gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts: 3676
Reg: 02-06-10
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NIT?
03-13-16 09:15 PM - Post#204374
In response to bradley
#6 seed playing at Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/Princeton_Hoops/statu s/7091790...
Not a bad matchup. VT doesn't have the dominant bigs to punish our big weakness. Should be a good game. As disappointing as this latest choke job was, it's important that our guys learn how to beat major conference teams, whether in non-conf play or postseason.
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TigerFan
PhD Student
Posts: 1892
Reg: 11-21-04
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03-13-16 09:33 PM - Post#204375
In response to gokinsmen
Va Tech very tough at home but not huge. They play 8 guys, biggest is 6'10" 240 but only plays 19 minutes. Starters look like 6'7" (top scorer and rebounded at 15.1 points and 7.6 boards) 6'6" 6'5" (third highest scorer at 12.1) 6'1" (2nd highest scorer at 14.6) 6'1". They shoot 45%, 36% from the arc. -1.3 rebound margin. Of course they play in the ACC. Glad the Tigers played @ Maryland and @ Miami earlier.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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Re: NIT?
03-13-16 09:37 PM - Post#204377
In response to gokinsmen
Buzz Williams, former Marquette head coach, had the Hokies win their last 6 games prior to the ACC tournament six pt loss to Miami. They play intense defense and at a very high energy. You are correct that they do not have a dominant big guy although their best player is a 6 7" forward. Guard Bibb can score as I was able to watch him play at Wake Forest. Virginia Tech will probably be a 6-7 point favorite.
It says quite a bit that the Tigers are a 6th seed in the NIT although their seeding was probably hurt by the number of conference regular season winners that lost their tournament game. Only way that the Tigers would have gotten NCAA tournament consideration if they beat Harvard and then lost the playoff game to Yale as well as either beating Miami or Maryland or either losing to Miami/Maryland but beating both St. Joe's and Stony Brook in the regular season. For next year, Coach had best schedule some games with good teams and win 50% of those games if they do not win the Ivy League Russian Roulette Tournament.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2697
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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03-13-16 10:09 PM - Post#204380
In response to bradley
Good Luck against Va. Tech.
Not to look ahead, but I think BYU is a good matchup. From what I watched on television when Harvard played them in Hawaii, the teams match up in style and size very well.
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umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts: 476
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: NIT?
03-13-16 11:06 PM - Post#204386
In response to bradley
I think bradley hits the nail on the head. With a senior laden lineup - I think Princeton comes in as the favorite under the old system. You have Cook, Weisz, Caruso, Miller and Brase as seniors. You might figure the Harvard freshmen might have to adjust to the mental and physical rigors of the back to back games, but they could have developed by the end of the season to be a force in the tournament.
With the seniors the team should be ready early in the season, and they need to figure out how to schedule aggresively. We have to look at this as an opportunity with these seniors to get multiple bites at the apple - not just one that could be lost by an ill timed injury, Saturday night refs or a "choke job" on the road.
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mmp629
Junior
Posts: 259
Reg: 11-22-04
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 03-14-16 01:37 PM - Post#204430
In response to umbrellaman
Speaking as a fan, I enjoy any post-season play. Go Tigers!
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4915
Reg: 02-04-06
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03-14-16 06:40 PM - Post#204469
In response to mmp629
As long as the Tigers are mentally prepared for the defensive intensity level of a Buzz Williams team, they should be very competitive. It will be interesting to see how much the Hokies try to extend out to the arc to deny trey attempts.
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