Buzzketball Central: Presbyterian Blue Hose (6-5) at Virginia Tech Hokies (9-2) 7pm DEC 19 ACCN+ (WATCHESPN)

IT'S GAMEDAY!🏀 #BeatPres📍 Cassell Coliseum🕖 7 PM EST📺 ACC Network Extra💻 https://t.co/2trwzMJPN5 pic.twitter.com/HTG7LaKEZH— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 19, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 19, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: Presbyterian College
Site: Blacksburg, Virginia (Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ACC Network Extra
Talent: Bailey Angle & Mack McCarthy
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
SiriusXM: SIRI 83 (Internet 83)

VT alums donate $15.2 million gift to construct Student-Athlete Performance Center; $16.5 million project to start next year and benefit student-athletes in all 22 varsity sports. For more: https://t.co/uTDtidiQ04 pic.twitter.com/I8qpRXLYNg— HokieSports (@hokiesports) December 18, 2017

Punched in the Nose

Buzzketball comes home from Rupp Arena wondering what might have been. Turnovers and Offensive Rebounds saw Kentucky get 13 more shots than the Hokies which allowed the Wildcats to shoot 48% to the Hokies 58% and still come out with a seven point victory. The team showed they belonged but were a couple poor possessions in the hole, especially middle of the second half. Now the focus must turn to closing out the Out of Conference schedule strong, with two games remaining against teams that should be heavily overmatched by the Hokies. Let's hope that the Hokies don't let the frustration of losing a hard fought contest linger.

John Calipari addressing a post-game Rupp Arena crowd. "There's a team (@HokiesMBB) that could win the ACC." pic.twitter.com/493Dg7I4oJ— Jon Laaser (@LazeVT) December 16, 2017

The Presbyterian Blue Hose come in 6-5 on the year heading into Cassell on a five game win streak. Three of those five wins have been by a single basket. Their wins this season are against Johnson University, Chicago State, UNC Greensboro, North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State and Toccoa Falls. Their losses to P5 opponents were by 35 to Tennessee and 18 to NC State. They also have losses to VMI, Charlotte, and Nichols State so far this season. This will be the second meeting between Tech and Presbyterian. The Hokies are 1-0 all time, going back to 2014, where the Hokies came out on top 87-65.

The Blue Hose are coached by Dustin Kerns, who took over the program this year from a legend at Presbyterian, Gregg Nibert, who coached the Blue Hose for 28 years prior to retiring at the end of last season. The legend though comes with a bit of a dark shadow as Nibert was unable to take the Blue Hose above .500 in any of the 11 seasons they have been at the D-I level. This is Kerns first head coaching opportunity and second stint coaching at Presbyterian. The season started out rough, going 1-5, but his team responded with five straight wins to improve to 6-5 so far this season. The fortunate part for Kerns is that Nibert left him with a fairly experienced squad going into this season, with five seniors and four juniors. Four of these players figure into Kerns starting five. All that said, this team finished 5-25 and 1-17 in conference play last season so obviously some positive change has already taken place.

Defensively, the Blue Hose rely on the 2-3 Zone defense primarily because of a deficiency of depth. This defense has allowed the Blue Hose to slow opponents overall scoring, which has proved beneficial in several close wins recently. They had difficulty keeping their better opponents off the board though, especially against those teams that are effective from the perimeter. Defensively the Blue Hose rank below 200 nationally in 11 defensive categories.

The surprising part though is that their offense and defense are eerily equal statistically. FG% is exactly the same, 2P% is 2 hundredths off,

Offensively, the Blue Hose have had their struggles this season. In the opener against Tennessee, they managed to go scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the first half. They have struggled all season when teams have pressed or had a very up tempo defense which bodes well for the Hokies. There isn't much to go on in terms of their offensive style but appears to mainly be the Dribble-Drive Motion offense, where the guards attack the lane for penetration or creating open space for an outside shooter. Their outside shooters are what keep them in most games, shooting 38% as a team while attempting 25 perimeter shots per contest. This could prove troublesome for the Hokies.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies just need to play to the level we saw against Kentucky and should come out of this contest with a 25-30 point win. Presbyterian allows opponents 21 attempts from the perimeter per contest while hitting 38% of those taken.

The Hokies need to strive to continue the improved rebounding we have seen in the last few contests. Going toe to toe with Kentucky and having rebounds finish 33-30 was not something I would have expected before that game.
Both teams shoot well from the floor in this contest, so likelihood of fewer rebounding opportunities all the way around but it still is something that will prove beneficial come ACC play.

I expect Tech to reach the point that Buzz is able to employ his entire bench. Seeing Fullard, Ammerman and Jackson is a good sign that things went as planned.

The Hokies need to shake off whatever may have travelled home from Kentucky with them in the early going and build a solid lead as the first half progresses and then put the Blue Hose away in the second half.

Blue Hose Backcourt

Reggie Dillard, #14, 6'4, 220Lbs, Senior is averaging 17 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 1.7 APG. He shoots 65% from inside the arc, 38% from outside and 81% from the line.

Davon Bell, #5, 5'10, 165 lbs Senior is second on the team in scoring this season averaging 13.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.8 SPG. He is a their best perimeter shooter so far this season attempting more than 2 per game, hitting 42% of his shots but inside he is shooting 50% from the field. He hits 79% from the line.

Sophomore JC Younger, #25, 6'4, 200 lbs is putting up 10.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.2 APG. Younger is their best on ball defender and also the only other Blue Hose that shoots better than 40% from outside other than Bell. He shoots 50% inside and 86% from the line.

Junior Ethan Kay, #32, 6', 180 lbs is averaging 8.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG, round out the starting five for this squad.

Junior Montenia Nelson, #2, 6'1, 185 lbs adds 4.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1 APG in about 15 minutes per contest

Blue Hose Frontcourt

Francois Lewis, #15, 6'9, 200 lbs. Junior Forward is the lone big in the starting five for the Blue Hose. He is a transfer from Florida A&M. He provides 9.8 PPG, 5 RPG, and 1 APG while shooting 53% from inside. He shoots 36% from outside on over 2 attempts per game so Blackshear and Horne will need to be aware of his willingness to step into an outside shot. He is shooting 73% from the line.

Senior Forward Ruben Arroyo-Felix, #23, 6'8, 200 lbs is the primary backup to Lewis. He is putting up 3.2 PPG and 2.4 RPG while shooting 60% from inside in about 13 minutes a game. One area that he struggles is the free throw line, where he is shooting just 41%.

Sophomore Center Armel Tete, #11, 6'11, 210 Lbs, is averaging 4.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1 BPG while shooting inside at 54% and from the line at 41% so there is a major drop off at the free throw line from the starter to the two backups. Tete gets about 17 minutes a game so far.

What to expect from Presbyterian?

Presbyterian would like to be able to work the ball inside but affects more a take what they are given approach to shooting location. The Blue Hose, outside of Davon Bell, hardly generate assists so creating their own shot is most common for this team. Presbyterian are managing only 12 assists per contest on an average of 27 made baskets per game.

Presbyterian will look to slow the game down much like St Louis did to the Hokies in an attempt to limit opportunities. Right now the Hokies have only taken 14 more shots on the season than Presbyterian, the difference is that they have made nearly 60 more. This shouldn't be a major factor given the skill difference between these two teams but the Blue Hose did manage to take an eight point halftime lead into their game against NC State, although ultimately falling by 18 when their offensive play completely abandoned them in the second half.

The Blue Hose will likely be forced to focus more on perimeter shots against the Hokies but that should play in Tech's favor. Presbyterian only has two shooters that currently hit better than 40% from outside and outside of the Kentucky game, Tech has only allowed opponents to shoot 29% from the perimeter this year. Tech just needs to avoid being drawn in by the dribble drive and stay with their shooter to limit these opportunities.

The Hokies

The Hokies need to methodically dismantle this opponent. The Hokies should be able to execute their offense from the perimeter as well as being able to get inside the lane. This team, albeit coming in on a five game winning streak, doesn't have the athletes that Tech has. One area that will likely turn this game will be defensive pressure leading out to transition baskets. The Blue Hose have struggled in this area and Tech just needs to ensure they convert these extra chances rather than throw the ball away or to their opponents.

The Hokies should focus on clean execution of their game plan. They are going up against a team that seems to struggle against all the areas that are strengths for the Hokies such as perimeter shooting, aggressive defense, transition baskets allowed, and even an inability to turn their opponents over. This is another game that should end in the Hokies scoring over 100 but will come up short as Buzz puts the bench in for significant minutes late.

Hopefully a full and excited environment but it could be fairly quiet if the local fans are not in attendance at Cassell since the students are gone for the holidays now. Buzz' Bunch is in attendance so that should help. This could test the focus and energy of this team as they seem to feed off a packed house. Keeping things moving, whether by using press defense or transition offense will be critical to keep this young team in the game. Still waiting to see bouncy, sweaty, explosive Buzz come out of those stuffy clothes he has managed to keep on all game.

Highlight of the Kentucky Game

OH MY KJ!! #Hokies on a 15-2 run and UK takes a timeout!47-39, us. pic.twitter.com/JUTIjJ4Esc— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 16, 2017

Highlight of the game goes to Clarke and Blackshear for their play around the rim. If you had told me we would finish the game 33-30 in rebounding with Kentucky, I would have laughed for days. But KJ really surprised and Clarke was in all the right places to make us wonder if come ACC play the rebounding wont be as big an issue as it really has been most of the season.

In Closing

Presbyterian will try to make this game a snails pace, working to eat clock and hoping offensively to make just enough to stay in the game. Tech has to find ways to insert some pace and keep the Blue Hose from scoring to develop the lead.

Really need Nickiel Alexander-Walker to show that burst we saw early on in the season. His ability to separate and reach the rim may be a major component of a win in this contest.

This game has big win written all over it but now the team has to prove they can play up to that after a bit of a disappointing result last time out. Its at home, and hopefully they come out a little angry and just blow the doors off the Blue Hose rather than allowing them to hang around. Blackshear should post a double double in this game and six or seven Hokies will finish in double figures.

Hokies 97 – Blue Hose 65

REALLY, REALLY important day 📅for @HokiesMBB 💥🔥Tonight is the first of two 'Buzz's Bunch' games.Excited to 👀everyone! 👏🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/CG9zls6jzi— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) December 19, 2017