BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: Virginia Tech Hokies (17-7, 6-5) at #2 UVA Wahoos (23-1, 12-0) at 6:15PM 2/10/2018 ESPN

Three game road trip starts tomorrow at UVA..#BeatUVA. 6:15 PM. ESPN.📰 » https://t.co/LNJo9SVgxi pic.twitter.com/qA2ZiWsRbY— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 9, 2018

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 10, 2018 / 6:15 p.m.
Opponent: University of Virginia
Site: Charlottesville, Virginia (John Paul Jones Arena)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ESPN
Talent: Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas & Maria Taylor
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
SIRI 84 (Internet 84)

Time to Ruin Gameday....

The Hokies head into enemy territory to take on a UVA team on the precipice of a #1 Ranking. Sportscenter Gameday will be on hand for this game. The Hokies need to turn in their best performance of the season so far since UVA not only plays stifling defense but also can shoot the ball this season. Right now, ESPN.com has the matchup predictor 93.4% in the Wahoo's favor.

Since our last matchup in January, the Wahoos have wins over everyone they have faced in the ACC over a ten game run. They took down UNC, Syracuse twice, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson, Duke, Louisville and Florida State in that run. The biggest surprise this year is the offensive efficiency of the Cavaliers. Last season they broke the 80 point barrier only one time and that was against Grambling. Even their 2OT game against Tech only saw them score 78 thanks to Perrantes ball sitting pretty on the rim. This season though, the Cavaliers eclipsed 80 three times already, though the scoring has diminished since hitting ACC play. They are managing only 65 points per contest in ACC play but only allowing opponents to score 52 points in those same conference games. The pack line defense always keep teams low scoring (1st Nationally in Avg Points Against) but usually the team has holes on the offensive end. UVA leads the all-time series 91-55.

The Cavaliers are coached by Tony Bennett, who has a 280-117 record as a head coach. He is now 211-84 at UVA and with the recent winning streak has nudged into the 70% Winning Club amongst coaches. It doesn't seem like Bennett has been coaching the Wahoos for 9 seasons but that is the case. He has taken them to five NCAA tournaments in the past six years and is on his way to a sixth this season with hopes of a #1 Seed.

This is a team that plays defense first second and third and this season seems to have found an offense to match. You guys have heard the term "Pack Line Defense" thrown about regarding UVA on several occasions. So what does it mean? It 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. The key weakness of this defense is if a team gets a large lead on you, than they are free to pass the ball around the perimeter to run clock. Unfortunately with the skill of the players that UVA has recruited, that doesn't happen very often. Tony Bennett draws this defense from his father, Dick Bennett, who is considered the developer of this style of defense while he coached at Washington State University.

Bennett has his team running 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 Kyle Guy or Devon Hall or allow a clean pass into the lower lane player for an easy layup.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies absolutely have to speed up the tempo of this game to create open looks. If they are not able to do that then each possession takes on that much more significance against one of the best defenses they will face all season. UVA is allowing the fewest points per contest this season and is also holding opponents under 30% from the perimeter, holding ACC opponents to a miserable 27.8%.

The Hokies face their toughest week of the season so must come out with a renewed focus on executing a clean game plan, especially concerning turnovers. Seeing the Hokies approach offensively against NC State gives me a better feeling that they can be competitive even when not getting many clean looks from outside.

The Hokies must come out with the same defensive intensity they showed against NC State. If they are able to stifle the Wahoo's even slightly, it could create a window to build a lead against the Wahoos.

Wahoos Backcourt

Kyle Guy, #5, 6'3, 165 lbs Sophomore is leading the Wahoo's in scoring at 15.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.4 APG and 1.2 SPG. He is knocking down his perimeter shots at 40% on almost seven attempts per game. He also shoots 86% from the free throw line. Most people may have trouble recognizing him as he decided over the summer to remove the man-bun.

Senior Devon Hall, #0, 6'5, 210 lbs is averaging 12.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG while shooting almost 48% from the inside, 46% from outside and 93% from the line as well. Expect to see Hall and Guy rotate off the top of the key, working to find each other open on the perimeter after initial drive attempts inside. These are the only two Wahoo's in double figures so far this season.

The next closest Wahoo to double figures this season is Ty Jerome, #11, 6'5, 192 Lbs, Sophomore, who rotates effectively with Hall and Guy. He comes in averaging 9.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG. Jerome is shooting a cool 45% from inside and 42% from outside, He is also hitting his free throws at 94% on the season.
Senior Nigel Johnson, #23, 6'1, 185 Lbs, is averaging 6.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.2 SPG but is suspended for this contest.

Freshman Deandre Hunter, #12, 6'7, 212 Lbs is averaging 8.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1 APG. He is a change of pace infusion when Guy or Hall needs a breather but has been elevated to starting with Johnson suspended. He is averaging 19 minutes per contest so far.

Wahoos Frontcourt

Isaiah Wilkins, #21, 6'8, 205 Lbs who is the Step Son of Dominique "The Human Highlight Film" Wilkins. He is averaging 6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.6 BPG while also shooting almost 54% from the floor and 76% from the line. As you can see from his stat line, Wilkins is a bit of a Human Highlight reel himself, with solid numbers in almost every statistical category both offensively and defensively. If he could be forced to the bench for any significant amount of time it would be a big blow to the Wahoos all around.

Sophomore Mamadi Diakite #25, 6'9, 195 Lbs, rotates with Wilkins as the Power Forward. He is averaging 5.1 PPG and 3.2 RPG while shooting 54% from inside and 81% from the line.

Jay Huff, #30, 6'11, 215 Lbs, Freshman, rotates the other big position with Jack Salt, #33, 6'10, 240 Lbs across 24 minutes per contest.

What to expect from the Wahoos?

Looking at the Wahoo statistics in ACC play, you can tell that Tony Bennett has really been limiting his bench because most of the starters have better offensive numbers since they last time we played them but they are averaging almost 8 points less per game since then. That being the case, getting in their heads and getting early fouls could force Bennett to utilize guys he has been letting build up rust.

As a team the Wahoo's shoot a respectable 39% from outside but when you get in close you realize that the top three shooters are hitting 6.2 of 14.7 attempts per game or 42% from outside. In a game where points are at a premium it means that you have to close out on Guy, Hall and Jerome and take your chances with the rest on the perimeter.

The rotation for this team is also skilled at controlling the ball, ranking 1st in the ACC in fewest turnovers at 8 per game and 2nd in forcing turnovers from opponents at 15 per game, with four out of five starters averaging more than 1 steal per game. They combine for 5.5 SPG as starters.

The continued lack of production from Jack Salt and Jay Huff, the two true Bigs on this roster, the first 6'10 and the second 7'1 is a bit puzzling. Salt plays a consistent 20 minutes a contest, and is putting up 3.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and less than one assist. Huff's however has seen his playing time evaporate as he has managed to get on the floor for five minutes in ACC play, having not played at all in nine of their twelve conference games.

The Wahoo's starters and sixth man are excellent from the line, averaging 85% on 248 attempts. Shots from the foul line come at a premium though for UVA, averaging just over 13 attempts per game, so barring a significant change, this shouldn't hurt us dramatically. Part of this is their high offensive efficiency but also the fact that they only pull in 8.3 offensive rebounds per game on average this season so not a lot of second chance points for the Cavaliers.

The flip side of this coin though is that the Cavaliers allow the 2nd fewest free throw attempts in the nation, averaging 12.29 attempts. Considering the Hokies are still averaging over 22.5 attempts per game, it will be something to watch for as this game gets going. Whichever of these teams keeps it closer to their average would have a big advantage in what should be a low scoring affair.

The Hokies

The Hokies need to be the utmost in efficiency in this game on the offensive end. UVA only turns the ball over 8.3 times per contest on average so the Hokies will not be able to count on significant extra possessions this way. The UVA opponents also do very poorly in the rebounding category so the Hokies will need to be wary as opponents only manage 31 rebounds per contest, and of that only 9 on the offensive end. UVA is in the top 4 nationally in 9 defensive categories including first nationally in fewest shots allowed, fewest interior shots attempted, fewest assists allowed, and points per game. Opponents only manage 51 shots per contest against the Wahoos to put up 52.4 PPG.

The Hokies will have to find holes in the zone and they have to be able to penetrate the zone on the dribble to create gaps or they will play directly into the Wahoo's game plan. The Wahoo's do allow opponents to attempt 22 perimeter shots per game, but as previously discussed they only allow 29% to go in. The Hokies will need to be able to hit their shots or force their way to the line. Last season's win saw the Hokies go 8-26 from outside but hit 20-26 free throws which played a deciding factor.

Bibbs, Hill and Walker-Alexander need to play a much larger role against UVA than they managed last time. If they are able to hit their shots it opens up the floor much more for Robinson and Blackshear to work inside. Last time these three combined for 11 points, 9 rebounds, and only 1 assist, which is completely unacceptable from three starting positions. These three normally average 38.5 PPG, 10.1 RPG, and 4.5 APG. The rebounding was there but the scoring was significantly down.

Highlight of the NC State Game

When you score 32 - you get your own @IMGAudio highlight montage! LISTEN: A @HokiesMBB @5Alive_ "Best of the Best"! https://t.co/osUhLsetUR— Jon Laaser (@LazeVT) February 8, 2018

Justin Robinson, man on a mission.

In Closing

This game is going to come down to three things, dribble penetration for both teams, execution at the free throw line, and offensive efficiency by the Hokies. If the Hokies are the better team at these three areas, than they will up their ACC record to 7-5. Get the better of the Wahoos in two out of three areas and give yourself a chance. Let UVA win these areas and it's another long night at John Paul Jones. The Hokies will definitely need to win the offensive rebounding battle to get more shots and second chance points against the Wahoos to keep us in this game.

Whichever team gets to the rim more consistently with the ball will do one of two things, run up the score on baskets or ramp up the free throw attempts, which could go a long way in deciding this contest. One last thing that will be critical for the Hokies is that Justin Bibbs and Ahmed Hill need to find their shot from outside to keep the Wahoo's honest in guarding him outside. This could be a key factor in allowing Robinson, Clarke, and Blackshear the needed space to drive into the lane against the Cavaliers.

It's an away game with an extra ramped up atmosphere because of Sportscenter Gameday being there, which actually probably plays in the Hokies favor. The last time these teams faced each other, Cassell was considerably quiet because of the holidays and how fast UVA jumped out on the Hokies. This time the UVA fans will likely keep things lively no matter how things are going.

All the recipe for these guys being amped up, now Buzz just needs to keep them focused. I believe we have the talent, size and speed required to break this defense tonight. It obviously would be better with the perimeter shooters heating up from outside to give the Cavaliers fits. Blackshear and Robinson at the free throw line late in this one are the difference. Tech uses its newfound defensive posture to scrape out a 65-63 win, hanging on against a late charge from UVA.

To take control of your future, you have to think optimistically about your past...You will NEVER outperform your belief...👑🎯— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) February 9, 2018