ENTERTHESANDMAN
Buzz Williams had a great interview after the Ole Miss game. He talked about the work ethic and progress Virginia Tech Basketball has made. This should get you excited about the direction we're moving in.
[Mod Edit: Update video to original source (relevant portion 0:04 - 1:31) and embed.]
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: December 11, 2016 / Noon
Opponent: University of Mississippi
Site: Blacksburg, Va. (Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser and Mike Burnop
TV/Internet: ESPNU
Talent: Tom Werme & Jason Capel
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Nice to be on National Television, that said, if you are out watching this game, good luck fighting to keep it on for the second half once the NFL kicks off at 1.
Virginia Tech Athletics just released the following on Center Johnny Hamilton:
Virginia Tech men's basketball student-athlete Johnny Hamilton has suffered a rupture in the flexor tendon in his left thumb and will require season-ending surgery next week.
Hamilton has been experiencing discomfort in the thumb for several weeks. The injury did not improve, so he underwent an MRI on Thursday, Dec. 8, which revealed the rupture. The upcoming surgery will prevent him from returning to action this season.
IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatUMES Cassell Coliseum 8:30 PM ACC Network Extra pic.twitter.com/RAjIQhq5dz— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) December 7, 2016
Here is the week 5 top 25. VT is sitting with some decent votes at #31. Nice to see Buzz and the Boys (an awesome band name) on the edge of cracking a nice number by their name!
So I've wondered this for a while, but it seems that every site that does RPI calculations for basketball ends up with different rankings/values for every team. I thought that the RPI formula was a well-defined calculation? I could possibly understand a little variance, especially early in the season: initial ratings bias, whether or not all games played count (some teams might play games outside of D-I, which may or may not be counted), etc.
Brooksketball? has continued its winning pace after defeating Nebraska to move to 7-0. Down 39-29 at the half, the Hokies battled back to win by 9. Going into the game, the Hokies were #5 in RPI.
IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatUM Crisler Arena 7:15 PM ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/2dtV3jnsfF— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) November 30, 2016
The ACC needs to get back on the winning track. If the Big Ten wins it will be their third in a row. So far this season the ACC is 7-1 against the Big Ten, including 1-1 in the challenge. Tech helped add to that total with their most recent win over Nebraska. Another blessing for the ACC is that Boston College is sitting this one out, so the Big Ten doesn't get another gimme game there.
This season this is how the Challenge breaks down:
Games already played:
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 27, 2016 / 4 p.m. ET
Opponent: Nebraska
Site: Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Phil Brame
TV/Internet: ESPNU
Talent: Doug Sherman, Sean Farnham & Jeff Goodman
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 25, 2016 / 5:30 p.m. ET
Opponent: Texas A&M
Site: Fullerton, Calif. (Titan Gym)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: John Ramey
TV/Internet: ESPN2
Talent: Steve Quis, Adrian Branch & Jeff Goodman
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
I know its early in the season but UConn Men's basketball is on the verge of a 1-4 start in OOC play. They already have losses to #211 Wagner 67-58, #189 Northeastern 64-61, and #60 Oklahoma St 98-90. They managed to win over #209 Loyola Marymount 65-62.
They are now losing after halftime in a back and forth game to Division II Chaminade. If they cant manage to pull this game out, they will have started the year 1-4. Hard to picture a program that was National Champion two years ago and made it to the second round of the tournament last year being so unprepared this season.
I know they graduated several key players but these results seem to go beyond that. Wanted to see what everyone else thought about it?
Safely in SoCal and at the hotel. #Hokies begin play in @TheWoodenLegacy on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/zLY3MUHYjt— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) November 22, 2016
John Wooden
Buzzketball is headed to the west coast to play in the Wooden Legacy tournament over the Thanksgiving break. This Tournament honors the late John Wooden, who was a three time All American, leading Purdue to a National Championship as their point guard in 1932. Considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, he led UCLA to ten national championships over a twelve year period back in the late 60's and early 70's. He had an incredible 664-162 record as a head coach, an amazing .807 winning percentage.
Redshirt junior forward Austin Nichols (Collierville, Tenn.) has been dismissed from the Virginia men's basketball program, head coach Tony Bennett announced Friday (Nov. 18).
Nichols was previously suspended for the Cavaliers' two preseason scrimmages and the season opener at UNCG on Nov. 11.
"It's a privilege to be a part of this program and Austin has lost that privilege," Bennett said. "We have standards for our student-athletes and when those standards aren't met, there are consequences and this is the unfortunate consequence."
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: November 19, 2016 / 7 p.m.
Opponent: VMI
Site: Blacksburg, Va. (Cassell Coliseum)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Kevin Fitzgerald
TV/Internet: ACC Network EXTRA
Talent: Danny Nokes & Mack McCarthy
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
Hokies and Keydets meet in Cassell Coliseum: Tech and VMI renew rivalry on Saturday night at 7 p.m. https://t.co/GQ1Z10pGsO— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) November 18, 2016
IT'S GAMEDAY! #BeatHPU Cassell Coliseum 7 PM ACCNetwork Extrahttps://t.co/1kvpWgumJv pic.twitter.com/APKoARGqOO— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) November 15, 2016
Seniors Seth Allen and Zach LeDay check in at #52 and #71, respectively, in ESPN's initial Top 100 Player Ranking for the 2016-17 season.
Regarding Allen:
Last season, his first for the Hokies, the Maryland transfer averaged 14.7 points per game. He'll need to improve his perimeter shot and his decision-making, but he's a tough, quick guard and plays both ends of the floor.
Regarding LeDay:
LeDay was notably efficient as a scorer last season, and that was as the co-featured scorer (alongside Seth Allen) for the ACC's No. 13-ranked offense. With just about everyone returning in Blacksburg this season, the senior could have even more noteworthy performances in store.
In another bit of good news for the Men's Basketball program, the two recruits Buzz Williams had verbally committed signed their National Letter of Intent yesterday to officially become the next class of Hokies.
Nickeil, 6'5, 175 lbs is currently ranked #39 Overall and the #8 Shooting guard by 247Sports.
Wabissa 6'1, 180 lbs is currently ranked #71 Overall and the #16 Point guard by 247Sports.
Buzz should have at least one more scholarship available for this cycle so we will see what he chooses to do there.
What kind of lineup do we see from the Hokies? Can they brush off their scrimmage struggles?
Sorry to tease this but had to get it up early with my schedule this week.
