Game Day Vitals
- #15 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-1, Big 12 0-0, ESPN RPI 13) vs. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4, 0-0 ACC, ESPN RPI 255)
- Series Record: WVU leads 47-30, last matchup was 2013 in Blacksburg L 87-82
- Location: Oliver Garden (Capacity: 14,000) Morgantown, West Virginia
- Vegas Lines: (-16.5) for the good guys, O/U: N/A
- Date: Tuesday, December 30th, 2014, at 2 pm ET
- Television: ESPNU
- Streaming: WatchESPN
- Radio Affiliates
Opponent Information
- Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4, 0-0 ACC, ESPN RPI 255)
- Head Coach: Buzz Williams, 1st year at VT, (8-4), career (157-90)
- Last Result - Win vs. Presbyterian Blue Hose at home 87-65
- Official Virginia Tech athletics website
- SB Nation Virginia Tech Site - Gobbler Country
#BuzzWilliamsHateDay
For the uninitiated, our hatred of Buzz Williams goes back to this:
and this:
@TeamCoachBuzz enters #TheAl to John Denver's Country Roads #WeMissYouWVU #NotReally - Mac pic.twitter.com/Z19IBqBdam
— Marquette Athletics (@muathletics) October 12, 2013
Which led to this:
"@SmithFire13:I hate Seth Greenberg.I hate the Vick's, & stupid Hokie Pokey.I especially hate Buzz"on behalf of us all, here's some ❤️
— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) July 16, 2014
And this:
And finally this (from College GameDay):
You know my thoughts. "@SmokingMusket: So. #BEATTHEHELLOUTOFVIRGINIATECH" pic.twitter.com/ceZLZMH7EZ
— David Smith (@SmithFire13) December 23, 2014
We don't like Buzz a little bit. Got it? Got it. Good.
Game Preview
Virginia Tech comes into this game riding a 4 game winning streak. But, don't kid yourselves, this Virginia Tech team isn't as good as its record. They've only played three teams with RPIs in the top 100 and lost all three, plus a game to the 231 RPI team, Appalachian State. Their best win is over a 172 RPI Maryland Eastern Shore.
They're awful at rebounds (240th) and assists (222nd), not bad in points (122nd, averaging 70.8 ppg) but also consider who they've played so far. Now, they do shoot a high percentage (.492, good for 23rd), but we've just had a game in New York where we allowed NC State to shoot a high percentage. The key, then, is to limit the number of shots we allow them to take. I like our chances with our pressure.
This has all the earmarks for a curbstomping, which of course means it'll end up being a close game. I don't buy that theory. Today, we put Buzz in his place.
Prediction: WVU 84, VT 53