a bit more than Sy has so far.

Names the Announcers will Butcher
Dejan Vasiljevic

What to expect from Miami?
The Hurricanes last time out got in early foul trouble which provided a couple of their bigs to contribute more than usual. Murphy and Lawrence both were in double figures. Normally Miami would rely mostly on their guards to do their scoring but the Hurricanes took advantage of the Hokies height deficiency. Larranaga still got great scoring from his top two guards but the bigs provided an extra bonus that likely won Miami the game.

Rebounding was dead even in the last contest between these two teams at 32 a piece. The difference in those numbers was Miami had 10 offensive boards to Tech's 4. Miami turned those second chances into 12 points. The Hokies need to disrupt the offensive rebounding much better in this contest either by having position to rebound or cleanly blocking the second attempt.

Three point shooting will be another interesting facet of this game to watch. Do the Hurricanes do like many of Tech's opponents and increase their perimeter shot quantity or do they stick to their normal game plan? Last time out the Hurricanes only shot 33% from outside, but that was sufficient for how poorly Tech did from outside.

Davon Reed drives the train for these guys so taking him out of his game effects everyone else on the floor most nights. Reed can be susceptible to fouling, especially on guards that have the ability to blow by on the dribble so hopefully Robinson and Allen can keep him busy while maintaining control of the ball.

The Hokies
Tech needs to go fast again in this game. The last time against Miami, the game got bogged down to a snails pace, especially in the second half. Tech needs to find the pace it had in the second half against Boston College.

The Hokies need a three point revival for compared to last time out against the Canes. That game had them shoot 4 of 13 from outside, or 30.8%. Having Hill, Bibbs and Outlaw hit their shots opens the floor so much more for Allen, Robinson, and Leday in terms of getting inside or having the space inside to create their shots.

Pound the ball inside to Leday. Leday also needs to find a way to pull down some rebounds tonight. He has only two double-doubles so far in conference play, against Pitt and the last time out against Miami where he pulled down 10 boards.

CUT DOWN ON TURNOVERS. You cant have two seniors give the ball away 12 times against the Hurricanes and expect to win.

Highlight of the BC Game

Welcome to the club, @JustinBibbs10!#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/TNvHIRMut8— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) February 27, 2017

1000 CAREER POINTS FOR BIBBS
An Almost Statement Win. Give this one to the guys outside. Bibbs, Hill and Outlaw combined for 10 of 12 from beyond the arc. It was also good to see six Hokies in double figures. Well Balanced Team Effort.

In Closing
If the Hokies can get Leday and Hill or Bibbs going tonight than this game should take care of itself as the others typically deliver enough to get it done. This is a team that is very susceptible to the inside out game, so forcing Miami to react to both the perimeter and the lane is critical.

The Miami bigs have a huge tendency to get in foul trouble so providing Allen and Robinson the space to drive inside along with Leday being able to draw contact down low could force Larranaga out of his game plan. The less of 6'10 and 6'11 that see the floor against Leday the better off we are in this contest.

This is not an absolute must win considering the Hokies current record but every win that can be added from here on in is that much more security of hearing Virginia Tech called to the NCAA Tournament field.

Back to back 20 win seasons, and a potential for the NCAA tournament in year 3. Thank you, @TeamCoachBuzz pic.twitter.com/qLDKlfauzH— Cassell Guard (@CassellGuardVT) February 25, 2017

Hokies win 78-75 because of the home cookin, and these guys ability to fill up the basket.

Ability is what you're capable of doingMotivation determines what you doAttitude determines how well you do itIt takes all 3 everyday!— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) February 27, 2017