NR/NR VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES 20 – 7 (10-5 ACC, tie for 6th place with Virginia)
NCAA NET 42 (UNC 18); NCAA WAB 38 (UNC 22); Massey Ranking 35 (UNC 21); RPI 61 (Nolan) (UNC 31); Torvik 38 (UNC 18)
Last Season 19-13 (9-9, tie 8th), 0-1 ACCT, 1-1 WBIT (Lost to Texas Tech 59-69)
On Thursday evening the 21-6 Heels will take on Virginia Tech in Cassell Coliseum at Blacksburg. Unlike recent years when they were in our “pod” now we play them only once, alternating home and away. Just as well, since they have been a major pain in recent years winning 10 of the last 14 including the last five at Cassell.
Last season we played the Hokies at Carmichael and won 67-62 behind 20 points from Reniya Kelly and 15 from Lexi Donarski. That win broke a six-game losing streak. The overall now stands at 22-16 UNC.
Massey says #22/22 UNC will beat Virginia Tech by 4 points; Nolan says UNC by 3 points and Torvik agrees with Nolan.
Virginia Tech had the usual sort of non-conference opponents, with a couple of exceptions. The first five games were at home, all wins with Towson, Loyola MD, Gardner-Webb Coastal Carolina and Niagara. The average margin of victory was 31 points. VT did venture out of Cassell for a game at James Madison, which they lost 56-65. Tech also played a tournament over Thanksgiving, the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Hokies split their games, losing to BYU (60-64) but beating Oregon State (78-67).
The ACC/SEC game with Florida was a win 68-64. Tech had two ACC games in December: a 54-70 home loss to dook and a win at FSU 79-54. The remaining three non-conference games (Presbyterian, ETSU and Radford) produced no remarkable results as the Hokies won them all at home by double digit margins.
Tech continued ACC play in January by losing the first two games, Miami (67-75) and Louisville (60-85). The regular Thursday-Sunday schedule saw Virginia Tech go on a seven-game ACC run: at Syracuse 77-57, BC 78-56, at SMU 79-42, Clemson 71-68, at Wake 85-57, Pitt 67-50, and Virginia 76-64. BC, SMU, Wake and Pitt have just six conference wins between them. More impressive is a 20-point win with Syracuse at the Blimp Hangar, a hard fought home win with Clemson 71-68 and a 76-64 win with archrival Virginia at Cassell,
A road loss to Notre Dame 70-80 and a home loss with NCSU 62-82 brought VT down to earth but a trip to sunny California added two more wins with Stanford 79-67 and Cal 68-58. The Tar Heels are next with VT no doubt anxious to continue their winning streak.
Virginia Tech was fortunate in that they did not have massive losses of personnel and had six returning veterans. To these six four freshmen were added and just three transfers.
Carys Baker, a 6-2 junior F (14.7/6.5) started last year and has started every game this year. Baker is the daughter of Vin Baker, a former NBA All-Star who now coaches in the league. She should not be allowed to shoot 3’s – this year she is 52 of 137 for 38%, leading the team. VT does not have a consistent 40% 3-point threat but anyone putting up that number of shots can always have a big game.
Mackenzie Nelson, a 5 -8 redshirt sophomore G (7.8/3.1), was a reserve but has started every game but one. She leads in assists. Samyha Suffren, a 5-8 redshirt sophomore G (9.1 ppg) saw action in just 10 games last year before an injury sidelined her. This year she has appeared in 26 games as 6th player and leads in steals. The candidate for Tech MVP would likely be veteran Carleigh Wenzel, a 6-0 redshirt junior G (14.4). While she leads in no specific category she is seen as the team emotional leader. Wenzel will also hoist a three: 149 attempts with 53 made for 35.6%.
The final two starters are by way of the portal: 6-1 senior F Kilah Freelon (10.2/8.9), who started for Texas Tech; and 5-11 GS G Mel Daley (8.6/3.0) who saw action in 94 games at Northwestern. Freelon is the leading rebounder and also leads in blocked shots.
Two other returnees and the third portal addition serve as reserves. Kayl Petersen, a 6-0 sophomore F (2.5/3.0) saw considerable action last year and Leila Wells, a 5-9 sophomore G (3.4 ppg), splits time with Daley as a starter in the backcourt. Sophie Swanson, a 5-10 junior G (2.4), is the third transfer (from Purdue) has seen about 8 minutes of action over 18 games.
Virginia Tech did sign four freshmen, and the one most likely to be seen is Aniya Trent, a 6-3 F (1.8) who sees double-digit minutes over 23 games. Less likely to be in evidence are Amani Jenkins, another 6-3 F and Špela Brecelj, a 6-2 W who’s from Slovenia. The final freshman, Kate Sears, has yet to play.
Virginia Tech does have some decent overall statistics. Indeed most years Carolina plays them their stats are close to UNC. For example, this year VT is #7 in scoring (71.5) and UNC #8 (71.0). Carolina’s numbers on defense generally are better with VT two or three places below. Tech is better on the offensive glass, Carolina on the defensive. The Heels have made 101 threes, VT 86 but their percentage is better since two players take 60% of the shots and both are 35-38% shooters..
One area where the Hokies have a big advantage: attendance. Their home average is 4476, #4 ACC. Carolina is at 2570, #10. Those of course are for conference games only.
Hopefully this game will have officials who understand that fouls can be called on BOTH teams. It's not against the rules.
Megan Duffy is in her second season in Blacksburg, and her record stands at 39-20 (19-14). She is a Notre Dame graduate (’06) and was one of four players in school history to total at least 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals. Her staff has a decidedly ACC feel: Associate HC Itoro Coleman played and coached at Clemson and was three years an assistant to Banghart at UNC; Assistant Coach Sharnee Zoll graduated from Virginia in 2008; and Assistant Coach Jen Hoover was the all-time winningest coach at her alma mater, Wake Forest, where she led the program for 10 years.
It would be hard to overestimate the importance of games like this. Virginia Tech is just ½ -game behind UNC. These half-games can be annoying and they are a result of the ACC staggering bye weeks so as the season progresses teams have unequal numbers of games. VT is 10-5; UNC is 10-4. A VT win moves them to 11-5, UNC 10-5, a half-game behind; but Tech would have the tiebreaker. Every loss UNC takes now is likely to drop them a line.
A final record of 11-7 is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, and that is likely 8th place. This can be avoided by this simple solution: win.
GAME TIME IS 6 PM EST. ACCN will broadcast the game. There will be audio from GoHeels with Matt Krause.
NCAA NET 42 (UNC 18); NCAA WAB 38 (UNC 22); Massey Ranking 35 (UNC 21); RPI 61 (Nolan) (UNC 31); Torvik 38 (UNC 18)
Last Season 19-13 (9-9, tie 8th), 0-1 ACCT, 1-1 WBIT (Lost to Texas Tech 59-69)
On Thursday evening the 21-6 Heels will take on Virginia Tech in Cassell Coliseum at Blacksburg. Unlike recent years when they were in our “pod” now we play them only once, alternating home and away. Just as well, since they have been a major pain in recent years winning 10 of the last 14 including the last five at Cassell.
Last season we played the Hokies at Carmichael and won 67-62 behind 20 points from Reniya Kelly and 15 from Lexi Donarski. That win broke a six-game losing streak. The overall now stands at 22-16 UNC.
Massey says #22/22 UNC will beat Virginia Tech by 4 points; Nolan says UNC by 3 points and Torvik agrees with Nolan.
Virginia Tech had the usual sort of non-conference opponents, with a couple of exceptions. The first five games were at home, all wins with Towson, Loyola MD, Gardner-Webb Coastal Carolina and Niagara. The average margin of victory was 31 points. VT did venture out of Cassell for a game at James Madison, which they lost 56-65. Tech also played a tournament over Thanksgiving, the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Hokies split their games, losing to BYU (60-64) but beating Oregon State (78-67).
The ACC/SEC game with Florida was a win 68-64. Tech had two ACC games in December: a 54-70 home loss to dook and a win at FSU 79-54. The remaining three non-conference games (Presbyterian, ETSU and Radford) produced no remarkable results as the Hokies won them all at home by double digit margins.
Tech continued ACC play in January by losing the first two games, Miami (67-75) and Louisville (60-85). The regular Thursday-Sunday schedule saw Virginia Tech go on a seven-game ACC run: at Syracuse 77-57, BC 78-56, at SMU 79-42, Clemson 71-68, at Wake 85-57, Pitt 67-50, and Virginia 76-64. BC, SMU, Wake and Pitt have just six conference wins between them. More impressive is a 20-point win with Syracuse at the Blimp Hangar, a hard fought home win with Clemson 71-68 and a 76-64 win with archrival Virginia at Cassell,
A road loss to Notre Dame 70-80 and a home loss with NCSU 62-82 brought VT down to earth but a trip to sunny California added two more wins with Stanford 79-67 and Cal 68-58. The Tar Heels are next with VT no doubt anxious to continue their winning streak.
Virginia Tech was fortunate in that they did not have massive losses of personnel and had six returning veterans. To these six four freshmen were added and just three transfers.
Carys Baker, a 6-2 junior F (14.7/6.5) started last year and has started every game this year. Baker is the daughter of Vin Baker, a former NBA All-Star who now coaches in the league. She should not be allowed to shoot 3’s – this year she is 52 of 137 for 38%, leading the team. VT does not have a consistent 40% 3-point threat but anyone putting up that number of shots can always have a big game.
Mackenzie Nelson, a 5 -8 redshirt sophomore G (7.8/3.1), was a reserve but has started every game but one. She leads in assists. Samyha Suffren, a 5-8 redshirt sophomore G (9.1 ppg) saw action in just 10 games last year before an injury sidelined her. This year she has appeared in 26 games as 6th player and leads in steals. The candidate for Tech MVP would likely be veteran Carleigh Wenzel, a 6-0 redshirt junior G (14.4). While she leads in no specific category she is seen as the team emotional leader. Wenzel will also hoist a three: 149 attempts with 53 made for 35.6%.
The final two starters are by way of the portal: 6-1 senior F Kilah Freelon (10.2/8.9), who started for Texas Tech; and 5-11 GS G Mel Daley (8.6/3.0) who saw action in 94 games at Northwestern. Freelon is the leading rebounder and also leads in blocked shots.
Two other returnees and the third portal addition serve as reserves. Kayl Petersen, a 6-0 sophomore F (2.5/3.0) saw considerable action last year and Leila Wells, a 5-9 sophomore G (3.4 ppg), splits time with Daley as a starter in the backcourt. Sophie Swanson, a 5-10 junior G (2.4), is the third transfer (from Purdue) has seen about 8 minutes of action over 18 games.
Virginia Tech did sign four freshmen, and the one most likely to be seen is Aniya Trent, a 6-3 F (1.8) who sees double-digit minutes over 23 games. Less likely to be in evidence are Amani Jenkins, another 6-3 F and Špela Brecelj, a 6-2 W who’s from Slovenia. The final freshman, Kate Sears, has yet to play.
Virginia Tech does have some decent overall statistics. Indeed most years Carolina plays them their stats are close to UNC. For example, this year VT is #7 in scoring (71.5) and UNC #8 (71.0). Carolina’s numbers on defense generally are better with VT two or three places below. Tech is better on the offensive glass, Carolina on the defensive. The Heels have made 101 threes, VT 86 but their percentage is better since two players take 60% of the shots and both are 35-38% shooters..
One area where the Hokies have a big advantage: attendance. Their home average is 4476, #4 ACC. Carolina is at 2570, #10. Those of course are for conference games only.
Hopefully this game will have officials who understand that fouls can be called on BOTH teams. It's not against the rules.
Megan Duffy is in her second season in Blacksburg, and her record stands at 39-20 (19-14). She is a Notre Dame graduate (’06) and was one of four players in school history to total at least 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals. Her staff has a decidedly ACC feel: Associate HC Itoro Coleman played and coached at Clemson and was three years an assistant to Banghart at UNC; Assistant Coach Sharnee Zoll graduated from Virginia in 2008; and Assistant Coach Jen Hoover was the all-time winningest coach at her alma mater, Wake Forest, where she led the program for 10 years.
It would be hard to overestimate the importance of games like this. Virginia Tech is just ½ -game behind UNC. These half-games can be annoying and they are a result of the ACC staggering bye weeks so as the season progresses teams have unequal numbers of games. VT is 10-5; UNC is 10-4. A VT win moves them to 11-5, UNC 10-5, a half-game behind; but Tech would have the tiebreaker. Every loss UNC takes now is likely to drop them a line.
A final record of 11-7 is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, and that is likely 8th place. This can be avoided by this simple solution: win.
GAME TIME IS 6 PM EST. ACCN will broadcast the game. There will be audio from GoHeels with Matt Krause.
