The Hokies take to the hardwood again tonight against the Boston College Eagles and hopefully this time it will go a bit better for the boys in maroon or orange or grey (whichever they jersey they choose this team, they seem to like to mix it up for every game). The last game with the Eagles was a real disappointment as pretty much this whole season has been. I think the learning curve for this group has been much steeper than most expected.
The good news is that Erick Greene will be playing this time versus the Eagles, his absence in the first match-up really made the difference for the Eagles in my opinion. In that game the Hokies lost by 2 and the offense was stagnant for most of the game. With Greene out Marquis Rankin got his first start and it showed. He seemed lost most of that game, made many poor decisions and really held the offense back. Since then Rankin has gotten much better and you can tell that the experience he is getting is leading to some measurable improvements. Rankin is turning into a very important part of this team and I would expect him to be starting the rest of the year. With him starting along side Greene today I expect a much different outcome.
Although I think Erick Greene will make the difference this time around I still think it will be a close game. The back court should produce a lot more but this BC team seems to be one that fights to the last whistle. They are coming off of a huge upset win over Florida State and who knows how that might affect them in this game. Some times after upsets teams figure it out and start rolling, other times they play as we did after our upset win over uva. This BC team looks like one who you just can't get a good read on, they don't have a good record (3-7, 8-16) and honestly I struggle to name their star player which I assume would be Dennis Clifford who is 7' and projects to eventually become an NBA caliber talent. The Eagles are 218th in RPI and rank in the 300s in several offensive and defensive categories including points per game, rebounding margin, and turnover margin. Simply put, it was embarrassing to lose to these guys at their place and it would be devastating to lose to this team at home. Although they have upset ability the stats show that we should be able to beat these guys especially with home court in our favor.
As I said before I expect more production from Rankin and just adding Greene should improve our scoring ability. Also Dorian Finney-Smith is producing much more now than when he was going through his slump of 3 points in 7 games. He had 12pts and 8 rebs against Clemson and although he only had 4pts against Miami his defense was on point and he still pulled down 8 rebs. I hope they can get Dorian off to a fast start as it seems that when he hits a couple early shots it helps his overall game and he can have a big impact on the game. I also think that C.J. Barksdale could be a big player in this game, so far I think C.J. has been a little disappointing and I think he would say the same for himself. Coming in as a four star recruit I am sure he and most outsiders expected him to push Raines for minutes. However right now he just doesn't have the tools to get more minutes. He is a good rebounder but needs to work on his offensive moves in the post, his shot, and just being in the right spot. It looks to me like he is usually a step behind the other guys when they are one offense. I think he could get more minutes in this game because the Eagles have some height advantage and if we get into foul trouble C.J. will need to be ready to help and produce.
I hope we see some more improvement from the freshmen and as long as our starters maintain their production we should come away victorious. The game is at six o'clock and will be aired on ESPNU, hopefully they get a good turn out even though I am sure most fans are frustrated with this season as am I. Either way I am sure it will be an entertaining game as the Hokies always like to keep it close. I predict Erick Greene to be player of the game since no one else seems capable of the consistency that he provides. Also keep an eye on Victor Davila as his match-up with BC's Clifford could decide the game. Go Hokies!
No comments:
Post a Comment