Tomorrow at noon Virginia Tech will be taking on the Miami Hurricanes in what prooves to be a do-or-die game for both teams as far as their NCAA tournament hopes are concerned. The last time the Hokies played the 'Canes was on January 25th in Coral Gables, FL where Tech ended up winning in overtime, 88-83. That game was highlighted by some hot three-point shooting from the Hokies (hitting 9 of 21 shots) and some solid ballhandling (only 9 turnovers for Tech). Virginia Tech also put the clamp on Miami's superstar, Jack McClinton, who had a really rough game on that fateful Sunday. Malcolm Delaney, Dorenzo Hudson, and JT Thompson combined to really shut down one of the best shooters in the ACC. More of the same will be required for a Hokie win tomorrow.
I guess you could say the lowlight of that game in January was the fact that VT just could not stop Dwayne Collins in the paint and he seemed to get a bucket every time he was fed the ball down low. Brian Asbury also had a monster game going 9-13 from the field. Whoever is guarding Asbury in this game needs to do a much better job of containing him both inside and out as he showed that although he can't hit a 3-pointer against any other team, he is a 50% 3-point shooter against the Hokies. Why do the worst players always terrorize the Hokies? I have no idea, but I bet Derwin Kitchen, Jamil Tucker, and Jon Leuer know the answer.
Here are some keys to winning tomorrow:
- Keep Miami out of the paint and off the boards. VT's big men need to front Dwayne Collins, Jimmy Graham, and Cyrus McGowan forcing them out of the paint, and once they are out of the paint, force them to become jump shooters because they couldn't throw a basketball through a hoola hoop once you get them outside of the paint.
- Lock it up on Jack McClinton. McClinton has great quickness and can get off a shot just about any time he wants, so the Hokies will need to stick to him like glue. Industrial strength glue, not that crappy Elmer's stuff.
- Be selective and take good shots. VT, and particularly AD Vassallo, have been jacking up some terrible shots early in the shot-clock over the last couple of games. It's completely unnecessary... try to get the high-percentage shot and then work for a longer shot later in the clock.
- Don't let Dorenzo Hudson shoot anything but 3-pointers and layups... he is missing every other shot, and I don't mean just missing, I mean he is either shooting airballs or else slamming the ball off the backboard. Also, this includes dunks as he can't seem to hit those either (pretty embarrassing for a guy who is 6'5").
- Let Victor Davila play. Miami usually runs two legit post players, and whichever one Jeff Allen is guarding has an easier time getting open and getting their shot off. Allen will most likely get into foul trouble trying to guard those bigger players, so Seth Greenberg can't be afraid to run Diakite and Davila at the same time, if necessary. I don't think going small with Thompson at the power forward spot is a good idea for VT as Jimmy Graham is very mobile for a big man and will negate that advantage.
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