MBB: Virginia Tech (II) Pre-Game Thread

[duketaylor]

in both the conference and NCAA tournies. Kinda scary to think Duke could have a higher NCAA seeding than it's conference tournament, but it is possible. Let's continue our recent good play and win a tough one in B'burg.
And Nolan, get well.

[ChemGod]

I am curious to see if we can plug the holes in our D. We do a LOT of things very well (take the charge, ball pressure, etc.), but have been miserable against penetration off the dribble. This is a fatal flaw that we need to fix if we have a prayer of going anywhere in the NCAAs.

VT does now have a Ty Lawson who is lightning fast and killed us off the bounce. This might be a good chance to K to tighen the sails a bit in terms of penetration defense...I imagine this is on his mind. We gonna need it sooner rather than later!

[longtimefan]

I expect V-tech to try to pack the middle on d to make duke hit the outside shot.when it fails Williams and Henderson should have a field day.i think on d if duke can lock down vassallo and slow delaney they will be ok. since its in blacksburg im betting it will be a rougher than usual game.

[-bdbd]

I am a big believer in motivation playing a huge role in these tough games. I am worried that VPI is feeling its back up against a wall, still on the bubble. We will most certainly get every ounce of effort they can muster. Certainly the crowd will be raucus.

Does nobody think the Smith absence will have an impact? It really hurts our PG/speed depth and defense on the ball. A lot flows from there. Foul trouble to our guards is a real danger.

I think this is our key game of the final four reg season games. A loss at UNC would not significantly hurt our seedings, but one to VPI would.

Gotta keep Email and Paulus out of foul trouble in this one...


-BDBD

[Uncle Drew]

It is very puzzling this thread is getting no play. This is yet another huge ACC road game. Win and it's exhilarating and encouraging, lose and we're 'knocked back' yet again. This is an extremely tough VaTech team that is fighting for their lives to get into the tournament and they have always played us well. Remember these guys did just beat Clemson in Littlejohn.

I would absolutely love for us to be at 10 ACC wins with two games to go. Here's to hoping that occurs.

Jeff Allen is an absolute load. We may have issues matching up with him. He could very well fill out the box score with another double-double in this one. I would like to see us drive and attack like we did vs. the terps. Hopefully we can open things up for shooters and force them into foul issues. And ofcourse I would love to see some defense come through in this one.

I think the reason some of us aren't adding their two cents worth is we honestly don't know what to expect. A road game against a more than capable ACC foe that like Maryland views us as a chief rival. It seems the VT games are always physical which I've never cared for but other posters seem to think will help us with a lack of whistles in the NCAAT. We don't think Nolan will play, and the way Coach K has been using players like a chess match we aren't positive who will start or play the most minutes. We know they will be hungry but Duke needs the win for their own positioning as well. I haven't seen the sports line, I haven't read any previews. So like a lot of people I plan to watch and see what happens. If we win fantastic if we lose it's not the end of the world or last game of the season. Yes it's an important game, but so in every game from here on out.

[quickgtp]

Yes this is a huge game, but I think we will do just fine as long as Email doesn't get into foul trouble guarding Delaney.

Duke 79
Va Tech 74

Get better Nolan, we need you back!

[CDu]

VT is a dangerous but inconsistent team. They have three very good scorers in Delaney, Vassallo, and Allen. Delaney is a Teague-type of player on offense - can beat you off the dribble or bury the three. Vassallo is a dangerous shooter with good size. Allen is a gifted post scorer who's improve his perimeter game and ability off the dribble to the point that he's a threat from anywhere.

The problem is that that is literally ALL they have offensively. Nobody else scores even five points per game. Only one other player even shoots 25% on threes or above 65% on free throws. They have a small but quick guard in Thorns who can get into the lane, they have a big guard who is mediocre across the board, and then they have a bunch of 6'6"-6'9" bangers that are asked to play "defense", rebound, hustle, and occasionally get points on putbacks.

Aside from the obvious keys (contain Delaney, Vassallo, and Allen), a big key will be how much physicality the refs allow. VT thrives on banging. They have good athletes with good size but no skill. If they can bang, they can hang.

Williams will get the task of guarding Delaney. Henderson, Scheyer, and McClure will get the task of guarding Vassallo. Singler, Thomas, McClure, and maybe Henderson will get the task of guarding Allen. Whoever is not guarding these guys will need to be very alert on the defensive glass, as Thompson, Diakite, Davila, Bell, and Wicher will crash.

Obviously, we should win. But VT is very dangerous, will be playing with purpose and emotion, and has a real home-court advantage.

[Sixthman]

Yes this is a huge game, but I think we will do just fine as long as Email doesn't get into foul trouble guarding Delaney.

i think we will miss Nolan Smith, and that his unavailability may have a ripple effect across the team, even though he has had a mixed direct impact in recent games. I have imagined the thinking among our coaches in starting Williams might have been something like this. We went from Email getting zero minutes to starting him. Let's tell him to play as aggressively as he can -- don't try to foul, but don't worry about fouls. If Williams has to sit because of foul trouble, were okay, we're just back with the rotation we had when he wasn't in it. It's a liberating, nothing to lose attitude, that has allowed Williams to be so effective. Arguably, that attitude is about to shift. The thinking now is, "Williams is the key piece of the puzzle who moves us to a higher level -- plus, with Smith out, we've got no perimeter speed to back him up." Is there a risk that Williams becomes cautious and reverts to early season Williams? I think maybe.

Potentially worse, where do we go if Williams gets in foul trouble? That's where the depth of this team comes in to play. With Smith out, there is not an option which leaves speed on the perimeter, but there are options which leave us dictating the game. I suspect we will see Dave McClure getting most of Smith's minutes and Lance Thomas playing a few more minutes as well. They will play even more if Williams is in foul trouble. Before his recent stomach problems, McClure was playing great basketball and his minutes were increasing. Defensively, McClure will have as big an impact as Williams. The problem, of course, is on offense, where Dave doesn't bring much scoring potential. Most teams have played off of Dave on offense, which has its pluses and minuses. He is a pretty fair ball handler, and they have often left him as an always available outlet, which is a good thing to have. What it does do, is make it tougher for everyone else to move and score, and, shorten the rotation otherwise, because two of the big three pretty much have to be in the game if Dave is on the court. A few times this season we have had a lineup something like Paulus, Thomas, McClure, Zoubek, and Henderson. Other teams with coaches will triple team Henderson against this lineup.

So, if we are unfortunate enough to face foul trouble for Williams today, it will be really interesting to see how we deal with it. I think we'll do great, because this team is mature, smart, deep, and becoming increasingly tough. I think they will play with an understanding of how important this game is. Let's face it, we are in the second game of a four game stretch that is tougher than the four games we will see on the way to the final four. It doesn't get any better than this.

[slower]

I think the reason some of us aren't adding their two cents worth is we honestly don't know what to expect.

Yes, this is the only thing that's absolutely true for every game we play. Nobody knows what to expect or what the final score or margin will be. Everybody may have an OPINION, but that's all it is. Every time I see somebody predicting a 20-30 point Duke blowout victory at home, I just cringe. Do not offend the karma gods!

[-jk]

Our games with VaTech have not been games; they've been brutal. So, again, my primary hope is we come out of Blacksburg without getting another significant injury.

A low bar, perhaps. And certainly a sad indictment of Seth Greenberg's program.

-jk

[moonpie23]

seth has been on the warpath since his first game at CIS to foster aggression against duke. He will undoubtedly tell his team that a win today will get them in the touny.

Duke will have to bring it today.

[whereinthehellami]

Here is the Techsideline preview for the game.

[diablesseblu]

seth has been on the warpath since his first game at CIS to foster aggression against duke. He will undoubtedly tell his team that a win today will get them in the touny.

Duke will have to bring it today.

Yeah,

Every time I see Swofford and those ACC sportsmanship commercials, I wonder if he ever discusses it with the ACC coaches...and a few ADs. Some of them seem to have "missed" the message.

Have never been to a game at VT. However, my last game at MD was in 1992 because of the crowd behavior. The PTB there could rein them in a bit and still have enthusiastic crowd support.

And I shudder to watch some teams who play Duke "aggressively". I sometimes feels they have a "if we can't beat them , we'll at least hurt them" attitude. (Have also seen that apparent ethos towards the Holes.)

Will watch the game listening to Bob (as always) but probably with one eye closed and breathing shallowly.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Jay just picked VT to upset us by 7 on College Game Day.

[gwwilburn]

Bilas does not seem to be acting very pro-Duke lately. We saw this at the MD game as well. Maybe ESPN's execs emphasize not touting your alma mater?

[DukePA]

Jay just picked VT to upset us by 7 on College Game Day.

Reverse psychology ?

Go Duke!!

GTHC, GTH

[77devil]

Jay just picked VT to upset us by 7 on College Game Day.

Jay ranked Duke 11 or 12 yesterday in the ESPN power rankings despite the strong wins against Wake and Maryland. Did he provide any basis for his prediction? I can't watch Game Day anymore. The subtle and not so at times negativity toward Duke is too much.

[Duvall]

Jay ranked Duke 11 or 12 yesterday in the ESPN power rankings despite the strong wins against Wake and Maryland. Did he provide any basis for his prediction? I can't watch Game Day anymore. The subtle and not so at times negativity toward Duke is too much.

Maybe he thinks Duke is the 11th-best team in the country. Far-fetched, I know.

[diablesseblu]

Bilas does not seem to be acting very pro-Duke lately. We saw this at the MD game as well. Maybe ESPN's execs emphasize not touting your alma mater?

Well....Stuart Scott must have been given a pass.

[gwwilburn]

Hmm. Well, i don't know what the cause of Bilas' anti-Dukeness is.
Anyways, I'm thinking Duke wins a tough, physical game, by under ten.