Buzzketball Central: ACC Tournament: Virginia Tech Hokies (22-9,10-8) at #16 Florida State Seminoles (24-7,12-6) 7PM ESPN

IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatFSU Barclays Center 7 PM ESPN/ACC Network pic.twitter.com/pOh8Pkn3mq— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: March 9th, 2017 7 PM Eastern Time
Opponent: No. 16 Florida State
Site: Brooklyn, New York (Barclays Center)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPN
Talent:
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
XM Radio: XM 80 (Internet 80)

The list of ACC Network affiliates for the @VT_MBBall vs. Florida State game is now on #HokieHuddlehttps://t.co/nmCTrXi2Ra pic.twitter.com/72D28UZtB4— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2017

A third shot at revenge

Buzzketball has faced two opponents so far after losing the first time. The second time in each of those went the Hokies way. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come tonight as the Hokies take on the Seminoles. The last time these two teams met, the Hokies were still ranked. That seems so long ago with all the injuries and other speed bumps that this team has endured. Along those lines, it appears the availability of Justin Robinson will be a game time decision after turning his ankle last night against Wake Forest. Florida State has the athleticism and size that have proven extremely difficult for the Hokies to overcome this season. The Hokies must be prepared to play all forty minutes or more if necessary if they want to come out a winner tonight.
This game is third tier of the ACC Championship. Florida State comes in having rested on the double bye to this point while the Hokies come in having had to fight and scrap for a victory over Wake Forest last night 99-90.

This will be the fifty fourth meeting between the Hokies and Seminoles. Florida State leads the all-time series 31-22, starting all the way back in 1968. The Hokies last victory against the Seminoles came last season, with two wins, one in Blacksburg and the other in the ACC tournament so hopefully at least a part of this trend can continue.

The Seminoles are coached by Leonard Hamilton, who has coached FSU since 2002, and before that coached Miami starting in 1990. Hamilton has almost three decades of coaching against the Hokies in all their different forms over the years. Hamilton has enjoyed what many would consider a quiet run of success at Florida State considering the other ACC opponents. He has led FSU to 20 or more wins in nine of fifteen seasons, including a conference tournament championship in 2012. He has taken the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament four times and the NIT seven times. His Achilles heel has usually been to end up on the backside of the middle of the ACC, finishing .500 or less in nine of fifteen seasons.

Defensively, the Seminoles employ a high pressure man to man defense primarily that varies in its starting point throughout the game. They regularly switch up to full court pressure in order to create turnovers and get easy transition baskets. One thing Hamilton and his staff do better than most is assigning defensive matchups. You may see some unusual pairings but they aim to best utilize their players strengths on the defensive end to cause the most problems for their opponents. Some assignments might be based on strengths to turn the ball over, others might be based on ability to rebound effectively and once in a while they even identify the best chance to score in transition with matchups.

Offensively, Florida State has historically run a motion offense that relied heavily on its bigs to score or distribute but with his current personnel, Hamilton has had to change to a more motion based system that relies on his perimeter players to score for the Seminoles. Regardless of the change, it appears to be working, with the Seminoles off to their best start ever under Hamilton. So far this season, Florida State is averaging almost six points more per contest than their highest season ever under Hamilton. Tech has to expect to play a shootout if it hopes to win this contest.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies are going to need to hit their shots because this is a team that can drain it from three and has the talent to get open regularly against them. They also will have to contend with bigger bigs underneath which has been the Hokies Achilles heel all season. The last time these two teams met it was Seth Allen and Khadim Sy sitting out, this time Clarke is gone and Robinson is a game time decision.

This could be one of the highest paced games this season especially if Florida State is looking to run away early by wearing the Hokies out. I am not sure what to expect from Buzz if Robinson is unable to play. It likely means a heavy dose of Joey Galloway at some point in the evening if that is the case.

The Seminoles surprisingly dont heavily rely on their starting five, although four of whom play twenty five or more minutes per contest. This is one of the most balanced and widely used rosters Tech will face in the ACC. Hamilton so far has regularly used 11 players per contest so Tech has to be ready to face fresh legs and not see many opponents in foul trouble. The highest fouls per game for FSU is Terrance Mann and Jarquez Smith at 2.4 per contest. There are surprisingly five Seminoles averaging more than 2 fouls per game though.

The flipside of this balance though is that they have 10 players, yes 10, that score more than 4 points per contest, with three more scoring 3 points or more.

Seminoles Backcourt

Dwayne Bacon (#4) 6'7, 221 Lbs Sophomore Guard has averaged 16.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG and .9 SPG. He is shooting 37% from behind the arc and 45% overall. He is also shooting 74% from the free throw line.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes, (#22) 6'4, 208 Lbs Junior Guard comes in averaging 10.4 PPG, 3 RPG, 4.8 APG and .9 SPG. Rathan-Mayes operates as their point guard. He is the best of this group off the dribble though so this is who we need to watch for in terms of driving the ball or kicking out to open teammates.

Terrance Mann, (#14), 6'6, 204 Lbs Sophomore Guard is averaging 8.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.1 SPG. Mann essentially has taken over as a solid wing player, giving Hamilton a long arm defender with a big enough body to keep shooters off balanced but also able to crash in to provide weak side help.

P.J. Savoy (#5), 6'4, 200 Lbs Sophomore Guard provides 6 PPG and 1 RPG, Trent Forrest (#3) 6'5, 215 Lbs Freshman Guard puts in 5.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.7 APG, C.J. Walker (#2) 6'1, 195 Lbs Freshman Guard also provides 5.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 1.4 APG. A full complement of backup guards that average 16.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.1 APG. Tough for the Hokies to hang with a complete second set of fresh legs.

Seminoles Frontcourt

Jonathan Isaac, (#1), 6'10, 210 Lbs Freshman Center has been a key find for the Seminoles this season. So far he is averaging 12.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.5 BPG. He has been a handful down low on both ends of the court so Leday's battle with John Collins continues into another war with Isaac.

Senior Center Michael Ojo, (#50) 7'1, 304 Lbs is averaging 5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and .9 BPG. He is still not 100% returned from injury last season so he has only been playing about 13 MPG.

Jarquez Smith (#23) 6'9, 225 Lbs Senior Forward gives the Seminoles about 14 MPG during which he puts up 4.7 PPG, 3 RPG, and .9 BPG.

Chris Koumadje (#21) 7'4, 233 Lbs Sophomore Center is also providing 3.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 1.1 BPG in less than 10 minutes per contest.

Names the Announcers will Butcher

Mfiondu Kabengele would be the winner if he was playing this season. As it is, Braian Angola-Rodas is obviously first on this list. Christ Koumadje and Xavier Rathan-Mayes get honorable mentions.

What to expect from Florida State?

The Seminoles will have several options in this game. I believe they will come out playing their normal game, working for open perimeter shots and getting good looks while creating transition basket opportunities. The Seminoles have seven players that average at least 0.8 Steals per game. They regularly turn their opponents over with 7.3 SPG and force 14 turnovers per contest.

If their normal style of play doesn't work for them, then I expect them to transition into dominating the paint against us simply because we don't have the players available to reliably deny them the lane.

One scary number to keep in mind is that Florida State is shooting 49% from the field as a team this year. They can simply put the ball in the basket.

The biggest change has been their steady play on defense this season. That has probably been the most crucial change in the Seminoles and why they are where they are so far. This team averages 5.3 blocks per game so the Hokies have to find ways to avoid having their shot swatted while still scoring inside.

The biggest way to counteract this is turning Florida State over. The Seminoles average 12 turnovers per game, most of that with the starters, so if the Hokies can up that total a bit it will take scoring possessions away quickly. That becomes even more important because this is an opponent that just doesn't foul that much which the Hokies have used time and time again this year to distance themselves.

The Seminoles are averaging 83PPG and only allowing opponents 71.2 PPG. That's a 12 point average margin of victory so far this season. They haven't had to deal with many close games so if the Hokies are able to pressure the Seminoles to make mistakes it could lead to them collapsing late.

The Hokies

Tech needs to be ready to keep a high paced tempo the entire game without letting up if they want to win this matchup. They have to be able to get a high number of transition baskets by forcing Florida State into turnovers.

Tech will have a tough time winning the lane, so it has to be able to hit its jumpers, especially critical is hitting its perimeter shots. Tech likely needs to shoot better than 50% from outside to be a factor in this game.

Tech has to still make an attempt at getting to the basket with Leday Robinson and Allen. If they forego working the ball inside than the Seminoles will be able to ignore the inside and focus solely on the perimeter. The Hokies dearly need clean looks today to stay in this game.

Last and probably most critical, the Hokies must avoid foul trouble. They can ill afford to have Outlaw on the bench for long stretches or anyone if Robinson is unable to go.

Highlight of the Wake Forest Game

HAVE A DAY @ZachLeDay32!31 POINTS15 REBOUNDS2 ASSISTS2 BLOCKS3 STEALS pic.twitter.com/jBX3BHXM3M— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2017

Leday cracked a smile.....31 points, 15 rebounds, 7 offensive rebounds

In Closing

Ideally the Hokies would just keep running but I think with how well Florida State uses their bench and how limited Tech's bench is, it will require them to strategically slow the game at points. Expect to see a fast paced game on both sides in the first half and then watch Tech aim to slow that down in the second half if they are able to develop a lead. The deeper into the shot clocks Tech can take Florida State, the better as they just aren't geared to play half court ball.

Tech has to use its speed and athleticism. They have to find open looks and they have to be able to hit those shots. Defensively they have to be able to limit the number of attempts Florida State gets either by forcing turnovers or bad shots. Do these things and it's a close game. Without them it could be another blowout.

I expect to see Buzz stretch the floor, especially on defense with the potential for Robinson to be out. Buzz will likely have to use some full court pressure in this game as well as some zone defense to counter the Seminoles offense. Force them to eat up a third of the shot clock before they cross the midline.

I really wanted to be able to say that Tech would win this game but with the injuries and the size and talent of their opponent combined with being on a hard fought back to back versus completely rested, Tech takes another on the chin, but manages to stay with the Seminoles. This is just a horrible matchup coming on the heels of one of the Hokies hardest fought victories. Tech goes where Robinson's heart takes them. 93-87. Tech Wins.

Postseason 'Road Game' pic #1TY to all the #Hokies near&far 4their support @ #ACCTourneyWe will turn ALL blessings back 2 praise pic.twitter.com/UjdfKXIY1A— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) March 9, 2017