HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: #19 Florida Atlantic University (4-1) vs Virginia Tech (5-1) 1PM ESPN
The Real MVP 👑🔥Don't get caught in a dance-off with Bodie Garnes! pic.twitter.com/CpLKvA67NX— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 25, 2023
Florida Atlantic University (4-1)
vs. Virginia Tech (4-1)
November 26, 2023
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Orlando, FL
1 p.m. ET
ESPN
Virginia Tech Sports Network
ESPN
Play-by-Play: Dave O'Brien
Analyst: Cory Alexander
Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop
Current Spread: Owls -3.5
Over/Under: -151.5
XXL dub‼️Playing for a 'ship on Sunday at 1PM 🦃🔥#StoneByStone pic.twitter.com/aSBP0EwKMj— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 25, 2023
Lets get the Ship
The Hokies play for the championship of the ESPN Events Invitational against Florida Atlantic University. The Hokies face the Owls after a 71-62 win over Iowa State.
The Florida Atlantic University Owls squad comes in 4-1 after winning Conference USA and then reaching the NCAA semifinal last season. This will be the fourth meeting between the Hokies and Florida Atlantic University. The Hokies are 3-0 with the last meeting a 79-35 win in 1994. The Hokies also beat FAU in 1992 and 1993.
The Owls are coached by Dusty May, who is in his sixth season at Florida Atlantic University. The Owls are 104-61 under May. This is his only head coaching job with assistant stops at Eastern Michigan, Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida. Florida Atlantic University has been to the postseason in three seasons under May, last year's magical NCAA run and two CBI appearances. The Owls also changed conferences since last season, moving to the American Athletic Conference. The Owls opened their season with wins over Loyola and Eastern Michigan but then took a head scratching loss to Bryant. Here at the ESPN Event Invitational, they advanced to the finals by beating Butler and then almost putting a hundred on Texas A&M in a 96-89 barnburner.
In a rare instance in college basketball, FAU did not have any players transfer in or out after last season. They added two freshmen guards in Devin Vanterpool and Jakel Powell. Neither freshman has played so far. The only other change was the graduation of Michael Forrest, a guard who averaged 8.2 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 1.6 Ast coming off the bench for 20mpg.
The Owls have seven players averaging more than 20 mpg and eight average more than 12 mpg. Injuries have forced starter Nick Boyd to miss the last two games along with reserve Forward Giancarlo Rosado. The starting five are Goldin, Davis, Weatherspoon, Greenlee and Boyd although if Boyd misses the game he is likely replaced by Alijah Martin. The bench is limited by injuries so really only Jalen Gaffney and Tre Carroll contribute.
May is a disciple of Bob Knight so defensively, FAU play a sagging man-to-man that shifts slightly based on the location of the ball on the floor. They look to deny access to the lane by sagging inside to prevent dribble penetration. This defense allows opponents to shoot 48% from the floor and 34% from outside but Butler and Texas A&M shot over 45% from outside. They have forced double digit turnovers in all five games and average three blocks per contest.
Offensively, the Owls rely heavily on motion to create offense. FAU will likely have four guards and one forward on the floor, especially if Rosado is unable to play. The biggest threat is the players moving that do not have the ball as the Owls use a variety of screens and shifts to get players open to receive lob passes underneath, none more so than 7'1 Forward Vladislav Goldin. Goldin leads the Owls in scoring and rebounding. They also have intricate rotations to create mismatches in the paint. This unselfish style of offense though is typically more successful against zone defenses which will not be what FAU sees today. In their lone loss, the Owls could not hit their shots, where they only managed 26% from the floor and 16% from the perimeter. Against Texas A&M they shot 53% from inside and out.
Owls Backcourt
Johnell Davis
1 JR G 6-4 185
14.2 Pts, 6.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Alijah Martin
15 JR G 6-2 185
11.6 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Brandon Weatherspoon
23 SR G 6-4 186
9.6 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Bryan Greenlee
4 SR G 6-0 190
8.2 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 4.0 Ast
Jalen Gaffney
12 SR G 6-3 185
6.8 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.8 Ast
Injured (Questionable) Upper Leg injury has missed last two games
Nick Boyd
2 JR G 6-3 170
10.7 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 3.3 Ast
Owls Frontcourt
Vladislav Goldin
50 JR F 7-1 240
14.8 Pts, 6.8 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Tre Carroll
25 JR F 6-7 227
4.0 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Injured (Questionable) missed last two games injury unknown
Giancarlo Rosado
3 JR F 6-8 239
9.0 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 2.0 Ast
What to expect from Florida Atlantic Universitys?
The Owls will look to move the ball and rely on all five players being able to take the open shot. Focus is on Vladislav Goldin, especially inside. Goldin does tend to get in foul trouble, averaging 3.4 fouls per contest. With the injury to Rosado, having Goldin in foul trouble could have a major impact on the lineup May is forced to use.
Johnell Davis, the second leading scorer, also struggles with foul problems. He averages 3.6 fouls per game. Having him off the floor takes away their top perimeter shooter. He is shooting 50% from outside and was six for nine against A&M.
One area defensively that is baffling is the low number of assists they allow. Opponents are only averaging around nine assists per game. Even the Aggies only had eight even though they put up 89 points. I am not sure if they just have had opponents that play hero ball or if they really are that good at denying the pass to an open look.
Rebounding has not been a consistent advantage for the Owls. They dominated Eastern Michigan and finished with a significant advantage over Butler but Bryant had a slight edge and the Aggies had an almost two to one advantage.
The biggest concern is a confluence of FAU hitting their perimeter shots while the Hokies allow open looks from outside. If the Hokies let FAU mirror their 16 for 30 performance against the Aggies then it could be a long afternoon.
The Hokies
Hunter Cattoor continued to impress his hometown by knocking down three more threes while also going 7-8 at the line. Pedulla again dropped five threes on his way to a seventeen-point night while also dishing out six assists. The Hokies come into this contest averaging 17.7 assists per game so something will have to give between the Hokies and Owls in this regard. I think this goes more the Hokies way due to FAU trying to deny the paint leaving them vulnerable to open outside shots.
BOOM‼️📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/hqz9iquUic— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 25, 2023
The Hokies shrugged off the slow start of their first game and came out much more balanced against the Cyclones, slowly building a lead that they rarely relinquished. They will need exactly this type of consistent effort to be successful against the Owls.
Can MJ Collins find his shot? I have been fairly vocal in my displeasure with Collins shot selection and tendencies, but Coach Young seems to accept this based on the other things Collins contributes. He had 4 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. I will give him his defensive tenacity but he is very Wabissa Bede on the other end. His energy on display here is infectious
M😤😤D ‼️‼️HOW BOUT THEM HOKIES?! pic.twitter.com/x5xeyAhLAU— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 25, 2023
Lynn Kidd had a "quiet" thirteen points and four rebounds. Tyler Nickel again provided double digit scoring and Coach Young continued to give him minutes over Beran. Kidd will need a much better afternoon on the boards to keep Goldin from getting easy put backs. This matchup may be the most important of the game as neither player has matched up against a similar quality opponent this season. If Kidd can get Goldin in early foul trouble it creates a great opportunity to build a lead with him off the floor.
Long and Beran put up 8 points in 4 minutes. Seems that this is going to be the norm for this duo.
Congrats @CattoorHunter for being etched into the record books. Big time achievement!! 👌🏽🦃— Justin Robinson (@5Alive_) November 25, 2023
In Closing
The Hokies seem to have two advantages here in that the Owls allow teams a high percentage on perimeter shooting and the Hokies are the best passing team the Owls will have faced. The Owls style of sagging to protect the lane actually works against them here as the Hokies do not attempt consistent dribble penetration in favor of finding the open shooter.
Two similar areas work to the Owls advantage in that they also can get hot if left open on the perimeter, which the Hokies have allowed too often and that the Hokies have had a weakness of losing their man off ball on screening actions which opens up lob opportunities for the Owls to exploit.
Can the Hokies shut down the perimeter? Are the Hokies able to hit their outside shots? Neither team is strictly reliant on the outside but the difference here goes a long way to deciding this contest. Foul trouble for FAU is the other component that could tip this in the Hokies favor.
Comments
LETS GO GET THAT 6 FOR 6 THANKSGIVING WEEKEND FAM FAM FAM FAM FAM FAM!
5 FAM's outta 6 ain't bad?
I'm here again, hoping to see another W!
LET'S GO!!!
Can you send me an email at: cmahler-at-potterarchitects-dot-com? I have a Disney question for you......thanks.
Email sent
Gametime...
LETS GO.
HOKIES!!!
Is the game on ESPN? It says it is supposed to be but it is just guys talking and no game...
tip-off upcoming!
CMY still starting Collins instead of Nickel 🤔
First possession first lob into post for a bucket...got to be able to deny that pass better
Broad side of barn marked SAFE during Collins shooting
Need Kidd to do just that often today
Really wish Pedulla would just take that up hard.
Early foul doesn't help, can't risk it
He had inside position. Guard was trailing him
Playing pretty good defense so far, offense needs to find its groove
4 turnovers and 0 assist so far. not good.
Defense losing off ball movement has given them three buckets so far. Guess Rosado was healthy enough to go.
Rechsteiner will need to learn, and he will, that defenses are faster and longer at this level.
Six misses inside three feet for Hokies...no bueno
Seven
Why we not driving then kicking for the 3? Seems open often
Honestly, down 1 at the 4 minute mark, I'm happy. I expected to get run out.
And we haven't made a 3 yet....when they start falling....look out!
Christ we can't make an easy bucket today, defense has been good enough
Yep points inside three feet the big difference so far
Plus the o-fer for beyond the arc.
Felt so many times like guys were playing hero ball trying to dribble between 3 defenders down low and then get a shot up instead of finding the open man that those two extra defenders came off of.
Yes FAU definitely showing how they limit teams to 9 assists per game
Wow terrible end to the half after looking decent early on defense and ice cold on offense
Gotta have that patented 3+ minute scoring drought.
Only down 8 after the way that half ended is better than it could have been
Yah Hunter makes two of those open threes and it's a different ball game. Team has played from behind plenty this season let's just hope they fall second half and I like our chances
Rebounds are equal. Gotta start making shots.
We are getting open looks, just not making them. Defense is good enough to win, just need to make our shots.
Loved the dunk by Hunter though!
Collins plz stop shooting bro I beg of you
Pedulla plz make like a single pass at the half court offense before launching
GOD DAMBIT PEDULLA READ MY TKP COMENTS PLZZZZZ
That one handed floater with splayed feet are my biggest complaint about Collins. Just awful.
MJ Collins is:
7-40 from THE FIELD (not 3) - THIS YEAR.
No creation outside of Pedulla. When we play real teams (FAU, Auburn, etc) it's going to look a lot like this. This team just isn't built to compete with the big boys (AT ALL).
Brutal roster construction.
5-13 versus 0-8.
Just getting taken apart by a legit tourney team.
I think we are seeing where our realistic ceiling is this year.
Young needs to give the younger players some PT and figure out where they are and whether they can be contributors in the future.
Don't feel like we're not as competitive as this team. We just went ice cold for 1/2 of play and looked like we started panic shooting instead of running an offense. Don't think what we've seen so far has shown we can't compete where as FAU is super deep and experienced and retained their whole team from last year
***to add, FAU had a cold shooting day and lost to Bryant. At least this loss comes against a ranked final four team
Problem is we have no identity or Plan B if the 3 isn't going.
Teams that have good perimeter defenders are going to handle us.
Yah you would think the plan would be to manufacturer shots for the most productive shooters until you find the hot hand. In to out to nickel or out to in to Kidd/poteat. Golden seems to foul easy down low but we stopped going at home with Kidd real early when Kidd went cold. Poteat did a good job but then got pulled and now we're just spotting up with the same people that have been cold all day. Try young, try nickel, find the mf hot hand when Cattoor is down
We just forget to run an offense sometimes the last 2 seasons and it makes no sense
You can't run an offense every time down the floor. You need guys to create for themselves and each other- and Tech just simply does not have that. You can't run a play every possession. It's basketball.
Rice would have been THAT guy- to play and create along side Pedulla.
This team lacks that, and this is the result- and will continue to be the result - as long as we do not have the players on this roster.
Just making basic basketball mistakes every trip
Not play out of control and force everything: difficulty level impossible
Ok cattor, let's get nickel a shot from three it's clearly not your day babes
Magnet in the ball? Never seen so many shots hit the rim three or more times before falling in.
Welcome to CMY basketball, FAm. We are a middling ACC squad who will usually be just on the outside looking in, barring a miracle run in the ACC Tourney. CMY has recruited well, but hasn't been able to keep his roster together year over year, and his system is so dang rigid that there's zero creativity from the players.
If a team shuts down our 3 pt game we will get run out of the gym... And we might lose by 40 today...
I love Mike Young, but he isn't a P5 coach.
Additionally, MJ Collins should not be getting playing time.
FACTS.
Playing with 2 non shooters on the floor rn, down a million.....why mike
WIDE OPEN OVER AND OVER AND OVER
0 for 14....
15
Hard game to watch. Offensive is terrible but defense is soft too
Can we get Patrick Wessler?
Spoke it into reality
TKP columnists should just do their paid write ups on the women's team this year
Neither of us doing these game writeups are on staff for TKP
And I'm not even a basketball guru. I'm just a retired engineer who can scrape data into an excel flle and upload it through Imgur.
Collins might have just blown out his knee
Non contact, didn't look good
Watching us get absolutely pasted like this, what is our expectation on where Young takes this program, because we really shouldn't be losing like this in his what, 5th year?
If we want to be Wofford 2.0 in the ACC - we have the right man! One "get hot from 3" run in the ACC tourney apparently gets you a lifetime of "he's the right man for the job".
If you think this game is bad wait till you see what Auburn does to us.
Rech breaks it
Need three hands to point the finger at the bad
Yikes
The good: We finished 2nd (first loser) in a made for TV tournament.
The bad: 14 turnovers (way too many). 61.5% FT (should be 70+), out rebounded 40-29 (ouch).
The ugly: 2 for 17 from three (11.8 percent). 34 point beat-down (that points to more problems than not shooting well).
Yeah, defense was pretty bad too, at times.
Second half they were "trying" for offensive rebounds and didn't get set on defense. Led to at least ten odd or outnumbered matchups.
I feel like this is a good time to remind everyone that we curb-stomped UVA yesterday.
Now that makes everything feel a little better, doesn't it?
I'm just going to forget this one.
Let's remember, it was 24-25 and we had three different opportunities to take the lead. Shots weren't falling. We were essentially 0/15 from three before 2 garbage time ones. That just will never happen. Then missed shots -> runouts -> points -> forcing the ball ->all over again.
I really didn't like how they let the adversity of shots not falling rattle them, but to be fair they played on their heels forever because they could never get set.
Like I said, forgetting this one.