2021-22 Hokie Hoops Statistical Notes: Volume 2

The Men's Team
Four games, four 20+ point pastings. Yes, this wasn't exactly Murderer's Row, but this did feature a Navy team that knocked off a then top 25 UVA in Charlottesville. Even bad shooting halves, the Hokies had 40 and 50 point halves to make up for it, on their way to a 49.6% FG% (51st nationally) and 41% as a team from beyond the arc (39th nationally). Factor in a quality 78% FT% (48th nationally) and a suffocating 33.3% OppFG% (16th nationally) and 16% 3p% defense (1st nationally),

Scoring
Four Hokies rounded out this frame averaging double figures. Aluma led all with 14 ppg, and he is the only Hokie to have led the team in scoring on multiple occasions. His scoring was followed by Mutts and Alleyne both with 10.25, and Murphy with 10. In fact, the only member of the starting 5 not in double figures is Cattoor, who is still putting up a respectable 8.25. Close behind are Maddox and N'Guessan with 7.5 and 7.25 respectively. Big John is also averaging above 5 ppg, giving the Hokies a respectable 8 significant scorers at this stage of the season.

Now for a thought exercise most confusing. Who do you want to take a shot when you need a Hokie to take a shot? Yes, Aluma is our leading scorer, yes Alleyne and Cattoor have seemed to be primed for that hero-ball moment, but I thought to look and see who is getting the most points each time they put the ball in the air; meaning only counting points scored on baskets and and-ones. Topping that list for the Hokies is Maddox, averaging 1.58 points per shot, followed by Pedulla's 1.38, N'Guessan's 1.37, Cattoor's 1.26, and Murphy's 1.24.

Rebounding
Five different Hokies led the team in rebounds in each game, but give butts for Mutts, who finished this set of games leading the team with 6.5 per game. Cattoor follows with 5.5 per game

Assists
Leading the team in total assists is, surprisingly, Alleyne with 12, with Cattoor and Mutts both with 11 close behind. Overall best ATO margin is Pedulla at 4:1, while both Mutts and Cattoor can boast 11:4 margins.

Experience/Depth
When your closest win is by 20, I would have hoped for a little bit more playing time for the end of the bench. Cattoor saw the most action, averaging 31.25 minutes, followed by Alleyne at 30.5. The rest of the starters averaged in the 20s, with Murphy getting 28.75, Mutts getting 25.8, and Aluma getting 22.5. The Hokie bench did get solid minutes from N'Guessan (17), Maddox (16.75), Ojiako (10.3), and the parlay killing Pedulla (9.25). I'm going to have to go back and check previous iterations of this, but I don't remember having 9 players getting nearly double digit minutes per game over a volume of work.

Next Four
The Hokies will open this foursome with the Merrimack Warriors out of the Northeast Conference. The Warriors are currently 2-2 on the young season with wins on the road against NJIT and at home Div III Emerson College. Their losses have both come on the road against Rutgers and Army. They have not scored more than 61 against any Div 1 opponent, so far.

Then it's off to the NIT Season Tip-Off to face Memphis. The currently #11 Tigers represent yet another opportunity for CMYBall to knock off a highly ranked opponent early in the year at a neutral site. Memphis is 3-0 on the young season with wins over Tennessee Tech, North Carolina Central, and Saint Louis. They've averaged just shy of 90 ppg and have held opponents to under 65 ppg. Hokie fans will notice a familiar name on the Tigers roster; former Hokie Landers Nolley.

Iowa St/Xavier would be the next opponent for the Hokies. Both are undefeated as of this writing. Iowa State isn't putting up many points, failing to break 70 in two of their three games, while Xavier barely pulled out an opening night win against Niagara, but then beat #19 Ohio State.

Our formerly ACC brethren from just north of the Potomac round out this tetrarchy of games. Maryland is, at present 3-1 on the season with wins over Quinnipiac, George Washington, and Vermont. Their lone loss came at home in a close run thing against George Mason.

Prediction
I can see 3-1 or 4-0. Merrimack and Maryland should be easy wins. Memphis is the biggest threat of the group, and the consolation/championship game will also be a challenge, but we should be favored. If the Hokies reach Volume 3 of this series undefeated, with convincing wins, I will probably move them from fringe Sweet 16 to fringe Final Four.

The Women's Team
The Women's team is off to a roaring 4-0 start, obliterating their opponents by a combined score of 317-179. There were points in games where one Hokie was only behind by 1 against the entire other team in the fourth quarter; and where one team hadn't scored enough points midway through the 3rd quarter to pass any single quarter the Hokies had put up to that point. This series also included the extremely rare 100%-time-with-the-lead win over Coppin State after a technical foul allowed the Hokies to take a FT before the clock even started.

Scoring
Both Sheppard and Kitley have led the Hokies in scoring in this window (both twice), but the real key is that they have not been the only ones scoring for once.

Kitley leads all scorers with 19 ppg, followed by Sheppard, Traylor, and C. King - 16.5, 12, and 10.5 ppg, respectively. Four players averaging double figures is going to help your ball club out nicely. Throw in Lytle's 8 ppg, and you have a full lineup who is averaging at least a bucket a quarter.

Rebounding
In what should not come as a surprise to anybody, Kitley has led the Hokies in rebounding all four games, and is now sitting at 10.3 boards per game. She has more than double the rebounds of the next closest Hokie (Baines, 19), but at that window, there are five other Hokies who have averaged a rebound a quarter (Baines' 19, C King's 17, Sheppard's 17, Gregg's 16, and Lytle's 16). To put it mildly, the Hokies owned the glass against inferior competition.

Assists
I'm gonna break this down three ways: Most assists, Best ATO Margin overall, Best ATO Margin - at least 10 assists; and yes, there are three different answers here.

Most assists is Amoore's 29. Averaging 7.25 assists per game, and a very respectable 2.9:1 ATO margin.

Best ATO Margin overall is Kitley with an ATO of 9:2 through this juncture. She is leading the team in Scoring, Rebounding, and ATO margin.

Best ATO Margin - minimum 10 assists is Traylor, who posted a 10:3 ATO margin.

Experience/Depth
My only gripe is that Brooks seems to have played his starters way too long in these opening games, but that gripe is very minor, as nine Hokies netted significant minutes in this frame. Amoore led the way with 29.5 mpg, followed by Sheppard's 29, Kitley's 27.75, C King's 25, Traylor's 21.5, Lytle's 21, Baines' 17, Gregg's 11.25, and Geiman's 8.75.

Like I said, if I had a gripe, it was that there were 6 instances of a player passing 30 minutes during a single game - Sheppard 3x, Amoore 2x, and Kitley once. I do think it would have been feasible to use Gregg, Baines, Geiman, and S. King a little more, just to preserve those three a little bit more for the rigors of conference play. That's just my opinion, I could be(and most likely am, wrong)

Next Four
The Hokies continue their feast of futility against the Campbell Camels of the Big South Conference. Campbell is 2-1 on the season with a blistering 88.3 ppg, while only allowing 44 ppg. What's the catch? Both wins and 216 of those 265 came against Div III Pfeiffer University and NAIA St. Andrews University. Their lone foray into Div I so far was a 65-49 loss to Norfolk State. Cue Phyllis in Mulga. This is their first game on the road against a Division 1, High-Major, ranked opponent.

Then it will be off to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout against Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State, Daaaaaaa Bears have snagged wins against Little Rock and North Texas, but fell in a close match at Oklahoma State. They're not particularly prolific in scoring (57 ppg), but they don't give up much (50 ppg) in return

Not to be done on the island, the Hokies will then take on UT-Martin out of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Skyhawks are currently 2-2 with losses in their only High-Major matchups in which they failed to surpass 30 points in either game. They haven't cracked 65 in scoring either.

Ending this frame will be the annual ACC/B1G matchup. This year, a true road trip to Wisconsin is in the offing. The Badgers are currently 1-1 with a win against St. Thomas Minnesota (marking their inaugural game as a Division 1 member, making the jump from Div III) and a loss at home to the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Prediction
I really don't expect any of these four teams to get within 15 of the Hokies. 4-0 this grouping; 8-0 on the year.