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Preview: What UVA Basketball fans need to know about Virginia Tech

Chris Graham
isaac mckneely uva basketball
UVA Basketball guard Isaac McKneely. Photo: UVA Athletics

I went up to Baltimore with #TeamAFP’s Scott German back in November to see the UVA Basketball team play Villanova, as part of a doubleheader that had Virginia Tech-Penn State as the back end.

Virginia beat ‘Nova by 10, and it wasn’t that close, and then Scott and I, doing the job part of the trip, spent the next hour or so talking with Ron Sanchez and chasing down players to get perspective on how things had played out.


Commonwealth Clash

  • Commonwealth Clash Virginia Tech (9-12, 4-6 ACC) at Virginia (10-11, 3-7 ACC)
    Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

In these kinds of situations, I like to write my postgame stories from courtside, so I can also get a glimpse as I’m working of how the next game is going, especially when it involves somebody we’re going to see later on.

Which is how I came to observe that, man, Virginia Tech was awful that day.

Penn State, which itself isn’t anything worth writing home about, sitting right now at 13-9 overall, 3-8 in the Big Ten – the Nittany Lions have lost seven of their last eight – ate the Hokies’ dinner.

The final was 86-64, and that final also masked, like the one in the UVA-‘Nova game, how thoroughly the winner had vanquished the loser.

Fast forward


The loss to Penn State was the first in what turned into a six-game losing streak, the first five of those Ls by double-digits.

Since, Virginia Tech is a respectable 6-6, with a 4-6 record in the ACC, with two conference road wins, at Cal and at Florida State.

Villanova has come back to earth after a run of nine wins in 11 games that had the Wildcats briefly on the cusp of NCAA Tournament bid contention, now sitting at 12-9, 5-5 in the Big East.

Virginia, which was a modest 3-0 after the win over ‘Nova in Baltimore, has regressed big-time.


ICYMI


The Cavaliers left Charm City for the Bahamas, got blown out by 20+ by Tennessee and St. John’s, and those two losses signaled what was to come.

UVA, a projected fringe NCAA Tournament at-large team in the preseason, is 10-11, 3-7 in the ACC, and is down there fighting, with the likes of Virginia Tech, just to get a spot in the ACC Tournament.

Three teams will be left on the outside looking in, with the ACC sticking to a 15-team field with the additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford for the 2024-2025 season.

Hot seat


virginia tech mike young
Virginia Tech basketball coach Mike Young. Photo: Dan Grogan/AFP

I’m not a fan of Mike Young (101-78 in six seasons at Virginia Tech).

His brand of folksy comes across to me as fake, and I don’t like how he talks down to people.

He reminds me of Dave Leitao in that respect.

Another reminder of Leitao: I’m seeing Young’s name in multiple columns on the subject of coaches on the hot seat.

In Young’s case, he’s coming off back-to-back 19-15 seasons after the surprise run to the 2022 ACC Tournament title, and in his six seasons, he has two one-and-done NCAA Tournament appearances, as a 10 seed and an 11 seed.

If this season goes as the algorithms project – KenPom forecasts a 12-19 finish for the Hokies – Whit Babcock has to cut bait, doesn’t he?

Getting to know: Virginia Tech


virginia tech acc tournament
Photo: ACC/Jaylynn Nash

Tobi Lawal, a 6’8” junior who transferred in from VCU, is a hyperathletic almost pogo-stick of a four who you need to keep close tabs on around the rim – Lawal (12.8 ppg, 6.8 rebounds/g, 59.6% FG) gets more than half his shots at the rim, and he has converted 75 percent, averaging three makes on layups and dunks a game.

Aside from him, the rotation lacks any sense of dynamism.

The other scoring option is 6’9” senior Mylyjael Poteat (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rebounds/g, 51.4% FG).

There’s not a lot in terms of the backcourt.

The future of the point guard, 6’1” sophomore Brandon Rechsteiner (7.0 ppg, 3.1 assists/g, 39.3% FG, 31.6% 3FG) is in WWE (he’s the son of WWE Hall of Fame Scott Steiner).

Jaden Schutt, a 6’5” sophomore, is a decent three-point shooter with some volume (35.8% 3FG, on 5.8 attempts per game), and you have to keep tabs on the backup point guard, 5’11” freshman Ben Hammond (4.8 ppg, 2.0 assists/g, 33.3% FG, 40.9% 3FG) on kickouts.

Whichever big ends up matching up with the backup four, 6’7” senior Ben Burnham (6.9 ppg, 43.9% FG, 45.8% 3FG) also needs to maintain contact on the back end of pick-and-pops, since he can make the open three.

How UVA matches up


uva basketball
Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

I really have no idea, because we don’t know the stati of Elijah Saunders and Andrew Rohde, both of whom were scratches from the road win at Miami on Wednesday with lower-leg injuries.

One or the other or both could be available, unavailable, could have decided to leave school to join a monastery, and we wouldn’t know until we get to JPJ to see what the situation is at the pregame shootaround.

Lawal worries me a tiny bit; I don’t know who Sanchez goes with to try to check him, and I’d take the over on whatever the over/under is on lob dunks for him on whatever betting app you use.

I’d give you more, but I’m still kind of torqued over not being let in on the Saunders/Rohde issues from earlier in the week.

Forecast


  • KenPom: Virginia 65-60
  • BartTorvik: Virginia 63-59
  • EvanMiya: Virginia 67-63
  • Haslametrics: Virginia 64-60
  • ESPN BPI: Virginia +5.0

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].