Basketball
After sending Campbell packing with a 70-60 season opening win, the Hokies face a little different animal this Tuesday as they travel Manhattan, KS, to face 3rd ranked Kansas State. Will the Hokies be ready for the Octagon of Doom? Or should the question be is Kansas State ready for the Hokies?
| Malcolm Delaney | Jacob Pullen | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| MIN: | 35.7 | MIN: | 31.6 |
| PPG: | 20.2 | PPG: | 19.3 |
| AST: | 4.5 | AST: | 3.4 |
| TO: | 3.0 | TO: | 2.5 |
| REB: | 3.7 | REB: | 2.6 |
| STL: | 1.2 | STL: | 1.8 |
| 3P%: | .306 | 3P%: | .396 |
Kansas State comes into the season ranked 3rd in the nation in both the coaches and the AP poll after finishing last season with a 29-8 record (14-3 at home). The Wildcats, who reached the Elite Eight in 2010, are led by preseason consensus All-American guard Jacob Pullen. Pullen is the fuel that fires the K-State attack and he put up some impressive numbers last season. The senior guard knocked down 110 three-pointers last season. Know that Malcolm Delaney only knocked down 63 and think about what kind of a scoring threat he is for a second. 6-8 forward Curtis Kelly is projected to anchor the Wildcat’s frontcourt this season but in Friday’s season opener Kelly was nothing but a cheerleader. The preseason All-Big 12 senior has been benched by head coach Frank Martin until he “figure[s] out if he wants to be a good teammate.” Martin said Kelly “probably won’t go on Tuesday.” according to Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman.
After watching Kansas State’s season opener against James Madison on Friday, I do believe the Hokies have a chance to steal a win here. K-State struggled to score against the Dukes for a large portion of the first half before their depth finally began to run it’s course. The Wildcats scored their first 18 points of the game from behind the arc and without Curtis Kelly the frontcourt was big and deep, but for the most part unimpressive. The aggressive Kansas State defense was suspect at times during the game as well, often getting caught with backdoor cuts, and allowed the Dukes to shoot 49% from the field for the game.
What the Wildcats did do well was force turnovers. 21 points off of 26 turnovers was the difference between Kansas State cruising or being upset by a team from the CAA. The Hokies committed 19 against Campbell and will have to cut that number down to have a chance on Tuesday.
Aside from taking care of the basketball I think the key to the game will be the Hokies ability to defend the perimeter. The Wildcats were 14-0 last season when shooting 40% or better from 3-point range and 20-0 when outshooting their opponent from the field. Tech can’t let K-State drain 10 threes like they did against JMU. Assuming Curtis Kelly doesn’t play, I think the Hokies have a much wider range of scoring threats and will able to get points easier than the Wildcats. Kansas State does have a depth advantage which could wear down Tech’s depleted frontcourt defensively. But if Jeff Allen can stay on the court and follow up with another stellar performance like Friday night, the Hokies will have a chance to pull off an upset in Manhattan. I’m tempted to pick the Hokies in the upset win, but I’m going to wait until we know more about the status of Curtis Kelly.
Prediction: Check back Monday evening
**Well it's the eve ESPN's 24 hours of hoops and Kansas State forward Curtis Kelly appears to still be in Frank Martin's doghouse. So the Hokies do have a chance. The lack of urgency from the Wildcats' camp (see the aforementioned Curtis Kelly) is the exact opposite of what I'm hearing from the veteran Virginia Tech squad this week. The Hokies win a nail biter behind their defense and superior free throw shooting.**
Hokies 68 Kansas State 65
Volleyball
Last week:
With the season winding down and NCAA Tournament crunch time in full swing, the Hokies began a four game road swing with trips to Georgia Tech and Clemson. On Friday, Tech battled the Jackets in Atlanta hoping to avenge a 2-3 loss in October. The Hokies fell behind 21-24 in the first set but back-to-back kills by middle blockers Cara Baarendse and Felicia Willoughby help Tech claw back in it and eventually pull away with a 28-26 win. Tech would hit .533 in the second set behind 6 kills each from Baarendse and Willoughby, taking the second frame 25-22. The Hokies ramped up the defense in the third frame, blocking the Jackets 4 times to earn a 25-22 decision and a 3-0 sweep of the match. Sophomore Cara Baarendse led the Hokies offensively with 15 kills on a .591 hitting percentage, while fellow sophomore Morgan O’Neill tallied a game high 17 digs.
Saturday’s match with Clemson provided another opportunity for the Hokies to avenge a 2-3 home loss. Similar to the first meeting however, the Hokies would struggle with Clemson’s blocking, which ranked 9th in the nation coming into the match. Clemson jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the first set and never looked back, taking set one 25-20. The Hokies would respond in set two as outside hitter Jennifer Wiker knocked down 8 kills to tie the match at 1-1. In the third set, the Hokies could not catch a break from the referees as several close calls all seemed to fall in Clemson’s favor. After the Hokies closed within 1 at 23-24, a controversial call in which the near judge was overruled gave Clemson a commanding 2-1 lead in the match. Tech fought valiantly in the fourth set to erase a 5 point deficit late, but eventually fell 25-19. Jennifer Wiker hit a career high 23 kills and juniors Erin Leaser and Justine Record had double-doubles in the loss.
Up next:
Sitting at 18-9 with a 9-8 conference record, the Hokies turn their attention to Wake Forest and Duke to try and move back up the ACC standings. Tech travels to Wake on Thursday evening to take on the Demon Deacons at 7pm. The Hokies are 24-9 all-time against Wake, including 9-7 in Winston Salem, but have lost their last two on the Deacs’ home floor. Tech blew out the Demon Deacons earlier this season behind a near triple-double from junior setter Erin Leaser, and will look to pick up another crucial road win this week. The Hokies will look to once again limit sophomore middle blocker Andrea Beck, who leads the Deacs with 290 kills to go along with 0.95 blocks per set. The Hokies will then travel to Duke at 4:00pm on Friday in hopes of repeating a 3-1 win over the Devils in Blacksburg in October. Duke has been the class of the conference this season, but fell for just the third time in conference play this weekend, a 3-1 loss to Maryland. The Devils will be the last chance for the Hokies to get a resume boosting win before the Hokies’ home finale against Virginia on November 26th.
Links to live stats and streaming video for both games are available here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment