[caption id="attachment_4387" align="aligncenter" width="700"]![Zach LeDay Against UMES [Credit: Harley Taylor]](//techlunchpail.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/zach-leday-against-umes.jpg?w=700)
Zach LeDay Against UMES [Credit: Harley Taylor][/caption]The Virginia Tech Hokies are heavily favored to get to 11-1 with three games against weaker competition before facing Duke on New Year's Eve, but their first of these three opponents will present a unique challenge that the Hokies have seen before, but one that always present unique challenges unlike any other team in college basketball.
Virginia Tech will face off against The Citadel led by former VMI coach Duggar Baucom who runs probably the most up-tempo offense in the country and has a team that is averaging 105.4 points a game while allowing over 99 points per game including 130 to Iowa State and 127 to Arizona State, the only 2 power conference teams that the Bulldogs have faced.
Facing The Citadel's extremely high-paced style of play is a one-time challenge that will force the Hokies to rotate guys in and out fairly quick to keep a fresh five on the court while also needing to be fairly efficient against a Bulldogs team that has shown it can score a lot of points.
The Citadel is led by forward Zane Najdawi who is averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56.1% from the field, 85.4% from the free-throw line, and 38.9% from beyond the arc. However, Zach LeDay will be ready to give Najdawi some trouble while also being an issue for the sophomore from Midlothian, Virginia as LeDay actually is bigger and more physical than Najdawi, and could definitely wear him down in this matchup.
LeDay has also been shooting the ball well with a 52.9% field-goal percentage and it wouldn't be surprising to see LeDay have a big game not only because of the extreme up-tempo nature of The Citadel, but also because of how there is no real size mismatch for LeDay in this game which could allow him to have one of the best statistical games of his collegiate career.
The Citadel is a solid three-point shooting team with a 36.6% three-point shooting percentage, but the Hokies have been better shooting 38.8% from deep and have been able to get guys like Ahmed Hill and Justin Bibbs open threes in the midst of chaotic transition situations. Against a team like The Citadel, there will be plenty of those type of wild situations, and Virginia Tech has quality passers with Seth Allen and Justin Robinson that can get the ball to opens shooters on the wing or throw it down low for someone out in front of a breakaway.
Virginia Tech has played some solid defense but against a team like The Citadel, you can expect this game to be extremely high-scoring due heavily to how Duggar Baucom teams have been able to implement their tempo on the game. However, Virginia Tech's quality outside shooting gives Virginia Tech a very good chance to open this game up earlier than the Hokies have been able to do in the past against Baucom's teams.
This game should be a good opportunity for Buzz Williams to get guys like Ty Outlaw and Khadim Sy some extra minutes along with sparsely-used Matt Galloway with the Bulldogs' style making it preferable to have a deeper-than normal rotation. Outlaw and Sy both could use some minutes to continue to build up more confidence ahead of their ACC opener against Duke in two weeks.
This game will be a shootout unlike any other high-scoring game that the Hokies will play in all year with the final score looking much more like an NBA score instead of a college basketball score. However, the Hokies are the better team with better shooters and that will show while Virginia Tech will be able to do tons of damage in the post with Zach LeDay and Khadim Sy leading the charge on their way to a victory in what will certainly be a shootout.
![Zach LeDay Against UMES [Credit: Harley Taylor]](http://techlunchpail.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/zach-leday-against-umes.jpg)
Zach LeDay Against UMES [Credit: Harley Taylor][/caption]The Virginia Tech Hokies are heavily favored to get to 11-1 with three games against weaker competition before facing Duke on New Year's Eve, but their first of these three opponents will present a unique challenge that the Hokies have seen before, but one that always present unique challenges unlike any other team in college basketball.
Virginia Tech will face off against The Citadel led by former VMI coach Duggar Baucom who runs probably the most up-tempo offense in the country and has a team that is averaging 105.4 points a game while allowing over 99 points per game including 130 to Iowa State and 127 to Arizona State, the only 2 power conference teams that the Bulldogs have faced.
Facing The Citadel's extremely high-paced style of play is a one-time challenge that will force the Hokies to rotate guys in and out fairly quick to keep a fresh five on the court while also needing to be fairly efficient against a Bulldogs team that has shown it can score a lot of points.
The Citadel is led by forward Zane Najdawi who is averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56.1% from the field, 85.4% from the free-throw line, and 38.9% from beyond the arc. However, Zach LeDay will be ready to give Najdawi some trouble while also being an issue for the sophomore from Midlothian, Virginia as LeDay actually is bigger and more physical than Najdawi, and could definitely wear him down in this matchup.
LeDay has also been shooting the ball well with a 52.9% field-goal percentage and it wouldn't be surprising to see LeDay have a big game not only because of the extreme up-tempo nature of The Citadel, but also because of how there is no real size mismatch for LeDay in this game which could allow him to have one of the best statistical games of his collegiate career.
The Citadel is a solid three-point shooting team with a 36.6% three-point shooting percentage, but the Hokies have been better shooting 38.8% from deep and have been able to get guys like Ahmed Hill and Justin Bibbs open threes in the midst of chaotic transition situations. Against a team like The Citadel, there will be plenty of those type of wild situations, and Virginia Tech has quality passers with Seth Allen and Justin Robinson that can get the ball to opens shooters on the wing or throw it down low for someone out in front of a breakaway.
Virginia Tech has played some solid defense but against a team like The Citadel, you can expect this game to be extremely high-scoring due heavily to how Duggar Baucom teams have been able to implement their tempo on the game. However, Virginia Tech's quality outside shooting gives Virginia Tech a very good chance to open this game up earlier than the Hokies have been able to do in the past against Baucom's teams.
This game should be a good opportunity for Buzz Williams to get guys like Ty Outlaw and Khadim Sy some extra minutes along with sparsely-used Matt Galloway with the Bulldogs' style making it preferable to have a deeper-than normal rotation. Outlaw and Sy both could use some minutes to continue to build up more confidence ahead of their ACC opener against Duke in two weeks.
This game will be a shootout unlike any other high-scoring game that the Hokies will play in all year with the final score looking much more like an NBA score instead of a college basketball score. However, the Hokies are the better team with better shooters and that will show while Virginia Tech will be able to do tons of damage in the post with Zach LeDay and Khadim Sy leading the charge on their way to a victory in what will certainly be a shootout.
Pick: Virginia Tech 125, The Citadel 97
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