Buzzketball Central: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3) at #10 Virginia Tech Hokies (11-1) 1pm Jan 1st 2019 ESPNU

⚫️ 1.1.2019 ⚫️#BeatND pic.twitter.com/NLlAqn9C3M— Virginia Tech Basketball 🦃 (@Hokie_Hoops) December 31, 2018

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: January 1st 1PM
Opponent: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Site: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ESPNU Kevin Brown & Jordan Cornette
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Sirius: 137 XM: 193 Internet: 955

Starting tomorrow against Notre Dame, Hokie Lights is back in Cassell!For more info, click ⤵️📝 » https://t.co/2yavmBFZVg#getBETTER | #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/jWXsYzYIGz— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 31, 2018

Now that we don't have the distraction of our Second Sport

Being that Buzzketball has made Tech a basketball school and kicks off the ACC slate with a big home contest against Notre Dame. This will be the eleventh meeting of the two programs going back to the 1973 NIT championship, which the Hokies won. Virginia Tech is 2-8 all time against Notre Dame so no time like the present to start evening out this rivalry.

The Fighting Irish are coached by Mike Brey, in his nineteenth year at the helm of Notre Dame. In nineteen years, Notre Dame is 412-205 under Brey and his team has won 20+ games fourteen times. He has led them to the NCAA Tournament twelve times, with two elite eight appearances. Notre Dame has been to the post season in all but one season under Brey. Brey also was the head coach of Delaware, going 99-52, so has an overall coaching record of 511-257.

The Fighting Irish come in 10-3, with wins over Illinois-Chicago, Chicago State, William & Mary, Duquesne, Depaul, Illinois, Purdue, Binghamton, Jacksonville and Coppin State. The losses are to Radford, Oklahoma and UCLA (the same UCLA that just fired Steve Alford for being terrible).

Notre Dame is going to face a tough road in the ACC this season as they enter with several significant season ending injuries and a transfer. Most notably, the Fighting Irish lost Senior guard Rex Pflueger to a torn ACL in their game against Purdue. Pflueger was third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and first in assists. The Irish also lost Robby Carmody, a Freshman guard expected to contribute greatly off the bench. He picked up a shoulder injury in their fourth game and is using a redshirt this year to recover. Elijah Burns, a captain of the team, announced in November his intention to seek a graduate transfer after his December graduation and has left the program. Burns impact statistically was not significant but his experience and leadership off the bench were a much bigger impact on this team.

That said, the Hokies have no new news on Nolley or Clarke and its yet to be seen how Nickiel Alexander-Walker will do on his ankle that had him sit out against UMES. It appeared he would have been a full go if needed but now the spotlight will be on it so hopefully its a non-issue.

#FREENOLLEY

Defensively, the Fighting Irish are a very situationally based defensive team. This means against Tech we may see man to man and probably some high perimeter zone with defensive players switching off over or under screens to prevent quick penetration by the Hokies guards while also challenging the Hokies from getting open shots on the perimeter. The other aspect that we may see a lot of is to double team in the post to prevent easy access to the rim and force a good perimeter pass. If the Fighting Irish tries utilizing the post double team, expect to see NAW take the interior pass at the free throw line and then force Notre Dame to decide how to approach him.

Offensively, Notre Dame runs a four out, one in motion offense very similar to the Hokies. They don't rely on significant size on the floor much like the Hokies as well. They have been forced to an even smaller bench with season ending injuries and a transfer. The Irish shoot almost 26 three point attempts per game, hitting on 9 of them. This means the Irish find almost 27 points a game from behind the perimeter. The Hokies will have to be able to close out on the perimeter to keep the Irish hitting at or below their usual 34% from outside. The Fighting Irish get 16 points on 22 attempts at the free throw line this season where as a team they are shooting 75% on the season. They are averaging only 34 points inside the arc so far this season.

Fighting Irish Backcourt

Temple Gibbs, (#2), 6'3, 200 Lbs Junior Guard has been thrust into the role of floor leader for the Irish this season between injuries and graduation. He went almost ten games averaging right at 40 minutes a game but has had a few games to recover and will likely bring fresh legs to this contest. He is averaging 14.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 3.8 APG. He is knocking down the outside shot at 34% and 73% from the line which is significantly worse than last season where he was over 40% from outside and 83% from the line. He is the only Irish player averaging a steal per game now that Pflueger is done for the season.

D.J. Harvey, (#5) 6'6, 220 Lbs, Sophomore Guard moved to starter this year but is now being counted on to provide much more with the injury to Rex Pflueger. He is putting up 11.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1 APG. He is shooting 36% from outside and 78% from the line.

Prentiss Hubb, (#3) 6'3, 167 Lbs, Freshman Guard is averaging 6.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 3.3 APG has picked up much of the ball distribution that Pflueger had been relied on before. Hubb is getting over 30 MPG as a freshman and is shooting 38% inside, 22% outside, and 60% from the line. Not sure why he is getting so much play at this point unless Brey just feels its only a matter of time before he shines.

Dane Goodwin, (#23) 6'6, 203 Lbs Freshman Guard is the Irish sixth man, but contributes more than some starters in averaging 7.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1 APG. Goodwin is only getting 20 MPG off the bench but is shooting 52% inside, 32% outside and 77% from the line.

Fighting Irish Frontcourt

John Mooney, (#33), 6'9, 245 Lbs Junior Forward is now playing a leading role for the Irish. He is averaging 12.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1 APG. He is shooting 56% inside, an impressive 45% outside on 2.4 attempts per game and is hitting 80% of his free throws. He doesn't get in much foul trouble but still only is averaging 24 minutes per contest.

Nate Laszewski (#14) 6'10, 200 Lbs, Freshman Forward, is averaging 6.7 PPG and 4.2 RPG. He is hitting 59% of his interior shots, 42% of his perimeter shots on 3.2 attempts per contest, and 83% of his free throws. He is averaging 16 minutes per contest so far.

Juwan Durham (#11) 6'11, 207 Lbs Junior Forward, is averaging 7.1 PPG and 4.5 RPG after sitting out last season on a transfer from UConn. Durham is also averaging an amazing 3.3 BPG. He is hitting 62% inside, doesn't shoot from the perimeter and hits 65% of his free throws. He is managing all this in just over 14 minutes per contest.

What to expect from Notre Dame?

The Irish are still trying to find their way after the loss of Rex Pflueger for the season. It took a massive end of game comeback for the Fighting Irish to get a victory over winless Coppin State on Saturday. They won 63-56 but it was much closer than that. Notre Dame led by 2 at the half, trailed by as many as 8 over a ten minute part of the second half and only managed to separate after back to back three balls went in for them with five minutes remaining.

Notre Dame relies much more on the one Power Forward spot on the floor this season than in most seasons in the past. Three bigs combine for about 54 minutes, and put in 26.6 points of Notre Dames 77 points per game. They are surprisingly adept from the perimeter which could prove difficult as we all know what happens when Blackshear is required to cover the perimeter. Right now, their bigs are managing to hit about 3 three's per game.

The "bench players" contribute greatly, because much like Buzz does in certain instances, Brey this season is holding out a couple of his better shooters and overall defensive players until the first media timeout and then getting them in to disrupt the flow of the game for opponents.

2-3 High Zone defense for most of the game and Tech may even see some Diamond and One to keep Mike Brey has already discussed with the press that he intends to focus on the Hokies outside shooters because it drives the Hokies offense. They will attempt to disrupt passing lanes at the top of the key but will collapse into clog the lane with penetration. With this they are hoping to make Tech make mistakes with the ball as they deal with a lot of bodies inside.

The Hokies

Tech needs to keep a high paced tempo for as long as they can to start the game. It will be critical that Nickiel Alexander-Walker is healthy and able to break the zone at the top of the key. This will help with creating open shots and also getting NAW on a big that doesn't have the agility to match. Neither team gets in much foul trouble so any major differential at the free throw line could be a deciding factor.

Blackshear scoring versus fouling needs to be a positive on the score sheet for the Hokies but there are tell-tale signs that this could be one of those Blackshear in foul trouble early. Fortunately, Horne even against bigger competition has shown some offensive prowess in the last few weeks so that could be an important contribution in this game.

Not sure what to make of the rebounding differential between the two teams this season. Notre Dame is averaging almost 8 more rebounds per contest than the Hokies but total baskets made is much lower in Notre Dame games this season than Hokies with Notre Dame shooting 42% and opponents shooting 40% while the Hokies are hitting 52% while opponents hit 39% of their shots. It seems to cancel out but I would definitely say the edge lays with the Fighting Irish so critical that the Hokies limit second chance opportunities.

Hitting perimeter shots will be another key factor. Buzz needs NAW and Robinson to create openings for clean looks from Hill and Outlaw. Right now the Hokies rely on the perimeter for 11 baskets to Notre Dame's 9. Neither team can afford much of a drop off in that production.

In Closing

Expect to see a faster paced game than the Irish would like but maybe not as fast as Buzz would prefer this evening. Hopefully Virginia Tech fans are recovered enough from football and New Year's to make a big impact in the stands for this game. Its sold out but that doesn't always mean SOLD OUT unfortunately.

If for any reason NAW is not able to play, this game becomes much tighter as the Hokies will struggle to break the zone. There could be quite a bit of Blackshear and Horne on the floor together if NAW is not able to go, allowing Horne to play the top of the key against the zone.

These games have been fairly close and always have some critical physical moments. The Hokies need to keep their heads and worry about playing their game. They are the much more talented team this season and it should show. I expect Bede to play an important role in covering the athletic D.J. Harvey

Tech wins 83-75, with each team reaching about its normal output and the Hokies by steadily pulling away with the outside shot and then making critical free throws down the stretch. Robinson will likely be the key to a successful finish in this one even with how quiet he has been in recent games.

Don't make long term decisions based on short term circumstances.#MondayMotivation #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/Z9mW5N7STq— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) December 31, 2018