#GamedayGuide: #ACCB1GChallenge🏀 vs. @PennStateMBB📍 University Park, Pa.🕚 7PM ET📺 ESPN2#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/XCIs10leam— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 27, 2018
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 27th 7PM
Opponent: Penn State Nittany Lions
Site: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, PA
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ESPN2 Mike Corey & Debbie Antonelli
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Sirius: 81 XM: 81 Internet: 81
Before we get into the summary, just a heads up about the Hokies next opponent after Penn State
--- TIME CHANGE ---
Virginia Tech vs. CCSU Saturday, Dec. 1 - 5 p.m. TIME CHANGED TO 5 p.m
First Road Test
Buzzketball heads out for its first true road game at Penn State after beating St Francis 75-37 on Saturday afternoon. This is the ninth game between the Hokies and Penn State. The Hokies hold a 6-2 edge so far in this series. Penn State has won the only two times the teams have faced each other in the ACC/Big10 Challenge.
The Nittany Lions are coached by Pat Chambers, in his eighth year at the helm of Penn State. In 8 years, his teams have made the postseason in two seasons, one CBI quarterfinals and they won the NIT last season when they finished 26-13 season last year.
Chambers is 116-124 at Penn State and 42-28 in two seasons at Boston University, giving him an overall record of 158-152 as a head coach. So far this season the Nittany Lions are 3-2 with wins over North Florida, Jacksonville State, and Wright State with losses to Depaul and Bradley.
Those of you hoping for a Satchel Pierce revenge game, you will be disappointed to know that Pierce was ruled academically ineligible for the Fall Semester so will not be able to resume games until after this semester concludes.
That said, the Nittany Lions will get a shot in the arm with the return of Mike Watkins from mental health issues that has held him out their first five games. Watkins last season averaged 12.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG and 1 SPG as the primary post player for Penn State. Watkins gives them the complement to their star player Lamar Stevens.
In terms of the Hokies, there is no shot in the arm coming apparently as Landers Nolley will be forced to miss his sixth straight games for the NCAA ridiculous decisions regarding his ACT score. Also no announcement yet on the return of Chris Clarke, but indicators are he may be back by the Washington game.
#Hokies freshman Landers Nolley still has not been cleared and won't play tomorrow night at Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, per a source. May make his debut Dec. 1 at home against Central Connecticut State.— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) November 26, 2018
Defensively, the Nittany Lions prefer to use man to man but depending on the players on the court and as the talent level goes down, Chambers shifts more and more to zone defense which makes his teams struggle with fouls, the reason the Nittany Lions have been primarily in zone this season so far. His team has a heavy focus on adjusting the first shot and putting themselves in the correct position to get the defensive rebound, limiting second chance opportunities for opponents. This strategy is to slow the offense to allow Penn State to force teams into their half-court offense. The Nittany Lions have focused heavily to defend the perimeter so far this season, allowing opponents to shoot only 23% from outside. This seems at odds with their record so far but they focus so much on the perimeter that they are allowing opponents to shoot 53% on the interior at this point.
Offensively, Penn State under Chambers focuses on a 4 Out – 1 In Motion Offense. So far this season, the Nittany Lions are hitting only 33% from the perimeter, relying heavily on interior scoring to get their baskets. The Nittany Lions rely heavily on screening motions, rolling their big to the top of the key to allow for lane penetration or interior passing. They are scoring at a clip of 49% on the inside.
Nittany Lions Backcourt
Freshman Guard Myles Dread (#2), 6'4, 205 lbs, is averaging 11.8 PPG, while also pulling down 3.6 RPG and dishing out 1.8 APG. He is shooting 42% from the field but 36% outside so far and is making 50% of his free throws. He is averaging over 7 attempt per game from outside.
Senior Point Guard Josh Reaves, (#23), 6'4, 210 Lbs is averaging 11.8 PPG, 6 RPG, and 3.4 APG. He has grabbed 2.8 SPG as well as half a block per game. He is hitting 53% from the field while hitting 42% of his three pointers. He is also hitting 87% of his free throws. Reaves is from Fairfax, VA so likely has some pride on the line here.
Rasir Bolton (#13), 6'2, 175 Lbs Freshman Guard is averaging 10.4 PPG, 3 RPG, and 1.8 APG so far. He also has 1.3 SPG. He is shooting 34% inside and 31% outside but is a surprising 80% from the free throw line. Bolton is another Virginian, hailing from Petersburg.
Jamarri Wheeler, (#5), 6'1, 170 Lbs Sophomore Guard, is averaging 3.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.8 APG. He is shooting 35% inside and 25% outside and 43% from the free throw line.
Nittany Lions Frontcourt
Lamar Stevens, (#11) 6'8, 226 lbs Junior Forward is the star of the show, averaging 24.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.8 APG while shooting 53% from inside, 27% from outside and 82% from the line. He also adds 1.2 SPG on the defensive end.
Mike Watkins, (#24), 6'9, 254 Lbs Senior Forward will be making his season debut against the Hokies after returning from mental health issues. Having Watkins back gives Chambers a lot of flexibility in terms of playing 1 or 2 bigs down low if he thinks it will give them an advantage.
John Harrar, (#21), 6'9, 243 Lbs Sophomore Forward was trying to hold things down while Watkins recovered. He is averaging 4.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and .8 APG. He is shooting 53% from the field and is a miserable 38% from the free throw line.
Trent Buttrick shared the load of keeping things moving with Watkins out. He is averaging 3.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG and 1 BPG. Harrar and Buttrick were splitting about 35 minutes a contest so expect to see these two if Watkins struggles in his return.
What to expect from Penn State?
The Nittany Lions rely on one player for over a third of their average scoring, so any team looking for which player to focus on its going to be Forward Lamar Stevens. This reliance will change somewhat with Watkins return but still expect the majority of the offense to run through Stevens until Watkins shows he is a reliable. This may be the team though that you just allow Stevens to have his game and focus on the parts around him. In the two losses for Penn State, Stevens had 25 and 27 points, but his teammates went cold from the floor and the line, in the Bradley loss hitting just 10 of 39 shots.
Penn State excels on defending the perimeter, holding opponents to the 6th lowest perimeter shooting percentage nationally at 23% on 22 attempts per contest. They are effective in getting up on the shooter, preventing open looks, but this is reliant on their bigs being able to handle penetration from the perimeter, which has been an issue so far, with opponents shooting 53% inside.
All but one of the Nittany Lions top seven are averaging more than 2.4 fouls per contest. Stevens, Harrar and Wheeler are averaging 3 fouls, so Coach Chambers is constantly having to adjust his players on the floor. This has hurt the Nittany Lions in several games, especially in the overtime loss to DePaul, where Harrar fouled out, Bolton and Reaves each had four fouls and the lineup was in flux throughout the game.
The Nittany Lions also struggle with turnovers, giving the ball away on average 13 times a contest. The struggles especially are focused on the starting five, who account for 9.4 of the 13 turnovers per game.
The Nittany Lions seem to struggle with consistency, especially when it comes to shooting the ball. They may have a half where they shoot 60% or better from the field and then turn around and shoot 25% in the next half. This is the first ranked opponent for the Nittany Lions which may factor in heavily in terms of the defensive pressure and just plain ability of the Hokies compared to the other programs they have faced.
The Nittany Lions focus on rebounding on the defensive side of the ball. They are pulling down on average 26 defensive rebounds per contest. Coach Chambers makes positioning off opponents shots a major priority to prevent second chance shots by getting the initial rebound.
They are much more slow and methodical on offense after rebounds, not looking to run and gun. They prefer to work in the half court set where they can work the ball into the interior with Stevens. This will be a telling aspect of how this game goes based on who is able to set the tempo more to their liking.
The Hokies
Blackshear needs to remain out of foul trouble. This is a constant issue, especially with his bad fouls, but this game he faces a dominant big in Lamar Stevens. For those of you that seem tired of hearing this and want to point the fingers elsewhere based on Buzz' assessment of Blackshear's defensive acumen, you are not all wrong. Blackshear many times when he is whistled out near the perimeter IS trying to help out a guard that failed to rotate properly with the shooter.
That said, Blackshear getting the bad foul for covering up one attempted shot is less important than more time for him on the floor. He needs to resist his instinct to step out to cover it. The offensive numbers are clear in this regards. Blackshear in 20.2 minutes per game, is averaging 12.2 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting over 58%. When he is forced to the bench, Horne averages 3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16.6 minutes of floor time. The impact on the offensive end for five more minutes of Kerry is roughly 4 points and a rebound directly and likely much larger indirectly as the offense as a whole flows better with him in the post. The defensive end though is even more important. Blackshear just by being in the post adjusts the approach of almost every shot in the lane and gives Tech a better opportunity to get rebounds underneath either by his grabbing them or his tipping the ball back out to the guards, which he has a tendency to do. Last season Tech had nine games decided by 6 points or less, so having the offensive efficiency of Blackshear is incredibly important.
Zion Williamson is going to foul Kerry Blackshear out in warmups.— Josh Parcell (@JoshParcell) November 21, 2018
Second behind Blackshear's importance will be the ability of Robinson and Nickiel Alexander-Walker to create open looks for shooters on the perimeter with their dribble penetration. The Nittany Lions have struggled against teams that can get to the basket and have a tendency to collapse inwards as the game progresses, allowing opponents more open looks on the perimeter.
Another major factor for the Hokies against Penn State is speed and transition execution. The Hokies are averaging over 18 points a contest in transition so far this season. They need to come out in the first half and set the pace for this game at a high level to get Penn State out of their normal rhythm. They cant afford to play like they did in the first half against St Francis or they could find themselves in an early hole.
In Closing
Penn State has the advantage when it comes to size on the floor and effort on the boards, where they will have a four man rotation of 6'8 or bigger, so even with foul trouble down low, the Nittany Lions will still have formidable size. That said, the Hokies have the advantage in speed, athleticism, and the ability to create offense from defense. Pace of play and execution of game plan will be the deciding factors in this game.
The Hokies are catching Penn State is somewhat of a transition year, where they play two freshman guards, who have performed admirably but still not well enough to handle the likes of NAW and Robinson. The X-Factor for the Hokies is likely Ahmed Hill or Ty Outlaw. The X-Factor for Penn State is Mike Watkins and how much he is able to contribute in his first game back. In this regard, I give the edge to the Hokies because if either get hot from outside than this game is certainly leaning in Tech's favor.
Can the Hokies handle their first true road test? Yes they can and will, taking lessons learned from the Purdue game to really close out strong against Penn State, ultimately winning this game 79-65.
The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious. #MondayMotivation #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/Gt8rghdHX0— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 26, 2018
Comments
#FreeNolley
Also, uh:
Have we talked about this?
Because the rumors I've read elsewhere about the CC situation are wild.
The rumor I heard at the game Friday said he wasn't coming back so IDK. That's all I'm going to say about it, though, because it's totally uncorroborated.
I've heard chatter ranging from "she wouldn't press charges" to "he's been wrongfully accused".
Its a sensitive topic but there's been enough of it going around on other boards/Twitter that I feel comfortable posting that without feeling like I'm simply spreading unsubstantiated rumors.
The whole situation has been a bit odd from the beginning, and I hope first and foremost that no domestic violence occurred and second that we get CC back at some point.
I've heard that range as well. I've also heard the possibility of his return. You add him and Nolley to this sqaud... watch out...
I think he meant Nolley there.
Maybe?
But that part was followed by a Tweet that mentions Central CT State so *shrug*
No, I have had conversations with people I trust that are closer to the program than I could ever hope to be that think Clarke will be back by the Washington game if things go along the lines of where they appear to be right now. Any and all is subject to change at a moments notice in situations like this though.
At this point I have no idea when to expect Nolley back with how fickle the NCAA is.
Man, and to think I thought the Penn St football uniforms are boring. Those basketball jerseys look like practice shirts.
Sad part is that the best looking one, the picture of Myles Dread, is actually their practice shirt.
Lets kill them tonight for taking Devyn Ford.
Ummm... does Penn State know something about eligibilty that nobody else does?
Mea culpa....
You're good. That was just sitting there, and I took a swat.
No worries, always good to get it right. Definitely am the writer, not the editor....
NCAA sure as shit wont look into that one.
his ACT was fine, so no issue there
#FreeNolley
In terms of the Challenge tonight, we need an ACC team to pull an upset. If it all goes according to the current line the ACC would be down 3-2 after tonight. Need Pitt, NC State or Louisville to find a W, we need to get ours and Duke needs to get theirs. Best bet is probably NC State over Wisconsin. I don't see Louisville beating Michigan State, even with Sparty on the road. Pitt might be able to handle Iowa, although I am not up to date on what the Hawkeyes bring to the table this season.
It intrigues me how Satchel Pierce manages to become academically ineligible his senior year. Seems like you should have it figured out by then.
Not just senior year, he is a fifth year senior. That said, this isn't UNC, so he actually is expected to attend class, do work and earn his grades.
He should have gone to UNC.
Edit, damn it. I knew I should have refreshed before commenting. I'm drinking NyQuil all night boys.
The problem is his invisible bow is made from two strings! That's not how bows work John!
Just like with his free throws, he looks pretty unsure of his aim there
Maybe he's playing a harp.
Isn't Penn State 4-1?
EDIT: No they are not. Didn't realize they lost last week.
Is it me or does Coach Chambers look like he is yelling, "Minerals! Goddamnit Marie!"
If you see a kid on TV with an orange throwback Dell Curry Jersey, it's me
2020 Baseball commit Jack Hurley will be in the house as well (wearing maroon and orange)
Red Five standing by. Let's go Hokies!
Man having ESPN2 on before the game just reinforces why I haven't really watched PTI in years. Man, just 2 old men yelling at clouds.
Here we go
Blackshear no mask
Well it only took 135 seconds, but now Blackshear is out with a foul... yay
Aaaaand early foul on KBJ
Blackshear needs to stay out of foul trouble, but he doesn't get much help from the refs. Looked like good defense to me.
How many offensive rebounds there??
6? For fuck's sake
Get a freaking rebound already
4 offensive rebounds for PSU in 10 seconds
add 1 10 seconds later
Defense looks really active tonight. Lots of trapping and good help.
This student section makes me cringe.
How many times has Outlaw been called for that travel this season?
What happened there
These officials...
It feels like Penn St is just hanging on right now. We look like the better team early and our own mistakes are why the lead isn't more.
And that's a bad, bad call by the refs on the backcourt. That was a change of possession
I don't understand. It's a jump ball. Doesn't that make it a brand new possession?
Yes, normally. Not in the Big Ten, I guess
It should have, but they called back court violation
She cant say Wabissa Bede
Bissa Wabede
Wabissa Wabede
She cannot pronounce Wabissa Bede
edit: A few seconds too slow ... drink!
Outlaw is on fire!
He's on fire
This is the Outlaw I remember. Good lord he's locked in right now.
The 3 ball seems to be working for us early on.
I love NAW's intensity there. Gimme that shit!
NAW saw Dax over the weekend and got some ideas
Outlaw hitting fade aways from deep. He's back. Need to rebound... good lord
Did you guys see the breaking news about the CFP rankings being exactly what we thought they would be?
Just making sure. Not sure you've seen it on the bottom. ESPN is barely even mentioning it.
TREY OUTLAW
I take back everything I said about Outlaw looking a bit rusty. Clearly he came to ball.
He had to shake the rust off the first few games. But his shot looks pure right now. Smoother than I remember.
1 I can't stand this announcer. She's awful.
2 We look great on defense, good rotations and active hands. Offensively we look great too.
3 these refs...jump ball = change of possession arrow...so therefore it's a change of possession. Logic is not strong with this one.
Is that a freaking cowbell
I give a little bit of credit to KJB on that possession. He knew he didn't have that rebound so he went back to defense. In the past, he would have gone for it and picked up that foul. That was a smart heads up play.
Why is the mic right beside the traditional hand drum quartet?
Their coach looks like an old Steve Stiffler
Good lord. The mic needs to move away from the three student fans screaming the entire game.
Well we certainly aren't playing like a top 15 team rn. Hopefully we can go on a run before the half because those last few minutes were awful
Announcers suck
The bias is unbearable.
I'm certain Buzz isn't happy with our shot selection.
We are making really really stupid decisions in the paint the last few minutes
Ummmm... charging much?
Announcers called it a flop. Announcers are worse than the refs.
Shoulder into sternum when the defender is squared up 2 feet from the basket arc is a charge. Don't care how much contact, its a foul, and you're taught to sell it.
These refs have been.... questionable
Eh, to me it just looked like a case of big body vs little body and physics won.
Now if it was a Duke defender - it would have been reviewed for flagrant foul.
Do refs just do nothing all offseason? How are they this bad at their job?
What the fuck is Blackshear doing taking a NBA range 3 down 4
I think I've seen this episode of "team that shoots trash from three heats up against us and puts up uncharacteristic numbers" before
Meh, I'm not worried. We're a good enough team to weather these kinds of storms. Its just frustrating to see how careless we're playing at times.
If we ever really put it all together, we're going to be a tough out for anyone.
Its only a matter of time before these mic'd up students violate FCC policy with some of the things they scream into these mics
Also they really need to do something about the student yelling what the fuck ref right into the mic every time
Que the "Buzz Quit Cussin'" gif
Jrob got the shooters roll on that 3 with a minute to play.
We were down by 8 to a much better Purdue squad after playing a lot like this. We came out in the second half and ripped of 59 points. I think the boys will loosen up from here on out. We are clearly the better team.
I don't think anyone is going to say we played necessarily well this half, and we're still up 2 at half.
We have been a good 2nd half team so far this year, which is what experienced teams should do. We're in good position going into the half.
So the clock resets for them?
Ball hit the rim on the shot.
But they had the ball at least 3 seconds on the ground
5 with the steel chair!
Thats atleast 2 seconds left
These refs are trash for real!? Not gonna look to see if the time is right!?
Terrible officiating in this game. And I'm not simply talking about the fouls that were or were not called. They seem uninterested in actually seeing to it that the game is run correctly.
Exactly. They just are not taking this game seriously.
What the fuck are these refs doing? There was like 3 seconds there and they wouldn't even take a look? This is absurd
These refs are so bad. Any other crew would review the clock in that situation.
I watched that clock run off at least a second and a half at the end. Inexcusable to not go to the review if the coach asks for it. That's blatant disrespect for Buzz, which is just completely unacceptable.
And, on the review, it looked like the PSU guy's foot was out when he went to spike it, which meant it should have been even more time. Its truly baffling they rejected the request to review.
I've got a feeling we're about to fuck them up.
Our first two possession we looked completely disinterested.
These refs combined with these announcers make me want to off myself
Are we playing Duke?
So that's a foul, but the one for Robinson wasn't
These refs are a joke
Gotta agree that this one wasn't as bad as the Jrob one.
They're really gonna call that a fuckin charge??
Wheres the body foul on NAW
They are abusing our shots at the basket. Absolutely abusing us. We need to adjust
Travel much?
These officials are hot trash. No fouls when we drive the lane no over the back on PSU, no pushing off by Harrar, no travel at the top of the key there
We need to get back to ball movement instead of the guy who brings the ball over half court drives the lane bs. That's not our game and we aren't getting the calls.
Hopefully that was the focus of this timeout. We need a run.
How was that a jump ball when no penn state player had control of ball
Love the Oh got it on NAWs shot like he was disappointed
The announcers, the refs, the fucking crowd mic...
Announcers are basically cheering for penn state
I absolutely hate blaming the refs, and we are playing bad tonight, but man these refs are absolutely awful
God this game is driving me fucking crazy. These announcers suck ass
And 1
lol great no call. Sure, whatever you say 5th rate announcer lady
Robinson got fouled on both those shots. no call in either
Doesn't LOLESPN control that mic?
Well, Tommy Tuberville was my least favorite announcer and it wasn't even close...this crew just blew that out of the water. So many dumb comments and her voice is grating.
Also these referees are by far the worst in basketball I've ever seen. They're lazy and careless. So many missed fouls and just bad calls due to them not caring.
The 2004 team that went to Cameron Indoor would like a word.
Oof, from all these comments, I'm glad I can't watch the game live right now.
We just went on a run. Up 6
But man, we're getting boned sideways up all holes by these refs
And these announcers aren't helping. Some newbie lady who won't shut up who played for NCSU 10 years ago
I haven't seen this many balls on the ground since the uva game!
Bout time for a run. Put your foot on the gas.
9-0 is a good start. Gotta keep the momentum out of the TO
Every replay before commerical in slow mo shows fouls on robinson
The female commentator just made it sound like the three-point shot is something new ... Wow.
Well she said that she only has a 15 foot range
"So many long rebounds in college basketball since the 3-point line was introduced."
Lol wtf
I mean its only been 30 years. Still too soon to mention trends
KJ out here playing like a dude.
He's playing smart so far tonight.
That's what happens when he plays
I really hope this is the beginning of a 'fuck this game' kinda run that moves it to comfy status
Need to keep this going. Don't let them back in it.
These obvious homer announcers might somehow be even worse than these refs. And that's saying something because these are the most apathetic refs I've ever seen.
Really need to go on an exte ded run here to put this away
NAW playing with Fire. Let's go boys, put this game away
lol Blackshear was pushed to the ground and no call
Blackshear thrown to floor no call
And they immediately go down and score 3 with numbers off the turnover.
These refs are absolutely impacting the outcome of this contest. Are they B1G refs?
Yes they are a B1G team of officials
Hmmm #13 vs a likely bubble B1G team....
Hmmmmm
I'm not saying the fix is on.... But the fix is on
The Big Ten is banking on not enough people watching this game to care, but they are doing whatever they can to get this win.
HOW THE FUCK WAS THERE NO FOUL THERE
Surprised they didn't just call a charge on Blackshear for being shoved
At this point, it's laughable what they are missing. There's a difference between letting them play and blatant no calls because your head is shoved up your ass.
Its a really bad day when I miss ACC officials
time to call in Ted Valentine (ducks and runs)
Teddy V is calling the Mich St - Louisville game
All this choppiness keeping us from finding a rhythm
That couldve been bad for Outlaw
How do you get a rebound off the top of the backboard?
The fix is on
Wasn't that ball out of bounds?
DID IT NOT HIT THE TOP OF THE BACKBOARD!?
...what is happening
I thought I had gathered the rules of basketball over my years of watching. but I guess I missed some changes in the offseason.
Bubble Big Ten team vs a ranked ACC team
Big Ten refs
its pretty obvious what's going on right now
That dude just hit the top of the backboard on his shot but these refs decide it's apparently no longer out of bounds so we get a foul called on the offensive put back. Can't make this shit up
After the tv ti eout we find out Buzz got a technical for arguing the out of bohnds being prior to the foul, so now they will shoot 4 instead of 2 amd get the ball s/
Good
These officials are clearly disrespecting Buzz if that's the case.
Buzz needs to get in the ear of the officials.
Why would you let a B1G crew do a game like this? I feel like the SEC or Big 12 should supply the crew but what do I know
Top of the backboard is in play, ya'll. Hits the shot clock, or goes over and it is out.
Don't get me wrong, these guys are awful, but that was the correct call.
I think it actually hit the camera that's up there - but still OOB.
Justin Blackshear yall!
Blackshear gets hit by three defenders and no call
Of course there was no foul on that shot by Blackshear. The 3 guys hanging on his arms had no impact on the shot
Psu student has sign that says "NIT champs don't cheat on the ACT"
So stupid it's sad
You have got to be kidding me
Wow cant believe tney assessed fouls there such crap
that was a blatant over the back on the rebound off Hill
This game is a joke
What the fuck. The refs are blatant
Harrar murders hill down low amd they get a basket out of it
ARE YOU KIDDING ME THIS IS INSANITY
HOLY SHIT these refs
No fucking jump ball there?
Finally they call a foul in the paint against PedU
And the announcers couldnt be more biased in this game bad enough fighting the offkcials
Coming out of this game, everyone will have had an early Cameron Indoor experience.
This is worse than anything I've seen in Cameron. At least Duke refs hide it until the big swing plays. This has just been a straight fuckjob since the tip.
I haven't heard of someone taken advantage of like this in State College since Sandusky.
This is the worst officiating I've seen.
We are the better team, but we need to play like it these last four minutes. PSU thinks they can win this.
this is a true statement. need to settle down and get back into our offense.
Its literally 8 on 5
of course they can win it
And Outlaw with a what??? Did can't take the suspense. These announcers are awful. I also feel like she was subtlety trying to say Robinson should be getting called for charges as she said he kepts go into the PSU players chest?
lol he bobbled the ball and took 3 steps with no call
the obvious shit is being let go
That was so fucking blatant on the replay, too
I mean all you can do is laugh at this point. These refs just are going to make sure we don't win
Of course they don't review that for a flagrant. It would have been on State Penn
Blackshear continues to get mugged
Absolutely mugged blackshear again!
Blackshear is getting destroyed in the paint.
These refs are a joke
Where was the tech for slamming ball off floor after tie up on harrar
Where are any of the calls
WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FOUL
THATS TO THE FACE
IF THATS NOT A FLAGRANT THAT IS BULLSHIT
Well according to the announcers it was JRobs fault for lowering the ball...
Elbows his face
"That was a great play on the ball"
Shut the hell up, lady
I'm laughing so hard at these refs and announcers I'm crying!
lol no over the back?
What can you do at this point.
Over the back
How is that a tie up guy has his arms around kjs neck
How is that a jump ball?!?
I wonder when Blackshear is going to stop taking contested fade-away hook shots.
To be fair, his teammates are not moving at all when he gets the ball down low.
These freakin refs
jfc these refs
More pointless doubling that they're passing out of before we even get there. Stupid defense calls.
That couldn't have been more over the back
I'm sorry, I hate blaming the refs, but this game is just too obvious to not call out. The fix was in from the start. We may still win, but this result is a sham. The Big Ten set us up on this one.
THAT WAS NOT A JUMP BALL THAT WAS CLEARLY A REACH IN OVER THE BACK WHAT EVEN IS THIS
... plus, this lady announcer is horrible, like y'all have said.
That was a pretty quick jump ball call
Feeding Blackshear to take low percentage shots seems very counterintuitive given their size and it not being our speciality.
This game has been called so bad that the correct call for travelling felt like they did us an enormous favor
Ridicu.ous that we are in this situation
Even if we lose, I love the team we have. The fact we even have a shot despite this kind of jobbing is extremely impressive.
Please dont take the last shot
Just win the damn thing boys
I hope we don't see Blackshear take a stupid shot here.
That was a jump ball a minute ago
Exactly what I said
Now its a foul??? Gtfoh
lol thats the exact same play as the jump ball they called against PSU
Foul on Blackshear
And we get the tie up and its a foul
God damn what a terrible loss...Hill totally choked there
Of COURSE they'll call that a foul on Blackshear this time. OF COURSE.
Like what the fuck can you even say at this point
Its still a 1 possession game
My bad everyone, we were undefeated until I decided to watch a game. I'll turn it off the rest of the year.
Oh come on, Hill !!!!
Ahmed Hill with two awful plays to end the game.
Two fucking timeouts. What the absolute fuck?
Hill... why not call time-out?
Dang.
What the fuck pass was that, Hill
Fucking christ almighty what a fucking dumbshit play
That was the most unorganized final possession I've ever seen in my life.
This team looks like they've never played basketball together before.
62 pts against Penn State is abysmal.
Horrible pass from Hill kills the game. What a horrible end to this game.
What an awful last possession yeesh when you need composure they lose it
Not a great two possessions for Hill
Not a great night at all - I don't think he scored a point.
That was the Hill we got 2nd half of last season. I think our season kinda depends on which Hill we get for.most games esp in the absence of CC and Nolley.
Wow, Hill disappeared tonight in a big way!
Hill. What the fuck was that. You hit the side of the backboard and then do that shit?
Fuck these refs. Our guys fought hard but you can't overcome referees making shit calls in a close game. Our guys are afraid to drive because of the SHIT refereeing in this game.
Good fight boys, on to the next one!!!
How you do you not have 5 slash to the basket...a 3?! Ugh...smh
Not to mention the 3 was like 5 feet behind the line
Outlaw doing what Hill should have.
Hill deserves to sit for a long, long time the next game after tonight
What an absolutely fucking stupid mindless fucking play at the end of the game. He coasted tonight. Completely nonexistent until it mattered and he choked.
Why on earth was he put in as the inbounder on that play? When I saw him getting ready, I was like "Are they really putting the game in his hands right now?" Gotta put that 100% on Buzz to be honest.
These officials are awful. I can't believe how often Tech players got mugged and no call.
The refs were horrible. This was easily the worst game we've played all season. Lets get back home and start winning again.
Excuses. Penn State is a doormat.
Offensively, we had no logical plan whatsoever.
I can't even count the number of off-balance leaners that Blackshear took. Meanwhile on the other end, Penn State is getting layups and wide open 3-pointers.
Blackshear is the most Jekyll and Hyde player I've ever seen. I cannot understand how he plays so well one game and looks like a 17 year old freshman the next.
Have you met my friend Ahmed Hill?
I really don't enjoy watching basketball even though I try to support our guys. I honestly don't see what constitutes a foul or not, at any level of the sport and that makes it less enjoyable not knowing the rules.
Typical buzzketball special - losing to a garbage team. No idea why we keep trying to have blackshear go 1v1 when he's failed over and over tonight looking completely uncoordinated doing it too. How do you have any confidence in him?
Meanwhile, NAW a complete non factor.
Blame the refs all you want, team wasn't ready to play. Terrible defensive philosophy again - doubling people that don't deserve it, leading to wide open shooters.
Had our chances there but the fix is complete
What a fucking shit show.
Yeah let's lob it to blackshear for an NBA three that will work
I don't understand why we couldn't figure out a way to get NAW the ball near the end of the game.
FIRE BUZZ!!!
/S
There was no chance at a shot with .4
Tough to win when you have to beat the other team AND the guys in the striped shirts.
Why did we start going mainly to the paint after starting out so we'll from the perimeter? Was it something they were doing defensively? I really wanted to see more outside leasing and shooting
3.5 minutes without scoring at the end of the game. I think it's time we address our offensive playcalling. Can't blame execution there. Also, do you think Buzz is losing the locker room?
Fire Cornelson!
Fire Cornelsen! /s
Edit: already drinking... don't worry.
But seriously, a 28 footer with 13 seconds left can't be what Buzz drew up at the end there. It's nice to trust JRob but come on, run a set play and get a bucket.
WELL ITS A GOOD DAMN THING I DIDNT BOTHER DRIVING ACROSS TOWN TO GO TO THIS GAME
I thought you would gallop across town to get there?
I would but I have no confidence that spending any time or energy on our sports will produce and endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, or dopamine.
But BJC is in the middle of town....
Yeah but it's just below the treeline so I can't see it from my house. I can see the stadium scoreboard but not BJC.
Plus campus is next to 99/322 and as soon as you pass that you're in Pleasant Gap as far as I'm concerned. Spruce Creek is practically Pennsyltucky. That's pretty Northeasterncentral to town.
I don't think I could be more disappointed in Hill this season. He's been a bystander on the court, not really engaged, and he's not shooting well enough to justify it. And then tonight, twice he had the game in his hands, and twice he fucked up, badly. The errant pass at the end was completely inexcusable. You're a goddamn senior, making freshman mistakes.
It probably wouldn't be the worst idea to shorten up the rotation a bit to remove him from it until he gets his head on straight.
Aside from tonight, I've been pleased with Hill up to this point. His defense is much improved, and he played awesome in the Charleston Classic against good competition. He'll get it right in the next 3 games.
Problem is, with Clarke and Nolley we can't afford to take Hill out of the rotation.
From 7 guys to 6. Need CC and Nolley
Hill had a horrible game, but he was pretty solid through the first 5... I'm assuming you were being sarcastic about shortening up the rotation since Buzz only played 7 tonight and only 4 scored...
Sure he was off tonight everyone has off days but he's been fantastic up until tonight especially defensively much improved hopefully he can can sort it out for the next game you'd hope the senior wouldn't make the errors he did late but it's a learning moment for bigger games to come this year
It just happens that Hill has been off every season once we start play against better competition. There seems to be a correlation. Also, his awful pass at the end of a game should never happen to a 5th year Senior that's had major playing time every year since his freshman year.
It just seems like the game has not slowed down for him. Look at NAW. He honestly looks like a different player this year. Everything seems so much smoother and confident like he knows what he needs to do without thinking about it. It just looks so natural. Hill just looks lost out there.
Hill was not "off" against purdue. NAW was a non factor tonight. Both if these guys ball out on a normal night. The recipe for beating us just got exposed. Get physical at home where the refs will lean ur way (though, tonight was a fall PSUs way). Horrible game, hope Hill and NAW return. And the NCAA can kiss my ass!
The execution on both ends of.the floor those last 4 minutes did not look like a senior laden/experienced team.
GIVE THE BALL TO NAW. STOP GIVING IT TO KERRY. It's very simple
Yep. Really dumbfounded why we wanna put the ball in the hands of of our player most likely to result in a turnover.
The clock operator can kiss my ass
Not sure if it was the lack of ball movement forcing this but this team nor Blackshear is not good enough to just stop moving and give him a green light anywhere in the paint to do whatever.
And defense just looked weak and sloppy. Definitely not the team that gave up only 15 in the second half last week.
Blackshear needs to stop thinking he has the shooting range of Joel Embiid. He doesn't. He's best within 5 feet of the basket, and he needs to get all his points there. But no, he drifts and thinks the 3 point shot is a part of his game.
When he tried an NBA range 3 in the first half early in the shot clock when we were down 4, he should have been pulled for emphasis. That's not his game, stop trying to force it.
Agreed. Nor should he be given the green light to get the ball near the 3pt line and try to drive to the basket. He only has a fade away/hook game against guys his size or bigger, and against smaller guys his dribbling is so poor it's almost a guaranteed steal or turnover off his legs.
Lots of coaching points from tonight's game. This game means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I am not getting upset over this loss.
Well that sucked. Was really hoping to have bragging rights over the in-laws.
Conference play Med showed up at the end there. What a shame.
I have suddenly developed a great hatred for Penn State. And the Big Ten as a whole. No idea why.....
"Suddenly"??
It was just hatred before, minus the great. Now I hope they lose every game from now till the end of time, in all sports, forever.
If Dabo leaves the ACC, it will be clear to all that leaving was the right thing to do.
I didn't think the ACC should surpass the ACC, but wow the bus and the wheels have come right off this motherfucker.
At least we have WFU.
I think someone hacked my account ; )
Penn State getting 40% of their misses is just simply unacceptable and shows how much they miss Clarke. Buzz seemingly forgetting he has an NBA 1st round pick on his roster the last 4 minutes was even more troubling
We got an ECU-esque draw in the Challenge. On the road against an inferior opponent. Win and it means nothing, lose and you've got a bad loss on the resume.
And it was on the road with the Big Ten controlling which crew officiated the game.
We were set up to lose this game.
I honestly wasn't able to watch every single minute of this game, but damn if every time I didn't look up and watch, Blackshear was making some critical gaffe. Toward the end I just hoped he wasn't anywhere near the ball.
I was thinking the same thing but now I feel like at least Blackshear was trying to score. I did not see anybody else who wanted it which is sad.
According to the eye test, this isn't a bubble team. However, this loss might come back to bite us in the post season.
If there was a bubble team tonight, its PSU
We're a comfortable tournament team. This whole season is playing for seed, not invite. By the time its all said and done, there's a better than not chance we're Sweet 16 seeded (Top 4 in a region).
I strongly believe we are a bubble team (like an 8-9 seed in the tournament) if we don't have both Nolley and Clarke. This team is so damn inconsistent. We NEED 3/4 of JRob, Med, KJ, and NAW to all be GREAT to win games against quality opposition. We NEED Clarke and/or Nolley (preferably both) back if we want to live up to our potential.
*edit: to add on, Bede and Horne are completely uncapable of scoring so we have 4-5 guys who can score. That's not good enough to be a top 15, or even a top 25, team.
We didn't have a leader on the court tonight because JRob was too busy putting on an Academy performance for the refs. I've been growing more and more disappointed in him with his theatrics and the way he has been letting his emotions get the better of him. Forget the refs...forget how badly you believe you got fouled...control what you can control and move on. Play some goddamn basketball instead of flailing everywhere.
Off the court it didn't seem we had a leader, either. Guess Buzz was working on his Justin Fuente impression.
All the anger and disappointment for the Hokies that I thought I had been able to finally bury away after the ODU fiasco came rushing back. Same story, different sport. Have a great start to the season, then piss it all away to an inferior opponent on a national stage. I know this isn't anywhere a sign of the end for men's basketball, but this loss is nothing short of infuriating.
Yeah, I strongly disagree with your sentiment about Robinson. He had 19 tonight. And what you call theatrics I view as him being all in and flying around. He's what makes this team go. We lost tonight because, among other things, NAW was almost a non-factor, especially near the end.
Five got hit HARD a lot this game. I didn't see any theatrics from him. In the final huddle you could see him rallying the guys and talking to them like you would expect a senior to do. Five is the heart of this team and he played great tonight.
If you're going to question people, question Hill who had zero impact on this game as a senior. Question Blackshear continually fumbling around, or taking poor shots.
Exactly. Robinson was flagrantly fouled twice at the end of the game. He was also on his feet for almost 2.5 hours. I don't blame him for staying on the ground a little longer when taking a shoulder to the upper chest.
Ehh I don't mind Buzz sitting back on this one and letting the team try to figure it out. I see the likes of Coach K and Roy Williams do it every year, using a bad game as a learning lesson to help improve the game for later on.
The fact we even had a chance to win before Hill literally threw it away was impressive given how bad we played.
Agreed on Buzz. He spent more time talking to the officials then his team. Allowed the team to slog through the 2nd half by not using timeouts until the end.
It was a repeat of his performance against St Louis last year. I'm 100% convinced that Buzz was completely okay losing the game. He was basically testing the players to see how they handle the situation. Even in the first half it seems like NAW was doing all the talking in a timeout.
Frankly I'm extremely pissed because this game probably ruins any chance of making top10, which we would have done if we went undefeated in ooc.
keys to defeat...
more turnovers than assist... 15 TO - 9 assist (when we have more than 10 turnovers it's usually not good Bob)
less than 70% from free throw line... 8-13 - 61.5%
JRob 6 turnovers
Hill 0 points
sloppy play all around
I was pleasantly surprised and thought we maybe had turned a corner when we pulled the game out against Purdue. Now I'm back to expecting a first round tournament exit again. And honestly, even if we had pulled it off tonight, it would have been an even less deserved win than football on Friday.
I've watched this and the Purdue game. I guess I just don't see it; I don't think this team's that good. In both games they looked borderline top-25 to me. Certainly not top-15.
Buzz just said that Ped St. rebounded 40% of their missed shots. Combine that with 15 turnovers and you'll lose most games.
Watching the MSU-Louisville game and this is the perfect example of a well officiated competitive game. I wish we could have had the same. So much more fun to watch.
With Jamie Lucky and Ted Valentine it's SHOWTIME!
I hope we win out. I don't like this losing feeling
rankings and losses dont really matter in college basketball...
If you're decent you'll make the tourney, we are decent...
Oof
"But let's not get angry at 18-22 year old kids"
Calm down everyone. We played like shit tonight and still only lost by a point on the road. True road wins are tough to get in college basketball. We didn't play our game tonight at all. We shot over 50% from 3 and the other team won..... we went away from running our offense after the outlaw barrage. We didn't drive and dish out tonight at all, we instead drove and took horrible attempts at the rack (mainly naw and Robinson). Couple that with jrob having 6 turnovers, the awful refs, and their freshman draining threes and scoring 18 when he had scored 14pts all year, and that is how you lose. This team will be fine, more than fine when we get more guns (Nolley and possibly Clarke back). We were definitely the better team, but as in all sports the better team doesn't always win.
No team in division 1 has had only 4 or fewer players score in a game... except for us today
While I agree the execution of the last play was terrible but I disagree with the KJ bashing and much of the team bashing in general. Hill did have a couple bonehead plays but it never should have come down to that.
If you go back and watch most of KJs shots tonight he was contacted by one or more Penn State players with no whistles on almost every attempt. The number of times Harrar struck KJ or someone else on both ends of the floor tonight with only two fouls called on him was ridiculous. He threw KJ to the floor in one instance, no call, turnover, three pointer on fast break for Penn State. He face planted Hill to the floor on another play, no call, ball bounces around is passed back to Harrar who feeds it to wide open teammate right under basket because three Hokies are on the floor. KJ had 5 offensive rebounds and went back up on all five. He made one, had one foul called amd the other three got mauled without a whistle.
JRob being criticized for theatrics is a joke. He was consistently hit usually by more than one players every time he drove and may have been why he would feel he had a better chance with the three pointer at the end than driving to the rim since he hadnt gotten foul calls on so many of his drives.
Tough to have an offensive game plan or develop a rhythm when every time you turned around it was either a whistle swallowed on an egregious foul or a whistle blown to allow Penn State a second or third shot at a basket in one trip down the floor. Coming in to this game Penn State had fouled every opponent to shoot 20+ free throws but tonight one of the most fouled teams in the country only went to the line 13 times. Penn State had averaged almost 24 fouls per game coming in but against the best competition they have faced all year only committed 16 fouls. Nothing to see here, just played a better game I am sure of it.
Multiple times tonight the officials refused to review the tape when Buzz asked but any time Chambers wanted a review it seemed the officials had time. Just look at the two instances in the first half, the first where they whistled us for a 10 second violation because the shot clock was started as soon as the ball came off the rim even though no one had possession until Robinson. That was a "turnover" amd gave the ball back to Penn State. The second happened right before the half, where the clock said .9 seconds remaining when it was clear even to the homer announcers that there should have been 3 to 4 seconds remaining. We were forced into a pop shot rather than having the time to run a set play. Either of those possessions ends in points and the final score is tilted the other way.
Nothing can be done to fix it now but this also shows the glaring importance of having Nolley because the offense goes dormant when Horne gets out there for some reason, so we lost playing against nine today when you count the NCAA.
Time to get home beat Central Connecticut amd get ready for Washington.
I bet having Ryan there to belt one (or couple) of the officials may have set them straight. Anyways, so I know this is somewhat way early, but what kind of damage are we looking at in terms of either making it or our seeding at the dance?? Just a rough shot off hand glance...
Way too early to tell, between where Penn State ends up and where we end up. It could be extre,ely damaging if we end up a bubble team and Penn State implodes but if they stay around .500 then it should have little impact. If they have a great season after this then it really doesnt hurt. If we win out in OOC and finish top 4 in ACC than we are fine regardless but could cost us a spot or two seeding wise if its deemed a bad loss.
You summed it up perfectly. The team played well with the exception of Hill who had a bad night. But we were playing against Thugs who got more and more confident as nothing was called. Only at the end of the game when Robinson was getting absolutely thrashed did they call anything and not even consistently.
The 10 second violation was a crock of shit as they counted the entire scrum on the floor that resulted in a jump ball (8 seconds) as coming off our 30 seconds. If they have to count a jump ball and give it back to us, that should result in a new shot clock.
What surprised me more than anything was we hit 8 3's in the first half and only 10 for the game.
Every home team is going to win tonight in the ACC B1G challenge. All games decided by two baskets or less except Duke dismantling Indiana.
How many timeouts does each team get in a college basektball game?
The reason I ask is I thought each team got 3 30 second timeouts and 1 full timeout at the start of each game. With 2 of those 30 second timeouts being able to carry over to the second half as well as the full timeout. Meaing at most each team can call 3 timeouts in the second half.
Last night Penn State called 4 timeouts in the second half. So either my understanding of timeouts in college basketball is wrong or the officials gave Penn State an extra timeout.
Penn State Second Half Timeouts:
10:52
54.7
4.8
0.4
It's possible ESPN credited Penn State with a timeout they didn't call. You can clearly see a Penn State coach or player call timeout at 10:52, 54.7 and 0.4. The teams huddle at 4.8 like a timeout was called but you don't see any one signal for a timeout the cameras are zoomed in on certain players but you can hear the announcer say "30 second timeout".
We called the timeout at 0.4. Outlaw rebounded the missed FT and called it.
There was two timeouts called at 0.4. We called the first one after the rebound we lined up to inbound it but before we did there coach called a timeout.
The 4.8 was not a timeout, that was directly after the foul by Blackshear and I believe the officials went to the table to check the clock for time remaining before allowing Penn State to shoot the free throw.
ESPN misled me on that one. They show the graphic of a Penn State timeout and take a timeout away from Penn State on the scoreboard. But it must have been an Official timeout not a Penn State timeout. Thanks.
Yeah I noticed that the score on the bottom of the screen had zero timeouts left for Pennstate when they called the last one at 0.4 seconds. I thought I was crazy until you said this and another person on reddit thought the same thing. ESPN must've credited a timeout incorrectly.
ESPN gets something wrong, with that crew?