HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: OKLAHOMA STATE (6-3) AT VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (9-1) 2PM ESPN2

HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: OKLAHOMA STATE (6-3) AT VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (9-1) 2PM ESPN2

On a mission 😤🆚 Oklahoma State🕑 2PM📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/lH3afFJfpL— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022

December 11, 2022
Barclays Center
2:00 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network

TV Broadcast
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Mike Monaco
Analyst: Noah Savage

Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Mackey
Analyst: Mike Burnop

Current Spread: Hokies -2.5
Over/Under: -133

Deck the Halls....

The Hokies (29th in AP Poll/27th in Coaches Poll) head to the Nasketball Hall of Fame Invitational to beat the Cowboys for the fifth. The Hokies are 4-0 against Oklahoma State, and look to repeat the success they had at Barclays Center last year.

Looks great @barclayscenter 🤩🏆 pic.twitter.com/DKzZ3JQroJ— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022

The Cowboys are coached by Michael Boynton. He began his college coaching career at Furman as an assistant coach in 2004. Oklahoma State is his first college head coaching job, taking over the job in 2017 after being an assistant there for a year. He has a 93-76 overall record guiding the Cowboys and has taken them to post-season play twice. His job of recruiting was made a lot more difficult due to sanctions imposed by the NCAA last season. Coach Boynton had this to say after the NCAA ruled; "I'm disappointed, disgusted, appalled, frustrated -- but somewhere in Indianapolis there's a group of people celebrating. They won. Our players don't deserve and shouldn't have to deal with this.

"It was a single NCAA violation. One player received $300. One player. Not a recruit. Not a future recruit. Not a family member. One current player received $300. And in and of itself, because it was self-reported by us, it's a secondary violation. So the punishment is you pay the money back, serve your suspension -- which the kid did -- and you move on.

"It's no wonder that nobody trusts [the NCAA]. They don't have to come and do this, and answer questions, and talk to kids, and talk to parents."

The Cowboys come into this contest having played really solid basketball so far. All of their wins were by double-digits. Their three losses were to former Hokie Naheem Alleyne and #8 UConn, a surprisingly good UCF squad and a head scratching one poit loss to Southern Illinois. The Cowboys are the strongest defensive team and one of the most veteran the Hokies will have faced so far.

The Cowboys bring a very Senior squad to the court with no freshman or sophomores in their regular rotation. The lineup will normally be a three guard, two forward/center mix. The most important number involved with this team so far is that they are 7th Nationally in FG% allowed. Opponents are shooting 36% from the floor this season. Nine players average 10 or more minutes per game. Coach Boynton is constantly subbing to keep fresh legs on the court.

Coach Boynton defensively uses as an aggressive mix of man-to-man and zone defense. Center Moussa Cisse is third in the nation in blocked shots, averaging more than three per game. The Cowboys excel at disrupting passing lanes and turning that into points. The Cowboys average almost 20 points a game converting turnovers.

Offensively, Coach Boynton uses a motion offense focused on the guards scoring primarily but its also a very balanced lineup that does not allow a single player to be shutdown to tilt the game. Seven players are averaging 7.9 points per game and with their defensive prowess that's usually good enough t win. They are also usually very good at taking care of the basketball but against UConn this broke down and UConn turned it into 24 points.

The Cowboys Backcourt
Avery Anderson #0, SR, G, 6-3, 170 12.6 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 3.0 Ast
Bryce Thompson #1, JR, G, 6-5, 188 11.3 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 1.8 Ast
John-Michael Wright #51, SR, G, 6-1, 185 9.6 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 1.9 Ast
Caleb Asberry #5, SR, G, 6-3, 170 7.9 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.8 Ast

The Cowboys Frontcourt
Kalib Boone #22, SR, F, 6-9, 210 9.6 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 1.8 Ast
Moussa Cisse #33, JR, C, 6-10, 220 8.4 Pts, 10.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Tyreek Smith #23, JR, F, 6-7, 220 7.3 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast

What to expect from Oklahoma State?
As a team the Cowboys focus on defense first and let the offense come. Their ability to score in transition after creating a turnover is unparalleled, scoring 1.35 points per turnover. Expect to see an additional 10 Hokies possessions stopped by shot deflection or forced bad shot.

The Cowboys like a face paced contest with high energy on both sides of the ball. The contest may end a bit more low scoring than most but possessions per team will be very similar.

Oklahoma State has outrebounded opponents in all but one game this season. They have nearly a ten rebound per game differential, mainly driven on the defensive end. Moussa and Boone combine for over 16 rebounds per game

Not surprising of a team that is constantly reaching defensively they do have foul troubles. Five of their seven rotation players average over two fouls per game.

The Hokies

The Hokies need to protect the ball and create space to get open shots. This game could come down to how the Hokies shoot from the perimeter. So far the Cowboys have held opponents 28% shooting from outside. The Hokies need to finish closer to 35% or a 6-9 point plus to win this game. The good news here per David Cunningham:

As of today, Virginia Tech men's basketball leads the country in turnover percentage (turnovers/possessions) at 13%. Through nine games, #Hokies have 86 turnovers on 646 possessions.Six players have double-digit assists, led by Sean Pedulla's 38 (to 14 turnovers).— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) December 9, 2022

Mutts, Basile and the other bigs must avoid foul trouble. Moussa is going to give them fits on both ends of the court. The Hokies cannot afford Mutts being on the bench for a significant portion if they are going to be successful.

Dribble penetration by the Hokies guards to force the Cowboy bigs to adjust position in the lane with off ball help will create opportunities for the Hokies both inside and out. Finding ways to make their aggressive defensive posture work against them is a critical piece of victory.

Highlight of the Dayton game
Silly Basile

Game 10 🎥⏪ • Dayton𝒻𝓁𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝑔𝒽 pic.twitter.com/oMybg4P9Ri— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 9, 2022

In Closing
The Hokies continued to dominate the paint for a third game in a row. This opponent though rules the paint and the Hokies will need to be creative in scoring or en fuego from outside.

Protect the ball, find clean shots, and play the style of defense we have seen these last three games and the path to win #10 is clear.

Hokies make it tough to watch, will struggle to adjust early but are in gear at the end. Hokies win 68-61.

📍Cassell Coliseum North pic.twitter.com/YfyNzXpUJa— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 11, 2022