Coming off the heels of back-to-back home wins inside Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Tech will look to make it three in a row as the Hokies will do battle on the hardwood against the Vermont Catamounts. Saturday afternoon’s contest will be the third out of four straight home bouts for the Hokies, currently sitting at 7-3 including 1-0 in ACC play.
To review, Tech’s first win in this current stretch was over Louisville 75-68. Tech was led by sophomore guard MJ Collins who posted a career-high 20 points in the narrow victory over the Cardinals. The Hokies followed that up with a 21-point blowout victory over Valparaiso in which Tech shot over 50% from the field and from three in the first half to propel them to an ultimate 71-50 win.
Overall, the Hokies put together efforts that aren’t up to their standard but were strong enough to win those matchups. Going against the Catamounts this Saturday, Tech will need to bring their best effort. Vermont is one of the better mid-major programs in the country and are having another stellar season so far.
For some historical perspective, Vermont has owned the American East Conference for the better part of the last decade. The last seven regular season titles have gone to Vermont and the Catamounts have double-dipped with both conference championships in each of the past two seasons. Head coach John Becker has led his school to the NCAA Tournament five times during his tenure, two of which have come in the last two years.
In last season’s Big Dance, Vermont was a #15 seed and fell to Marquette by double-digits. The year before that the Catamounts lost to Arkansas in the first round of March Madness. Needless to say, Vermont churns out consistently strong squads that are talented and well coached. This season, it’s no different as Vermont is 8-3 in their non-conference slate.
The Catamounts are 133rd in Ken Pom rankings but boast a top 100 offense according to college basketball’s most reliable statistical database. Vermont has beaten recently bidded March Madness teams in the College of Charleston, Saint Louis and Yale. However, they are coming off a 77-71 loss to a good Colgate program.
A couple weeks ago, Vermont’s improbable win over Yale went viral. The Catamounts were down 65-60 with 3.6 seconds to go and somehow came away with a regulation win. The theatrics included an offensive foul following a quick basket that gave Vermont possession with 0.6 on the clock. From there, Vermont’s leading scorer TJ Long banked in a three while being fouled which elevated the Catamounts to the one point win.
Vermont has a well balanced and guard heavy lineup that can score the ball in a variety of ways. The previously mentioned Long leads them in points, but Vermont also has two other guards averaging double figures in junior Shamir Bogues and graduate senior Aaron Deloney. With a mixture of youth and experience to surround those core three in the starting lineup and off the bench, Vermont boasts a strong top six players who can go toe to toe with many programs in the country.
Three Keys for the Hokies:
The first key for Virginia Tech will be to move the ball well offensively. Tech’s key is three-point shooting but that’s only the effect. The cause comes from good ball movement. If the Hokies can play unselfishly as they have the past two games, they’ll get good looks from three point range that the likes of Hunter Cattoor, Tyler Nickel and others can knock down. If Vermont is able to stifle the Hokies a bit, then Tech will have to get creative in finding other ways to put the ball in the hoop.
Next, the Hokies will need to take advantage of their size mismatches. Tech isn’t a team with a ton of overwhelming size and athleticism but they have more than the Catamounts do in those areas. The likes of Lynn Kidd, Mylyjael Poteat and the Hokies' wing group will need to put the ball on the deck and play some bully ball if they can. In addition to more drives to the rack, Tech will need to outrebound Vermont by a substantial margin. Crashing the glass will give the Hokies a chance to run in transition and get easy baskets in the full court.
Finally, the Hokies can’t take Vermont lightly, especially not in the closing stages of the game. As Yale found out, Vermont is never out of a basketball game and has the ability to pull off a win even when the chances are dire. For that reason, Tech needs to have an all gas and no breaks mentality, even if they have a double digit lead in the second half. If Tech can close out well against Vermont then they’ll be in good shape to earn another non-conference feather in their cap.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 73 Vermont 61
I believe we will get the Hokies' most well-rounded performance of the season. Tech has had all week to prepare and with that time, Mike Young should have a great game plan ready to put into action Saturday afternoon. I think Tech will score the ball at a high clip and strap down defensively to limit Vermont’s best players. Most importantly, Tech will be keen on closing the game well which will lead to a victory by a dozen points for the Hokies.
