Game #2 in 24 hours... catch up on last nights 111-79 victory here! ⤵️#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/88qLlLXHaW— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 12, 2017
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 12, 2017 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: The Citadel
Site: Blacksburg, Virginia (Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ACC Network Extra
Talent: Andrew Allegretta & Mack McCarthy
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Who needs defense?
Buzzketball is back for its fourth edition and started off with a bang. A quick 32 point win over Detroit Mercy to start things off makes one think they could see something spectacular with The Citadel coming to town. This opponent defines the run n' gun offense like no other. This will be a game of spurts and a ton of perimeter shooting. Hopefully Tech comes out stronger in terms of opening the gap early on in this contest so we can all breathe easy in the second half. They have a sellout crowd lined up to support them.
"I want to say thank you to our season ticket holders, the students, and all that allowed a sell out in game number 1 ... Sunday night is a sellout too." - href="https://twitter.com/TeamCoachBuzz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamCoachBuzz See you there, #HokieNation... pic.twitter.com/i0Yl1fve15— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 11, 2017
I would expect a good local crowd especially after the opening win. The Citadel comes in to Cassell with a 1-0 record. They beat Division III Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels 109-73. They averaged the most points in the NCAA last season at 89.8 PPG. After their first game, there is no indication to think that will be very different this season. The problem for The Citadel is that they also gave up the most points in the NCAA last season at 94.6 PPG. That is also not likely to change. This will be the twenty first meeting between Tech and The Citadel. The Hokies are 18-2 all time with the series going all the way back to 1921, a 35-10 win for the Hokies. The Hokies game last season against The Citadel was a 113-71 affair.
The Bulldogs are coached by Duggar Baucom, who took over the program in 2015. Prior to the Citadel, Baucom was at VMI for ten seasons. Many Hokies fans will remember what those Duggar coached teams all had in common. Essentially, throw up as many three point shots as you can and hope for the best. Last season the Bulldogs finished a woeful 12-21 in Baucom's second year, making them 22-41 under Baucom so far.
One thing is evident when you look at the Bulldogs roster, Baucom is still in the process of remaking it to fit his style. Of the fourteen men listed, six are freshmen, only five of nine freshmen return as sophomores and three juniors, with no seniors on the roster. Regardless of the turnover, Baucom returns six of his top seven scorers from last season. The player rotation through one game seems much the same outside of the addition of talented freshman Kaiden Rice. The Hokies need to be able to take advantage of youth here. This is also one of the few teams this season the Hokies will hold a size advantage over with tallest Bulldog coming in at 6'8".
Defensively, the Bulldogs employ a multitude of looks to attempt to create a possession differential of more than +10, allowing their athleticism and versatility to develop defense to offense, using presses, high pressure man to man and wide zones looking to create turnovers. Albeit against a Division III opponent, the Bulldogs created 25 turnovers in their first game. The Hokies need to be careful with their long transition passes leading to fast breaks in the opposite direction.
Offensively, Baucom's system is known as "Loot and shoot", or get the steal/turnover and then get down court as fast as possible to locate a good shot. In terms of shooting outside, The Citadel went 21-47 in their first contest which equates to 44.7%. The Hokies need to be able to close out on the perimeter in this contest.
What does that mean for the Hokies?
The Hokies have to play their game and play better than they did against Detroit Mercy, at least the majority of the first half. This is one of those games that should be a laugher by halftime, where Buzz has a chance to try a few things before conference play and get some time for those bench guys that will not see the floor the majority of the season.
For the second game in a row, the Hokies need to focus their efforts critically on the defensive end in this game. Cut down on the Bulldog's perimeter shooting and you essentially end the game.
Just as scary as this guard rotation can be from the perimeter, they are just as deadly at getting to the line. They only managed six attempts and hit all of them in their first game but they were 1st in the Nation in makes and second in attempts last season. They hit 78% as a team. It accounted for 23.36 points at the charity stripe per contest.
The Hokies have the size advantage here so they need to be able to work the ball inside leading to easy baskets or running up the foul total on the Bulldogs.
This is a guard heavy offense typically so lots of ball movement is critical to its success. The Hokies need to find ways to disrupt the passing lanes and create turnovers. Preventing a shot from happening is a legitimate goal against a team that turned the ball over almost 18 times per game last season.
Bulldogs Backcourt
One thing to expect is to see a heavy rotation amongst the guards. Baucom likes to run his guys hard for short bursts and then get others in behind them. I would expect to see at least seven or eight players with at least fifteen minutes in this game.
Sophomore Preston Parks, #0, 6'1, 185 lbs in his first full season led the Bulldog's in scoring in averaging 17.5 PPG, 3 RPG, 3.9 APG and 2 SPG. He took up right where he left off, putting up 21 points with 7 rebounds in their first contest.
Junior Matt Frierson, #3, 6'1, 160 lbs, put up 18 in the first game while shooting 67% from the floor which is either an outlier or a major improvement over last year where he struggled to make shots.
Freshman Tariq Simmons, #4, 6', 180 lbs is the new point guard for the Bulldogs. He debuted with 15 points, 1 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in 22 minutes on the floor.
Sophomore Kaelon Harris, #23, 6'4, 225 lbs put up 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals in this return to action for the Bulldogs. Harris has a big body that he will use to penetrate the lane and work the boards for this smaller roster.
Bulldogs Frontcourt
Junior Forward Zane Najdawi, #35, 6'7, 205 lbs is the Bulldogs man down low. Najdawi led the team in scoring much of the year last season and likely will be a top scorer again this year. Blackshear and Horne will have their hands full down low. Najdawi also shot 85% from the line on almost eight attempts per game last season so not someone you want to put on the line.
Freshman Forward Kaiden Rice, #11, 6'6, 180 lbs will spell Najdawi in the paint. He managed to put up 12 points in his debut on only 13 minutes on the floor, so very efficient.
What to expect from The Citadel?
The Bulldogs play predominantly a half court aggressive man to man, while also employing double team traps, and other pressure plays to try to force turnovers. Regardless, opponents don't have a hard time scoring, they just have to make sure they score more than the Bulldogs.
This team embraces fairly balanced scoring as well as minutes on the floor because of the pace of play they like to run. Baucum regularly goes 8 to 10 deep, with no one player exceeding 25 minutes on the court. Ten Bulldogs averaged 5.9 PPG or higher last season, and so it is extremely difficult to focus on any one player. In their first game this year they had 8 players score at least 6 points.
The Hokies
In the rebounding game, the Hokies need to be ready to score transition baskets on defensive rebounds, as The Citadel focuses hard on getting offensive rebounds to try to extend possessions so they are slow to get back on defense when they do not get the ball. Expect Clarke, Hill and Alexander Walker to take full advantage of this to get quite a few easy buckets as they break to the basket ahead of the team.
Buzz must make sure this team is awake and ready for basketball especially if the crowd isn't there to support the Hokies. Closeout on the perimeter and make them beat you inside. They can't afford to let the Bulldogs hang around because this is not the team you want to go point for point with down the stretch.
Pretty common theme but extremely important with this opponent. Clean crisp passes, limiting turnovers, and hitting open shots are the keys to success for this team. Limiting their possessions and slowing their offense puts them out of sorts. I expect this game to be another 100+ point performance from the Hokies with at least 7 Hokies in double digits.
Highlight of the Detroit Mercy Game
Tonight's stats leaders ⤵️@TheReal_NAW1 » 2️⃣4️⃣ points@kjblack15 » 2️⃣3️⃣ points@MED_XIII » 9️⃣ rebounds pic.twitter.com/AgMXazuxjA— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 11, 2017
The Highlight reel gets started early and often in this one, with Robinson off the backboard to Clarke for the put away dunk, reminiscent of last season against Duke. That play was overshadowed though by the debut of Nickiel Alexander Walker, who poured in 24 points, 4 rebounds and an assist while hitting 4 of 7 shots from outside.
In Closing
Very similar rosters, although the Hokies have better size and overall talent. The groupings on the floor though should look the same with a ton of guards and one "big man" down low. The key to this game will be how the Hokies respond to runs on the board, especially if the crowd isn't there to support them.
Hokies must close out on perimeter shooters to make The Citadel earn their shots. No freebies or this will stay a close game throughout.
Hokies win. And Big. Tech comes out ready to play and puts up 130 points unless Buzz pulls the plug late, putting in the bench to close it out. Tech has too many scoring options this year to not run the Bulldogs right off the court.
We took a 'Road Game' Special Occassion 📸 tonight after practice since we had so many parents there.#REALLYcool pic.twitter.com/JcEQMZOiLp— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) November 12, 2017
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