Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (21-11, 11-8 ACC) vs Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (21-12, 13-3 MEAC)
When: Wednesday, March 16 @ 8:00 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
The Opponent: After a fourth straight year of disappointment on Selection Sunday, the Hokies start their NIT slate against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference. Woo.
So, you may be asking just who the hell Bethune-Cookman is. Well, the Wildcats are from Daytona Beach, FL and won the regular season MEAC title, but lost to Morgan State in the semifinals of the MEAC tournament. All regular season champions who don’t win their tournament get an automatic bid, so that’s why B-CU is coming to Blacksburg Sunday.
The Wildcats challenged themselves in the out of conference slate by travelling to Arizona, Central Florida, and Baylor. They lost 33, 17, and 44, respectively. B-CU also played the likes of Edward Waters, Florida Christian College, Webber International, Carver Bible, and North Carolina Central. That accounted for six of their wins (they played NC Central twice).
Here’s a look at their starting lineup:
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | CJ Reed | G | 6-3 | 175 | Jr. | 19.1 | 3.8 |
| 10 | Stanley Elliot | G | 6-3 | 160 | Jr. | 5.2 | 2.5 |
| 23 | Garrius Holloman | F | 6-6 | 210 | Jr. | 11.3 | 6.6 |
| 32 | Alexander Starling | F | 6-6 | 205 | Sr. | 10.9 | 6.7 |
| 11 | Javoris Bryant | F | 6-6 | 200 | So. | 5.2 | 3.5 |
One thing to note is that CJ Reed is the MEAC Player of the Year. Reed has scored at least 20 points in 16 games this season and broke the 30-point barrier twice. He’s also scored in double digits in 30 out of B-CU’s 31 games. The lone exception was a six-point effort at Delaware State. Also, his dad, Clifford Reed, is the head coach of the Wildcats and was named MEAC Coach of the Year this season.
On the post, Alexander Starling was named to the second team All-MEAC team. Starling is the Wildcats’ leading rebounder and third-leading scorer. He’s reached double figures in points in 20 games and double figures in rebounds in five contests.
Aside from those two, the Wildcats don’t bring much offensively. B-CU has just 10 players on its roster, and they don’t go the bench often, if at all. Their starters combine for over 77 percent of their scoring and 80 percent of that comes from Reed, Starling, and Garrius Holloman.
This is the first postseason appearance EVER for Bethune-Cookman since joining Division I in 1980. The Wildcats made the Division II Playoff Series back in 1980, but lost to Florida Southern and West Georgia. In their school history, they are 0-7 in postseason play.
The Wildcats average just 624 fans per home game, which I hope will be less than the amount of people that show up to watch the Hokies play tonight. B-CU has won eight straight road games, seven of which were conference games, but you get the point. Winning on the road isn’t easy and for a team that has nothing to play for, who knows what can happen.
