BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-13, 3-8) at #22 Virginia Tech Hokies (18-5, 7-4) 8PM Raycom Sports/ ESPN Ap

#GamedayGuide:🏀 vs. @GTMBB 📍 Cassell Coliseum 🕚 8PM ET📺 @ACCNetwork#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/cAns2t2Fog— Virginia Tech Basketball 🦃 (@Hokie_Hoops) February 13, 2019

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb 13th 8PM
Opponent: Georgia Tech
Site: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg VA
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: Raycom Sports/ ESPN app
Talent: Tim Brando & Dan Bonner

Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Sirius: 81 XM: 81 Internet: 81

Last Chance Calling

Buzzketball has struggled dramatically with Justin Robinson out of the lineup. A dearth of offense complicated by turnovers, poor shot selection, avoiding shots, and just overall focus have derailed a once promising season that apparently hinged on a big toe. Now it's a rematch with the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech, and the Hokies need to make sure they bring their focus to the game at hand as this may be one of the few remaining opportunities for the Hokies to find a win.

The Yellow Jackets have gone steadily downhill since facing the Hokies last, sitting at 3-8 in the conference with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse and Notre Dame. Their losses have come at the hands of the Hokies, Clemson, Louisville, Duke, UNC, Florida State, Clemson a second time and revenge loss by Notre Dame. Seven of their eight conference losses have come by double digits. The only loss that wasn't was the Hokies squeaking by with a 52-49 win.

This will be the 26th contest between these two teams, with the Hokies leading the series 19-6, including 5-0 under Buzz Williams.

The national writers have started to wake up to how impactful Justin Robinson's injury is:

This from Rob Dauster on Yahoo Sports, with the most telling statement his last.

2. THE MOST IMPORTANT INJURY IN THE COUNTRY IS JUSTIN ROBINSON'S

On January 30th, in a win over Miami, Virginia Tech point guard Justin Robinson suffered a foot injury that has since left him on the Hokie bench during games wearing a boot and, on Saturday, using crutches. This is the same player that was averaging 14.4 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 41.1 percent from three. This the guy that put 35 points and eight assists on Syracuse four days before he was hurt and had 17 points in 19 minutes when he went down against the Hurricanes.

And as of now, we don't really have an answer for his status. Buzz Williams has not been forthcoming with information about Robinson's status, either on the record or off the record. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the best NBA prospect on Virginia Tech's roster, but Robinson is their most important player, arguably their best defender and the guy that makes their offense run. In the three games that he's missed, Virginia Tech is 1-2 while averaging 54 points per game and just 0.931 points-per-possession. The one game they won came when N.C. State mustered just 24 points.

With Robinson, the Hokies are one of the best shooting teams in the country and among the nation's elite offensively. They are dangerous because of what they can do shooting the ball.

Without him, they are thoroughly average and do not have a point guard on the roster.

Georgia Tech is "Coached" by Josh Pastner who has managed to survive as rocky a tenure so far of just about any coach in basketball not named Rick Pitino. Pastner is in his third season with the Yellow Jackets, where he has led them to a 45-47 record with one trip to the NIT. His only previous head coaching stop was 7 seasons at Memphis, where he led them to a 167-73 record with five trips to the post season. That early success has not transferred to Georgia Tech with him. Early accusations, coaches forced to resign and other items have made it extremely hard for Pastner to recruit at Georgia Tech.

Defensively, Coach Pastner loves to use a pressure defense that forces opponents to use up shot clock to even advance to the half court. Once in the half court, the Yellow Jackets have used a variety of defenses, especially zone defense to confuse opponents so far this season. They will vary from a 1-3-1, to a 1-2-2 and also a more traditional 2-3 zone. Defensive pressure though is what they really focus on. They are top 30 in scoring defense, 3 Point % allowed, 2 Point % allowed, shooting percentage allowed and field goals allowed. This is a team that relies on its defense to make its offense go. Creating turnovers and limiting possessions is what keeps this team in games.

Offensively, Georgia Tech runs a constant motion offense but with more traditional size on the court than many of the 4 out, 1 in offenses the Hokies have seen recently. One thing Pastner does not like to hear is that his team is running, he insists his teams sprint, especially off the ball. They are not a prominent offensive team but playing slightly above average offense and exceptional defense is a good recipe for winning at this level. Prior to conference play, the Yellow Jackets were only averaging 18 attempts from outside, but in ACC play, with how they have struggled to stay in games, that number has dropped even further to 15 attempts per game. The Yellow Jackets have struggled all season, and are only shooting 28% from outside in conference play. They lean more towards transition scoring, and drives to the basket to create shots, where inside the perimeter as a team they are making 48% of their shots.

Yellow Jackets Backcourt

Jose Alvarado (#10) 6', 174 Lbs Sophomore Guard returns after a redshirt season due to injury to leads the Jackets in scoring and is averaging 11.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.9 SPG. He is shooting 28% from behind the arc and 38% overall. Alvarado is playing a team high 33 MPG.

Michael Devoe, (#0) 6'4, 188 Lbs Freshman Guard is the highest rated recruit that Pastner has brought in at #49 in last year's class. He comes in averaging 9.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.6 SPG. He is shooting 37% from outside and 43% from inside the perimeter. He is hitting 70% of his free throws as well.

Brandon Alston, (#4), 6'5, 195 Lbs is a graduate transfer from Lehigh University and is originally from Herndon, VA. He is giving the Jackets about 21 MPG while averaging 9.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.2 APG but has durability issues that limit his time on the floor for the Jackets. He has suffered a torn ACL in one event and a damaged MCL in another that have limited two seasons. He does shoot the ball well, shooting 38% from the perimeter, 48% inside, and 84% from the line, so the Jackets really wish they could keep him on the floor more.

Curtis Haywood II, (#13) 6'5, 198 Lbs, Sophomore Guard is averaging 6.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.3 SPG, shoots about 28% from outside and 59% inside and 76% from the free throw line.

Yellow Jackets Frontcourt

James Banks III, (#1), 6'10, 243 Lbs Junior Forward Transfer from Texas is averaging nearly a double-double with 10.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 2.5 BPG. He was approved for immediate playing by the NCAA rather than having to sit out a season. Banks is going to be difficult to deal with down low all game. Banks does not bother to shoot from outside but his interior scoring is at 55% while shooting 67% from the line.

Abdoulaye Gueye, (#34) 6'9, 208 Lbs Senior Forward, has seen his role increase dramatically in ACC play. He has nearly doubled his output compared to the Hokies last meeting. He is averaging over 25 MPG and comes in putting up 7.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1 APG, 0.7 SPG and 1.1 BPG. He is shooting 52% from the field, and only 62% from the line.

Moses Wright (#5), 6'9, 210 Lbs, Sophomore Forward is averaging 4.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1 APG is shooting 43% from the field and a dreadful 47% from the free throw line.

Evan Cole (#3), 6'9, 211 Lbs. Sophomore Forward, has only managed to play in parts of sixteen games so far this season due to an ankle injury. This has given rise to Freshman Forward Khalid Moore (#12) 6'6, 200 Lbs getting more playing time this season. They have combined for 9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1 SPG, and 1 BPG so far this season.

Sophomore Forward Jordan Usher either was ruled to have to sit out this semester or the decision was made to redshirt him this semester after coming in on transfer from USC. Usher was averaging 8.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 1 APG for the Trojans over 12 game before shutting down last semester.

What to expect from Georgia Tech?

The Yellow Jackets were a very disciplined team prior to conference play. ACC play has seen a dramatic rise in the number of fouls, turnovers and shooting opportunities for opponents Georgia Tech has allowed. Expect high energy with frenetic defensive intensity but it has not translated well in conference play.

Offensively, Georgia Tech is last in the conference in scoring, at 58.6 PPG. They are allowing opponents 67.1 PPG. Based on this expect to see the Jackets move with or without the ball, especially around the perimeter on offense and work to slow things down on defense. Pastner is a big fan of pick and rolls, and a high assist to basket ratio. This is still a work in progress with this team so the Hokies need to take advantage of this inexperience to force mistakes and change the possession game.

The Yellow Jackets rely on a rotation essentially of eight, with their starting five plus two bigs and one guard off the bench. Expect them to feed the ball down low to Banks and allow him to work with his back to the basket. Banks on Blackshear will be the matchup to watch most of the evening if Blackshear can stay on the floor.

Expect to see Georgia Tech switch defenses several times. I expect to see a 1-3-1 zone to start with unless the Hokies begin hitting perimeter shots. If the Hokies are hitting their shots than the Yellow Jackets will likely switch to a man to man defense or a high 2-3 perimeter zone.

The Hokies

The Hokies need to determine early what going inside is going to be like. The Jackets come in 10th in the country in blocked shots per game at 5.5. If the Hokies are not able to get the Jackets bigs off the blocks than they will need to focus on finding offense through their mid floor or perimeter shooting.

This is another heavy dose of zone defense, which poses a major problem with Robinson out. Nickiel Alexander Walker now will not be available to spend a majority of his time on the high post, forcing the Jackets zone to account for Blackshear on the blocks. This would collapse the zone inwards, allowing good open looks outside but Bede has not shown the ability to get the ball into the high post when he is controlling the ball at the top of the key.

That said, someone else will need to assume this role, likely Outlaw. The problem with that is it forces Outlaw off the perimeter passing rotation, which is where he contributes most of his offense. The one X-Factor that has shown he is able to help in this area is the freshman, Isaiah Watkins, on receiving the pass at the top of the key and distributing to Blackshear. If he can manage to come in and help with that, then it would greatly improve the Hokies offensive flow against Georgia Tech. It would also allow Outlaw to remain outside, giving him the chance at open looks to knock down his patented threes.

I would expect a slow ugly mucked up game throughout with both teams struggling offensively to find an identity. The Hokies really need to emerge from this confusion they have let settle in since Robinson's injury. This game needs to be a game of answers, not more questions. If they can find even a semblance of offense this game is a blowout. Last time out against Georgia Tech, the Hokies shot 29.8% from the floor, and an even worse 18.5% from the perimeter on 5-27 shooting. They have managed significantly better in the last two losses so hopefully they find a way to get the ball in the basket at even a mediocre rate.

Tech should aim to keep this game as high paced as possible because it is when this offense is at its most effective. They need to take advantage of transition basketball but not out of control. The bad, rushed passes after defensive stops have to be limited to allow the Hokies to build a solid lead in this contest.

Tech needs to be ready to utilize the baseline and the dribble drive pass to keep the ball in an open Hokies hands. Don't succumb to allowing the Jackets to clog the lane and then block shots over the top. NAW and Hill need to drive and draw contact without allowing the Jacket bigs to get their hands on the ball. Hill is shooting 85% from the free throw line so getting inside and getting shots or to the line is high percentage. NAW is only hitting 77% but if he shields the ball away and gets the bodies into these Bigs down low it could have a major impact on this game.

In Closing

The Yellow Jackets want a slugfest, especially with how many blowouts they have suffered in conference play. They are coming into Cassell having lost five straight, by a combined 79 points. They have only played in two conference games so far that were decided by less than ten points, but the Hokies represent half of that number.

The most critical thing for Tech in this game is energy from the start. Tech has to be in this game mentally right from the start. They should have a decent home crowd supporting them and have won 11 of 12 contests in Cassell so far this season.

This is a game that talent wise the Hokies should be able to run away with it. That's if they come to play 40 full minutes of basketball the way they are capable of even with Horne and Robinson out.

The pace of play and the ability to convert shots will determine this game. If the Hokies succumb to tired legs and allow this game to grind to a slug race, then all the advantages lean the Yellow Jackets way. If they can manage to keep the pace up-tempo and actually hit a decent amount of their shots than this game could be over before the legs become an issue late in the game. The Hokies have to find a way to win this game because the schedule does not treat them nicely without Robinson after this game. They will be on the road or facing a ranked opponent in five of their six remaining games.

Hokies find a way to grind out a win, 61-55.

To build great relationships you need to want more FOR people than you want FROM people.— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) February 6, 2019