Virginia Tech Men's Basketball travels to Orlando over the Thanksgiving weekend to participate in the ESPN Events Invitational. The Hokies are one of eight teams playing in Thursday, Friday and Sunday showcases.
Tech will kick off their three game slate with Boise State on Thanksgiving at 8 PM from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Other teams that Tech could potentially play include: Iowa State, Penn State, Texas A&M, VCU, Florida Atlantic and Butler.
The Hokies enter their fifth contest of the season at 3-1 and are coming off a 98-76 win over Wofford this past Sunday. Despite Tech starting off well in the wins and losses column, fans have shown concern for Tech’s inconsistency. After a roaring 45-point win in Tech’s opener over Coppin State, the struggles started to show. The Hokies bit the dust in Charlotte, falling to South Carolina 79-77.
Mike Young’s squad allowed the Gamecocks to get whatever they wanted inside in the paint and outside on the perimeter. Following Tech's lone loss of the season, came the Hokies' worst offensive output of the season, scoring just 60 points on Campbell in a 16-point win. Circling back to Tech’s most recent contest, the Hokies looked much sharper against the Terriers. Tech followed up a weak defensive performance against South Carolina with a better one against Campbell and they did the same when Tech took on Wofford.
Four scorers reached double figures, with Lynn Kidd being the highlight scoring a game high 20 points. Kidd’s gone all four games scoring 10 points or more and his excellent post play is a big catalyst in Tech’s offense. Additionally, Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor combined for 36 points with Cattoor inching closer to the Hokies all-time three pointer record, needing only three more to break it.
Tech looks to be in better shape after back-to-back home wins, but they’ll be tested by some solid programs in Orlando. The Hokies will play either VCU or Iowa State in either the semifinals of the tournament or the consolation bracket if they lose to Boise State.
Virginia Tech and Boise State will be a battle of one loss teams. Leon Rice’s team is 2-1 entering this matchup. The Broncos bucked Vanguard and San Francisco at home to start the season. Boise State’s last bout was in the confines of Littlejohn Coliseum where they took on Clemson. The Tigers easily dispatched the Broncos 85-68 last Sunday with Boise only shooting 39% from the field for the game.
The biggest overlap that could tell us an outcome stems from that Clemson game. The Tigers are a familiar opponent to the Hokies, they’ll play in Blacksburg January 10th, but last year the two ACC foes had two battles. Clemson won both to sweep the season series so neither the Hokies or Broncos seem to be a match for one of the ACC’s top teams. However, with the spread narrowly favoring Tech at -2.5, expect the Hokies and Broncos to play a close game.
A more intriguing storyline for this game than just the on paper matchup has to do with the previously mentioned Cattoor's three-point record pursuit. See, before the fifth year marksman was tearing the nets of Cassell Coliseum, he was doing just that in arenas all over Orlando. Cattoor will play Thursday night's game half an hour away from where he played high school ball at Bishop Moore High School.
Cattoor was a three-star prospect out of high school and the 42nd best player in the state of Florida according to 247 Sports. Cattoor racked up a sizable trophy case of awards, winning All-City first team, District Player of the Year, and scoring over 1,400 career points in his high school career.
Tracing forward in time to his Hokies career, Cattoor stands three made triples away from breaking Tech’s all time career three point record. Currently, AD Vassello leads Tech at 267 made threes for his career. At 265, Cattoor will certainly break this record in his hometown, adding another feather to Cattoor’s storied career.
In terms of keys to the game for the Hokies, Tech will need to challenge Boise State on the glass and force turnovers on defense. The Broncos are a strong team on the boards on both ends, grabbing 40 rebounds a contest through three games. Tech sits at 34 rebounds a game, not bad but not too strong either.
Boise State has a lot of size and length on their squad, so Tech must be feisty on the offensive glass and haul in the loose defensive rebounds as well. Furthermore, the Broncos only shoot 24% from three and give up 12 turnovers a game. Tech averages four turnovers less than Boise, but Tech must keep their foot on the gas and keep building some defensive momentum.
The Hokies' defense has been a bit better in their recent two games and given Boise State’s roster, they should be able to limit another opponent offensively for a third consecutive game. Forcing turnovers and converting on the fast break will be a major key for the Hokies against Boise State.
This matchup against the Broncos and tournament overall will tell us a lot about the Hokies. Tech will play a higher level of non-conference opposition and their first game against said caliber didn’t go the Hokies way. Perhaps, victory will be in sight for Mike Young’s men in Orlando. Regardless, there will be plenty of action to talk about when it’s all said and done.
I’m predicting Virginia Tech to get the win by less than 10 points. It will be a close affair, one that will see a few lead changes late, but I think the Hokies will pull away and advance to the semifinals to take on either VCU or Iowa State on Friday in the ESPN Events Invitational from Orlando.
