BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: ST FRANCIS RED FLASH (1-3) AT VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (4-0) 1PM ACCNE 11/24/2018

We take on St. Francis (Pa.) tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET inside Cassell 🔜Preview ⤵️📝 » https://t.co/yLopr9E5ou#getBETTER | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/1RDq95d5et— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 23, 2018

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 24th 1PM
Opponent: St Francis
Site: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ACCNE
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Sirius: 206 XM: 391 Internet: 990

pic.twitter.com/ZyqkFYuKpV— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 22, 2018

Returning Home Champs

Buzzketball hosts St Francis in their successful return to Cassell Coliseum after winning the Charleston Classic after beating the Purdue Boilermakers 89-83.. This is the first game between the Hokies and St Francis.

The Red Flash are coached by Rob Krimmel, in his seventh year at the helm of St Francis. In 7 years, his teams have made the postseason in three seasons, all three CIT appearances. They are coming off an 18-13 season last year. Krimmel is 80-111 at St Francis. So far this season the Red Flash are 1-3 with a win over Morgan State, and losses to Buffalo, #20 UCLA and #7 UNC.

Defensively, the Red Flash seem to adjust their defense dramatically game to game. They seem to change based on trying to force their opponent out of their strengths. If a team is good shooting on the perimeter, you likely see man to man from the Red Flash so they close out on the perimeter more quickly. If they are good making interior passes and facilitating offense from the paint than you likely see a zone defense that compresses. This may seem like a solid premise but this Red Flash team is struggling with it so far. Expect the Red Flash to challenge Hill, NAW and Robinson on the perimeter while trying to front Blackshear to prevent interior passing. Considering the opponents so far, its difficult to determine if St Francis is just overwhelmed by talent or just bad in general. They were considered a preseason favorite to win the NEC.

Offensively, St Francis under Krimmel tries to focus on perimeter shooting to create opportunities down low. They also focus on rebounding on both ends as a major method of controlling pace and opportunities. The Red Flash prefer to go fast but that may work against them facing the Hokies. If their inefficiencies in scoring continue, going fast may be the worst way to stay in the game as it puts the ball in the Hokies hands that much more often. Their best opportunity is likely to try to slow the pace, pound the lane and hope they can get Blackshear off the court, which would allow their bigs a chance to face down the basket and score up close.

Red Flash Backcourt

Senior Guard Jamaal King (#3), 5'10, 170 lbs, is in his third season starting for the Red Flash. He is averaging 16.3 PPG, while also pulling down 2 RPG and dishing out 1.8 APG. He is shooting 39% from the field but 47% outside so far and is making 62% of his free throws.

Junior Point Guard Keith Braxton, (#13), 6'4, 208 Lbs is averaging 14.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He has grabbed 2.8 SPG as well as half a block per game. He is hitting 40% from the field but only 27% of his three pointers so far on almost 5 attempts per game and is 70% from the foul line. Braxton is the high energy guy on the floor and is critical to keeping his teammate involved.

Andre Wolford (#14), 6'2, 175 Lbs Senior Guard is averaging 12.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1 APG so far. He also has 1.3 SPG. He is shooting 31% inside and 30% outside but is a surprising 78% from the free throw line.

Isaiah Blackmon, (#11), 6'1, 170 Lbs Junior Guard, is averaging 7.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG. He is shooting 23% inside and 22% outside and 57% from the free throw line.

Red Flash Frontcourt

Myles Thompson, (#33) 6'6, 230 lbs Freshman Forward is averaging 9.8 PPG, 5 RPG, while shooting 28% from inside, 36% from outside and 86% from the line. He also adds .8 SPG on the defensive end.

Luidgy Lapora, (#12), 6'9, 240 Lbs first year Senior Center from Petit-Bourg, France is averaging 4.5 PPG, 3 RPG, and .5 APG. He is shooting 53% from the field and has yet to attempt free throws. Lapora will likely feature a larger roll in the offense against the Hokies to try to counteract Blackshear.

Deivydas Kuzavas, (#30), 6'10, 210 Lbs Junior Center from Kretinga, Lithuania is averaging 4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and .5 APG. He is shooting 80% from the field and has yet to attempt free throws.

What to expect from St Francis?

The Red Flash have spread minutes out across their roster, mainly due to foul trouble. They have five players already averaging more than 2.5 fouls per contest. This makes it difficult to develop much continuity across the roster due to so much turnover. As a team, they have been whistled for 88 fouls in 4 games, or 22 per game. Opponents have also attempted 80 free throws so far, or 20 per game. Surprisingly, the Red Flash have attempted 91 free throws as well so they are good at drawing shooting fouls as well.

The Red Flash also struggle with turnovers, giving the ball away on average 15 times a contest. The struggles especially are focused on the starting five, who account for 10.8 of the 15 turnovers per game.

The other area the Red Flash are having difficulties is shooting the ball. As a team they are shooting 37% from the field and only 31% from outside. To be fair, they have faced two of the top 25 teams in the country in four games and face another Top 25 affair against the Hokies. That said, they have not fared well against pressure and struggle to create the open shot. As part of this, their opponents have 28 blocks in four games so far.

The four guard rotation is similar to the Hokies in only that it involves four guards, beyond that, the talent, size and speed are all in favor of the Hokies as would be expected in a matchup of this sort. Much of the game, it will appear that they are running a five guard set, as their starting "forward" is only 6'6, although Krimmel may elect to play two of his true bigs more in this contest depending on how much Blackshear stays on the floor.

The two areas that keeps St Francis in these games at all is that they are successful in turning their opponents over and seem to have a knack for offensive rebounding giving them second chance opportunities. They are forcing opponents into 13 turnovers per game and pulling down over 16 offensive rebounds per game.

The Hokies

Still no update on Landers Nolley being approved to play. NCAA seems to want to drag their feet on this. Last notice I saw was Mike Barber on the 20th stating Tech still was waiting on the results. Hopefully this is the final game that Nolley will be forced to miss for this ridiculous issue. Best Tweet I have seen on this situation so far

Just print a random number on UNC letterhead and submit it. That'll do.— Christina Garnett (@RoanokeMaven) November 21, 2018

The Hokies will need to make sure they come back to Cassell with focus. They can ill afford a let up from a big win, excitement over the football team escaping in chaos, and a very inferior opponent coming in to what may be a less than filled Cassell Coliseum. Hopefully some of the football crowd sticks around to make it a weekend of cheering on the Hokies.

The Hokies just need to play their game and this should be the first time they will likely cruise to victory from the first half of play. Pressure defense, solid rebounding, transition baskets and hitting their threes should see the Hokies out to a double digit halftime lead, possibly as many as 20 points.

Blackshear, foul trouble, bad fouls on perimeter, too much time on bench.....fortunately opponent is overmatched by even wing players so should have less of effect on game if Blackshear continues his trend.

Hopefully this will be a game where we get to see the end of the bench for extended minutes. Its critical that Buzz get guys like Kabongo, Wilkins, Horne, and Palmer a few minutes any time they have a chance in case they have to be relied upon later in the season.

In Closing

St Francis shouldn't have the advantage in any aspect of this game. The only area of uncertainty will be in how much Coach Krimmel chooses to implement his bigs down low. If the Red Flash start utilizing two bigs in the paint, which could be a change the Hokies may struggle with. Even this though should only present a minor hiccup, considering how the Red Flash struggles to score.

The Hokies should come in flying high from their tournament win and their continued ascension in the rankings. They need to take that energy and open this contest up early. Continue to force this opponent to struggle shooting the ball.

Tech wins 92-58, running the Red Flash off the court early and often. This is one of those games in years past that you stressed about the infamous Hokie let down that our program has been known for over the years. This year's team seems to have stepped past that and this game is an excellent opportunity to show this team wont have the inopportune letup.

MAYBE HAVE HIM HELP THE SECONDARY

We're always trying to find ways to #getBETTER defensively, so today, we were fortunate to bring in 1️⃣ of the best #Hokie defenders ever: @DeAngeloHall23 pic.twitter.com/jRWvkra5j5— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 23, 2018