Buzzketball Central: Virginia Tech Hokies (9-1) at #8 Kentucky Wildcats (8-1) 2pm DEC 16 ESPN2

IT'S GAMEDAY!🏀 #BeatUK📍 Rupp Arena🕑 2 PM EST📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/hNIDZobPbt— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 16, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 16, 2017 / 2 p.m.
Opponent: University of Kentucky
Site: Lexington, Kentucky (Rupp Arena)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV: ESPN2
Talent: Dan Shulman & Dick Vitale
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech

Top offensive efficiency » 🦃Top defensive efficiency » 🔵⚪️Us vs Them. Saturday. 2 PM.📰 » https://t.co/N8dVMkfFc1 pic.twitter.com/udalm7fBbx— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 15, 2017

Playing with the Bluest of Blue Bloods

Buzzketball now goes to Rupp Arena for what is arguably Tech's toughest Out of Conference opponent since Buzz William took over the progam. Let's hope that the Hokies are ready for prime time. The game likely comes down to how well the Hokies shoot from around the perimeter. Either way, this game break the Hokies season but it sure could be a big help if the Hokies end up a bubble team down the road.

The last time the #Hokies went to Lexington in December to face a ranked Kentucky??• Howard Pardue recorded 1⃣9⃣ points & 7⃣ boards• Tech shot nearly 5⃣0⃣%• 8⃣0⃣-7⃣7⃣ Hokie victory 👊 pic.twitter.com/kokI4U0fcD— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 15, 2017

The Kentucky Wildcats come in 8-1 on the year with an average margin of victory of 12.7 points. Their wins this season are against Utah Valley, Vermont, East Tennessee State, Troy, IPFW, Illinois-Chicago, Harvard, and Monmouth. Their only loss came against their only other P5 opponent so far this season in Kansas. This will be the fifth meeting between Tech and Kentucky. The Hokies are 1-3 all time, going back to 1924. The Hokies in those contests found a three point win in 1962 at Kentucky, and also a one point loss in New Orleans.

The Wildcats are coached by John Calipari, who took over the program in 2009. Calipari is 659-192 overall as a head coach and 256-54 at Kentucky. In his first season, he led the Wildcats to a 35-3 record and have broken the 30 win barrier in four out of eight previous seasons. They have played in the NCAA tournament each year other than 2012, which correlates to Calipari's worst season, finishing with 21 wins. This year is the second time in three years that Calipari has had to replace all five starters in the offseason, losing about 85% of his scoring production from last year. So far this season he has had to roll with a starting five of all freshmen. His top six scorers are freshmen. Only one sophomore gets more than 20 minutes per game on the floor. The scary part is that they are missing two more freshmen, a five star big and a four star guard, due to injury.

Defensively, Calipari would love to be able to rely on his team to play man to man but they haven't shown the cohesion necessary to do so, so he has relied on a 2-3 Zone much of this season so far. This defense though plays perfectly to one key area of strength for the Wildcats. Length, as the Wildcats rotation of players has seven guys with wingspans larger than seven feet. Quade Green is really the only starter that does not possess such a wingspan. This has allowed Kentucky to also focus on protecting the lane and inside the arc with blocks and adjusted shots. Kentucky has blocked 18.2% of its opponent's 2 point shots this season so far and are 18th in the country at blocking shots. One area the length has not really transferred is in steals or creating turnovers as they manage to turn opponents over just 13 times per game so far which rates 277th in the country.

Offensively, the Wildcats are as opposite of the Hokies as possible. They do like to get transition baskets but you won't find the Wildcats shooting from the perimeter very often, especially if Quade Green is not able to go. So far this season the Wildcats have taken 77.6% of their shots from inside the arc, which is the highest amongst Division I teams. They only attempt 13 shots outside the arc per contest. They do however make just over 70% of their shots around the rim. Combine that and their offensive rebounding at over 37% of opportunities, they tend to dominate opponents down low.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies have to play to their strength and hit their perimeter shots. Scoring from outside will be critical to competing in this contest. It likely will be even more focused because another area of scoring the Hokies usually rely on will likely be greatly diminished. That is scoring from the charity stripe. So far this season Kentucky opponents only average 17 trips to the line per contest. The Hokies average almost 22 made free throws per contest on 29 attempts. Only three Wildcats currently average more than 2.5 personal fouls per game.

The Hokies will need to find ways to provide help defense, even at the risk of letting perimeter shots go, to keep Blackshear and Horne upright in this game. Expect the Hokies to struggle giving up points down low but if they are forced to do so without their two "Bigs" than it could be pretty ugly.

This game may be the first time all season that Buzz shortens the bench, with guys like Bede and Jackson finding it hard to get much time on the court. I would not expect to see Fullard or Ammerman at all.

Tech will not be the first Kentucky opponent to focus their efforts on perimeter shooting. Opponents have shot 43% of their attempts from outside the arc against the Wildcats this season. Those shots are only going in at 30% though, so it will be a test to see which ends up closer to season average after this game. The Kentucky 30% or the Hokies 47%, which is 2nd in the nation. If the Hokies can hit better than 40% from outside in this game I like their chances.

Wildcats Backcourt

Quade Green, #0, 6', 180Lbs, Freshman that is dealing with an eye injury. He missed their last game against Monmouth but Coach Calipari detailed in his latest press conference that he had returned to practice this week and should play against the Hokies. He is averaging 10.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 3.6 APG. He shoots 57% from inside the arc, 45% from outside and 91% from the line.

Hamidou Diallo, #3, 6'5, 190 lbs Freshman is second on the team in scoring this season averaging 14.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.1 SPG. He is a terrible perimeter shooter so far this season, hitting just 31% of his shots but inside he is only shooting 50% from the field. Expect to see him drive to the basket most times as he only attempts 2 outside shots per contest. He hits 68% from the line.

Freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, #22, 6'6, 180 lbs would step in at the point if Green is unable to go. He is putting up 10.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.4 APG and 2.3 SPG. Gilgeous-Alexander is their best on ball defender and also the only other Wildcat that shoots better than 40% from outside other than Green. He shoots 53% inside and 85% from the line.

Beyond these three, the Wildcats are kind of scraping the barrel at Guard, which is where they miss the services of 4 Star Freshman Jemarl Baker, who had a medical procedure before the season and has yet to play. Calipari's son, Brad, #12, 6', 178 Lbs Sophomore is one of those guards way down the roster.

Wildcats Frontcourt

Kevin Knox, #5, 6'9, 215 lbs. Freshman Forward was a surprise commitment for Kentucky and there is no telling where they would be without him so far this season. He leads the team in scoring at 15.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.1 SPG while shooting 54% from inside. He shoots 33% from outside and takes more than twice as many attempts from outside as any teammate at 4.8 attempts per contest. He is shooting 69% from the line.

Freshman Forward PJ Washington, #25, 6'7, 236 lbs is the only starter not in double figures. Washington is putting up 9.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG while shooting 59% from inside. Washington has had foul troubles, averaging 2.9 per contest, so getting him to the bench early in the first half could be a goal for Buzz. One other area that Washington struggles is the free throw line, where he is shooting just 57%.

Freshman Forward Nick Richards, #4, 6'11, 240 Lbs, is averaging 8.8 PPG and 6.7 RPG, shooting inside at 66% and from the line at 77%

The Wildcats fall back on a trio of Sophomore forwards after the three Freshman above. They are Wenyen Gabriel, #32, 6'9, 213 Lbs, Sacha Killeya-Jones, #1, 6'10, 230, who has also been dealing with an injury that kept him out of the last game, and Tai Wien into foul trouble.

What to expect from Kentucky?

The Wildcats will be very closely monitoring their lineup card because of two recent injuries. Quade Green and Sacha Killeya-Jones both missed the last game against Monmouth but the report from Calipari today is that both are expected to play. If Green misses this game that has a huge impact. Killeya-Jones is not as big but still would be a factor.

Kentucky will work itself inside as often as possible, playing to their height advantage to get in close reliable baskets or get their own rebounds to put right back in. Kentucky is currently averaging 45 interior shots a game and 12 offensive rebounds.

Kentucky will look to slow the game down much like St Louis did to the Hokies in an attempt to limit opportunities. Right now the Hokies average five more attempts per game than Kentucky. That could be a critical difference in the final score.

The Hokies

The Hokies need to methodically hit their perimeter shots. Kentucky's defense inside may not be able to completely stop the Hokies from scoring at the rim but they will put a dent in it. The Hokies will rely on what they have excelled at by shooting the three.

The Hokies will need to make better passes, especially into the interior or across the perimeter due to the long arms of the defense. Making use of every possession will be critical especially with how many continued possessions Kentucky manages due to their offensive rebounding capabilities. On the season the Hokies actually have more rebounds total than Kentucky 380-371, but that is more an indication of the pace of play and the additional game played rather than skill. Per game averages are in favor of Kentucky 41.22 to 38.

May the force be with us... @starwars #Hokies🦃#BeatKentucky#TheLastJedi pic.twitter.com/RE7PNSjpgR— Hokies Basketball 🦃 (@Hokie_Hoops) December 13, 2017

Tough environment, high profile opponent that will likely have a chip on their shoulder since most places are showing the Hokies as slight favorites. The Hokies will need to remain calm in the face of all these pressures. One thing they can't afford to do is put their head down if Kentucky is able to go on a run, which is bound to happen at some point in this contest. They have to stay ahead of that stumbling block and play with tenacity to get things back on track.

Highlight of the UMES Game

We're shooting straight 🔥🔥🔥 this season• We lead the NCAA in scoring offense - 9⃣6⃣.2⃣ png• We're scoring at a 5⃣5⃣.3⃣% clip from the floor• Second in the nation from three-point range - 4⃣6⃣.8⃣% pic.twitter.com/05GTAQ3yNy— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 14, 2017

Highlight of the game goes to First Half Scoring. When is the last time you saw Tech have a 30+ point lead at the Half? The Hokies led 54-22 behind a strong half from Ahmed Hill, who had 11, as well as the perimeter shooting in general. The Hokies hit 11 triples in the first half alone.

In Closing

If Tech gets a big lead, expect to see Kentucky try to slow the pace exponentially. Slow interior play will benefit the Wildcats whereas open perimeter shooting obviously goes the Hokies way.

The Hokies will have to find ways to score inside to keep Kentucky honest. Justin Robinson and Nickiel Alexander-Walker will play a big role with their ability to get to the rim and get off undisturbed shots.

The height advantage could prove to be too much if the Hokies are not able to get out in transition. It could go like the Duke game last year, especially with how inexperienced this Kentucky team is and their lack of tough opponents so far. It could also go the way the Florida State game went last year on the road. I expect more like Duke from this squad than Florida State. Game comes down to the Hokies hitting free throws in the final couple minutes.

Hokies 91 – Wildcats 85

For your work to be significant, it has to be "Hearts & Minds"...not just "Hands & Feet"Toughness is in the soul & spirit, not in the muscles!— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) December 13, 2017