VA Tech BB Preview: Duke & Boston College

As Tech’s trip toward postseason play marches on, it’s back to Cassell on Thursday for the annual anticipated throwdown with ACC bully, Duke. Just 45 hours later, the Hokies will be in Chestnut Hill tipping off against Boston College. What’s in store for January’s fourth week? Let’s check it out.

DUKE (15-1, 3-0 ACC)

Biggest Win: Marquette, 77-73

Worst Loss: vs. Pitt, 65-64

The Devils are good. Anyone surprised by this information probably hasn’t watched a college basketball game in my lifetime, and certainly hasn’t been following the ACC, which Duke has dominated the last 15 years, earning numerous ACC titles and final four appearances.

This year’s edition of team Krzyzewski is a classic Durham outfit, scoring points in bunches (85.0 ppg, 9^th nationally), preventing other teams from scoring (3^rd nationally in victory margin, and just generally blowing everyone out that gets in their way (8 wins by 22 points or more).

DeMarcus Nelson leads the Devils in scoring (14.3), completing a career that’s steadily developed from a 6.2 ppg/4.5 rpg season as a freshman in 2004. The biggest change in Nelson’s numbers this year is a 50% jump in his assist-to-turnover ratio. Assists are up from 2.0 to 2.9, turnovers are down from 2.5 to 2.3. It’s hard to say exactly how to stop Nelson, since his greatest strength is his consistency. In 10 battles this year, Nelson’s been right between 9 and 16 points. In 12 games this season, he’s been between 5 and 8 rebounds. Nelson is hard to stop, and despite logging 32 minutes a game, he keeps himself in the game by not fouling much. However, despite being Duke’s leading scorer, he’s not a stone cold killer in the mold of JJ Redick or some of Coach K’s other great gunslingers. Keep him right around his average of 14, and Tech can win.

In what some suggested would be a rebuilding year for the Devils, the rebuilding might be starting with Kyle Singler. Singler is a long, 6-foot-8 freshman out of the great northwest that’s roaring out of the gates with a 13 point, 6 rebound a game average. Most impressive in these early stages of his career, Singler has already shown a proclivity for showing up in big games. The frosh dropped in 25 points against Marquette, 13 on just 7 shots against Wisconsin, and 17 against Pitt and Clemson. That’s an 18-per game average in what have probably been Duke’s biggest four games of the year. If he blows up, the Hokies have no chance to win. It’s that simple.

Duke’s other weapons are mostly young, too. Jon Scheyer, a sophomore from Chicago’s north shore, has come on strong lately, raising his average to 11 points a game with 8 double-figure outings in his last 10 games. Sophie Gerald Henderson has doubled his output to 13 a night off last year’s average of 6.8. Junior Greg Paulus has seen minutes, points, boards and assists all drop this year; is he being rested for the stretch drive? Time will tell.

Prediction: I know, I know: we’ve heard it all before – VA Tech can’t hang with Duke, they’re outmatched physically. The Hokies have battled Duke as well as anyone the last couple years, but I think they’re facing too high a mountain this time. Without Jeff Allen to match up on some of the Devils’ bigger bodies, VA Tech faces an even tougher battle. Duke by 13.

BOSTON COLLEGE (12-5, 3-1 ACC)

Biggest Win: Miami (Fl.), 76-66

Worst Loss: Robert Morris, 57-51

The BC Eagles have 12 wins in 17 games, but have benefited from one of the coziest early season schedules in the country. BC hasn’t had to leave Chestnut Hill for 5 games, and only three of those have been true road battles. BC’s list of early season victims isn’t impressive, save Maryland, the tally includes New Hampshire, Fl. Atlantic, Mercer, Rhode Island, Northeastern, Sacred Heart and Longwood. This is not a battle-tested 12-win team, and the seams are going to start to show during the ACC stretch drive.

Gone is Jared Dudley, but Tyrese Rice has picked up a big of his slack, logging 19.5 points and a clutch 5.3 assists an outing so far this season. Rice is quick, with fast hands (1.6 steals/game) and an ability to flat go off from the free throw line (11 straight FTs made in two games this year). You can’t foul him; he’s hard to guard. The absence of Allen in the middle will make his dribble drive penetration even more problematic.

The man literally filling Dudley’s spot has been Shamari Spears, a sophomore who’s burst in to the starting lineup by showing an aggressiveness and hunger for the basketball. Spears averages over 7 boards a night. Spears has a tendency to disappear in BC losses. Spears only contributed 6 against Kansas, 8 against Robert Morris and 8 against UMASS. When he’s not scoring and getting some putbacks, or worse, taking himself out of the game via foul trouble, the Eagles really struggle. I truly believe that the key to winning tough basketball games is stopping an opponent’s second and third options, not their first.

In that spirit, freshman Corey Raji can’t be allowed to go off either. Raji has been inconsistent as they come, pouring in 24 and 17 against Providence and Maryland but contributing less than 5 points several times. Looking down the BC roster, you see its full of two things: young players, and wide, stout bodies. Rakim Sanders, a 6-foot-5 freshman scores 12.3 points a game. Biko Paris is another freshman, but his specialty is dishing the ball, earning 2.5 assists a game in limited minutes. Sophomore Tyler Roche scores 5 points a game, and could do some damage this weekend.

Prediction: If this game were at Cassell, I’d be picking the Hokies. I don’t think the Eagles have road legs, but the scheduling committee has given VA Tech an extremely stout test. Less than two days after playing Duke, the Hokies have to take a fairly long road trip against a team that basically sleeps at their home arena. Blame the schedule makers. BC by 9.

Universal Fantasy League

It’s finally here.

Those of you that know me know I’ve been working on the creation of a new fantasy sports website for the better part of a year now. I present:

www.universalfantasyleague.com

In 2006, I was getting disgusted with fantasy football. Not because my team sucked, because it didn’t, but because – let’s be honest, fantasy football has gotten away from the important statistics. You’ve got your long play bonuses, your 300 yard bonuses, defenses that sack a lot getting more points than defenses that actually give up fewer points.

But here’s when I knew fantasy sports needed a new direction. The first time I heard my kid brother use the phrase vulturing. “Tiki Barber gets yards, but Brandon Jacobs is going to vulture all his goal line carries.” Nevermind the fact that, as long as somebody scores, it helps the Giants equally. The Giants: remember, the team? What people used to root for on Sundays before fantasy football gave them the chance to cherry pick players from every NFL team and root for vulturing.

The ultimate team game had become anything but.

In that spirit, I created Universal Fantasy League. UFL is a fantasy league where, instead of drafting players, you draft teams from any real life sport of your choosing. Every real life sport has a point system that keeps all leagues relatively even in prominence.

Then I got a business partner.

Jared Macke, computer geek extraordinaire, offered to turn the idea in to a website. I consented. Jared took the ball and ran with it, programming a wonderful, easy-to-use site full of gadgets, nooks, crannies and tools I’d never thought of. Why not create a method by which users could input their own local leagues, like beer softball or little leagues, and then get fantasy points for those? Why not allow obsessed users to use components of existing real life leagues to compose BRAND NEW fantasy roster spots, like “SEC Team”, where players have to draft one SEC team from every sport?

The only reason why not, was because Jared hadn’t thought of it yet.

Now, we have a super-cool, kick ass website that’s easy to use and is going to make a huge impact on the fantasy sports market. We’ve got:

- Infinite customization, from which real life leagues are in your fantasy roster, to the scoring for each league, to when your league starts and ends.

- Globalization of fantasy: for the first time, sports which don’t lend themselves well to individual stats (soccer, tennis) can be great fantasy sports components

- A ton of awesome tools, like a draft scheduler. Remember how big of a pain in the ass it is to find out every person in your league’s draft availability by mail? Well, the UFL site does it for you.

And a ton of other great stuff. We hope you like it. We’re pretty proud.

Head to www.Universalfantasyleague.com and start a league today. You won’t be sorry.

Virginia Tech BB Preview: UVA & GA Tech

After a monumental win against the Terps to stay unbeaten at Cassell, the Hokies turn road warriors this week at UVA and Georgia Tech. Who’s waiting out there on the road? Check it out:

VIRGINIA (10-4, 0-1 ACC)

Biggest Win: at Arizona, 75-72

Worst Loss: Seton Hall, 74-60

The instate Cavs are near the bottom of the ACC ledger right now, but the conference campaign is just one game old, and the standings certainly won’t stay that way. UVA is a dangerous, poised team with some quality senior leadership that will be a tough, tough out in February and beyond. Let’s look at some of the Hoos’ main weapons.

As he has for three years now, senior guard Sean Singletary paces the Cavs. Singletary is a beast, plain and simple, a 6-foot dynamo that fills up a box score, averaging 17.9 points, 3.9 boards and a career high 6.6 assists per game. Singletary has been in double figures every game this year, and has dropped in 20+ on 6 occasions in his senior campaign. Singletary shoots, passes, and attacks well. The only significant chink in his armor is an increasing propensity to commit turnovers. He’s been asked to handle a bigger portion of the ball handling duties this year, and that responsibility has resulted in bumped up numbers in both assists and turnovers. Singletary averages nearly 5 turnovers a game, so Tech will likely have to pressure him and hope it can force a few gaffes.

Adrian Joseph has been UVA’s best front court player this year, and Joseph has certainly been a pleasant surprise. A contributor in years past, the senior has answered the bell this season, seeing his rebound numbers leap from 3.5 to 7.8 a game, and adding a few more points to go with the boards, scoring 11.9 up from 7.2 a game last year. Joseph is a dangerous player because of his nose for the ball and his ability to hit the outside shot. This is a 6-foot-7 man who shoots 40% from beyond the arc, and nearly 80% from the stripe. He’s not quite the size of ACC big men that have burnt Tech big time in recent years, but if any Cav is going to kill the Hokies singlehandedly, my money is on Joseph, not Singletary. UVA has lost 4 games this year, and in three of those games, Joseph has scored 6 points or less. If that doesn’t tell you that stopping Joseph is the key to this game, nothing will.

The Cavs have an ace sharpshooter in Mamadi Diane, the Potomac product that has drained a three-ball in 12 of 14 outings this season. Diane is hitting 48% of his threes on the year, and while that number just can’t last until March, Diane is certainly hot lately, with 16 of his last 36 made in competition. I’m always amazed when stud three-point shooters struggle at the free throw line, but Diane is only 70% from the charity stripe. If the game is tight late, the Cavs would be much better suited to foul Diane than let him get a clear look at the hoop from long distance.

Prediction: I don’t like this matchup for the Hokies. There’s certainly the momentum factor in Tech’s favor coming off the thrilling Maryland win, but UVA is really tough at home, and I don’t think VA Tech can keep up with the Hoos’ 79 points a game scoring pace. The Hokies take one on the chin. UVA by 12.

GEORGIA TECH (7-8, 0-2 ACC)

Biggest Win: at Notre Dame, 70-69

Worst Loss: UNC Greensboro, 83-74

If the Hokies are going to grab a road win in the ACC, this is their best chance. Tech is 7-8 and will be 7-9 after the Tar Heels come to town Wednesday night. The Jackets were hit hard by defections after last season, and come Saturday, will likely be experiencing the inevitable hangover the game after playing the nation’s top team. GA Tech is the perfect team against which Greenberg’s Gang can reach up and grab one away from Cassell.

It’s safe to say the Jackets are still trying to find their best rotation. Not a single GA Tech player averages more than 30 minutes per game, and 11 average 10 minutes or more. That’s an astounding amount of balance in minutes. Anthony Morrow, Tech’s senior guard, is the team’s most experienced player, and Morrow has had an up and down career. After a breakout sophomore campaign that saw Morrow average 16 points and 4 boards a game, he saw his minutes, points and rebounds all dip dramatically during last year’s campaign. But Morrow is back this year, leading the team with 15 and 5 a night, and an improved A:T ratio to boot, 1.21:1. Morrow has one of the sweetest touches you’ll see outside a massage parlor. The senior is shooting 47% from threeland, and small sample size isn’t a problem. He’s already buried 36 bombs in 15 games: 2.4 a game. Face guarding him and denying the ball is Tech’s biggest challenge in this game.

In the post, GA Tech will run out a rotation of several bigger guys who will come in with fresh legs and a hunger for the glass. Jeremis Smith is a senior averaging 10 points and 7 boards a game, who isn’t nearly as prone to turnovers as most other big men. Putting an early foul or two on Smith’s sheet would help a lot, because the longer he’s in the game, the harder Hokie post men have to work to keep up. Zach Peacock is another 6-8 banger, but he’s younger and less experienced. Still, he uses his height well, and unlike Smith, can drop in the occasional outside shot. And as long as we’re counting big men, we can’t forget Alade Aminu, a 6-foot-10 mountain from Stone Mountain, Georgia. At just 225 lbs., he’s not the strongest player on Tech’s roster, and it’s shown the last few weeks. After roaring out of the gate, Aminu has averaged only 4.7 points a game the last 9 outings; keeping him out of the box score and on the bench is another VA Tech key to victory.

Prediction: What hurdle will be hardest for the Hokies to leap, the sum total of GA Tech’s post men, or the sole force of Anthony Morrow? I’m not sure, but I think if VA Tech can win the battle in one of the two areas, it can get the win. Call it a gut feeling, but I don’t think the Hokies are going winless this week. Hokies by 5.