The Virginia Tech men?s basketball team will host the Brigham Young University Cougars (17-5, 6-2 WCC) tonight in Cassell Coliseum in a rare match-up that features two teams that haven?t faced each other since Dec. 29, 1967.
The past match-up represents the one and only time these two teams have crossed paths, as BYU downed the Hokies, 97-64, in the All-College tournament at Oklahoma City University.
Neither team is looking that far back for game notes since today?s game offers the final chance for either team to prove themselves against an out-of-conference opponent during their regular season schedules.
The Hokies (12-7, 1-4 ACC), fresh off a hard-fought road win against in-state rival U.Va., will look to build upon that momentum and begin piecing together a win streak that could take their season to another level.
The Cougars are looking to crack the top 25 and put themselves on the radar for the NCAA tournament, as they don?t have many chances left to impress the selection committee. A road win over the Hokies followed by winning out in the WCC could punch the Cougars' ticket to the dance, so expect a determined BYU team to take the court tonight.
BYU comes to town without the services of Jimmer Fredette, who led the nation with 28.9 points per game last year and was touted by many as the country?s No. 1 point guard. Fredette was drafted in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks before moving to the Sacramento Kings.
However, BYU has consistently found success under head coach Dave Rose, never losing more than 10 games in a season since he took over in 2005. This season isn?t any different, as the Cougars seem to have adjusted their style of play to compensate for Fredette's absence. The Cougars now lean on forwards Noah Hartstock and Brandon Davies, who have combined to put up 31 points per game this season, serving as the offensive anchors.
This spells trouble for the Hokies, who have struggled down low in blocking and rebounds (ranked 152nd overall), as the Cougars will surely try to exploit this with a heavy dose of posting up for close-range shots and snatching anything that comes off the boards. Tech will need players like senior Victor Davila and freshman Dorian Finney-Smith to step up, get physical and put up a wall against the low post.
The Hokies antidote to BYU?s down low onslaught may come in the form of doubling down on Davies and Hartstock when they try to post up. This would force them to take difficult shots of their own or give the ball up to outside wing players like Charles Abouo and Brock Zylstra or point guard Matt Carlino, who have been in shooting slumps lately.
BYU?s shooting woes come in the form of a dismal 4-36 from beyond the arc in their last two games, one of which they dropped to Loyola Mary, 82-68. If Tech can force coach Rose to adjust his game plan away from the post and instead put the pressure on his wing players to start threatening from 3-point land, then the Hokies will have turned the tables and exposed a chink in BYU?s armor that may bring them to their knees.
In addition, Tech head coach Seth Greenberg will be looking for continued production from leading scorer Erick Green, who has tallied double digit points in every game this year, and newfound ?Energizer bunny? Dorenzo Hudson, who has been impressive off the bench in the last two games and recently played a key role in knocking off Virginia.
A win over the Cougars will give the Hokies their first winning streak of 2012 and generate some much needed optimism among the Hokie faithful, as Tech faces a daunting, but exciting, ACC schedule to close out the season.
The past match-up represents the one and only time these two teams have crossed paths, as BYU downed the Hokies, 97-64, in the All-College tournament at Oklahoma City University.
Neither team is looking that far back for game notes since today?s game offers the final chance for either team to prove themselves against an out-of-conference opponent during their regular season schedules.
The Hokies (12-7, 1-4 ACC), fresh off a hard-fought road win against in-state rival U.Va., will look to build upon that momentum and begin piecing together a win streak that could take their season to another level.
The Cougars are looking to crack the top 25 and put themselves on the radar for the NCAA tournament, as they don?t have many chances left to impress the selection committee. A road win over the Hokies followed by winning out in the WCC could punch the Cougars' ticket to the dance, so expect a determined BYU team to take the court tonight.
BYU comes to town without the services of Jimmer Fredette, who led the nation with 28.9 points per game last year and was touted by many as the country?s No. 1 point guard. Fredette was drafted in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks before moving to the Sacramento Kings.
However, BYU has consistently found success under head coach Dave Rose, never losing more than 10 games in a season since he took over in 2005. This season isn?t any different, as the Cougars seem to have adjusted their style of play to compensate for Fredette's absence. The Cougars now lean on forwards Noah Hartstock and Brandon Davies, who have combined to put up 31 points per game this season, serving as the offensive anchors.
This spells trouble for the Hokies, who have struggled down low in blocking and rebounds (ranked 152nd overall), as the Cougars will surely try to exploit this with a heavy dose of posting up for close-range shots and snatching anything that comes off the boards. Tech will need players like senior Victor Davila and freshman Dorian Finney-Smith to step up, get physical and put up a wall against the low post.
The Hokies antidote to BYU?s down low onslaught may come in the form of doubling down on Davies and Hartstock when they try to post up. This would force them to take difficult shots of their own or give the ball up to outside wing players like Charles Abouo and Brock Zylstra or point guard Matt Carlino, who have been in shooting slumps lately.
BYU?s shooting woes come in the form of a dismal 4-36 from beyond the arc in their last two games, one of which they dropped to Loyola Mary, 82-68. If Tech can force coach Rose to adjust his game plan away from the post and instead put the pressure on his wing players to start threatening from 3-point land, then the Hokies will have turned the tables and exposed a chink in BYU?s armor that may bring them to their knees.
In addition, Tech head coach Seth Greenberg will be looking for continued production from leading scorer Erick Green, who has tallied double digit points in every game this year, and newfound ?Energizer bunny? Dorenzo Hudson, who has been impressive off the bench in the last two games and recently played a key role in knocking off Virginia.
A win over the Cougars will give the Hokies their first winning streak of 2012 and generate some much needed optimism among the Hokie faithful, as Tech faces a daunting, but exciting, ACC schedule to close out the season.
