#13o R.P.I. New Mexico #1o3 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

Virginia Tech basketball returns to a left-coast Fullerton, Ca., Wooden Classic, 4:30 PM, ESPN made for Thanksgiving Holiday TV start vs. the 3 up and o down New Mexico Lobos.

This however is far removed from a surefire win; and yah; even though this may be a 34 hour and 2,408.6 mile road trip via I-40 West; it surly beats playing New Mexico in their own backyard. Which has been The Pit(s) for many a visiting team for many many a season. As the Lobos own -and I do mean: “own”- one of the top-3 home court advantages in the 349 populous men’s D-1 hoops regime. So a neutral court is a lot more inviting than the well fabled Pit. Still yet, this is nobodies gimmie, this is quality basketball squad out in New Mexico; and it will take a quality Hokie effort to win here.

New Mexico at a glance:

• 341st in three point shooting (21.1%)
• 288th in three point percentage allowed (38.4%)
• 77th in rebounding margin (+7.7 rpg)
• 34th in FG-percentage (50.6%)
• (go fig’ on that 3 vs. 2 % difference ^there^)
• 15th most FTA’s (111 so far)

Head Coach: Craig “Noodles” Neal: age=52. Coach Neal was a two-year cat-quick starter at Georgia Tech in the mid-1980s. He earned all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as a senior in 1988 when he set the A.c.c. single-season record with 3o3 assists as a heady pass-first 7.8 ppg Pt.Guard. Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 3rd round (71st overall) of the 1988 NBA Draft, and played in the NBA and several minor leagues. Craig Neal became an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors under NBA’s all-time most winningest coach, Lenny Wilkens and later a scout for the same. He then did a collegiate assistant coach tutorial under long-time friend and head coach Steve Alford at the University of Iowa. Neal is said to be a networking genius and a rook card recruiter. Neal followed Alford to New Mexico and took over for the same in 2013. Where Coach Neal is 61-38 overall and 32-22 in the Mountain West Conference all-time. Craig helps raise funds for autistic and Down Syndrome schools; God Bless. Although the early season vibe is that he is on something of a warm seat -if not an outright hot one- out in the lowercase mid-west; and that he has something of a free-spirit rep’ and a rep’ for his way only.

Returning Starters=4 (the fifth, transferred out)

Lobo Strengths:

• I’d say the likely Mountain West Player of the Year counts here and so would likely Mt.West Player of the Year one #4, 6’4” 2o8 lb. r-Jr. year Butler transfer shooting-G Elijah Brown. Likewise so would being named Lindy’s pre-season magazines’ Most Entertaining baller in the whole entire Mt.West Conference. However lofty that might read, Elijah’s start to 2016 has been a bit more down to Earth. As he is currently in something of a opening season slump at 13 ppg, with 4.7 boards and 3.7 assists on a chilly looking 11% from range. This down from a nearly Mountain West leading 22 ppg last year. As Brown has been 200% more turnover prone -thus far- than any other Lobo this campaign. Still yet, you do not net 22 last year and get named pre-season Player of the Year and Most Entertaining just because you suck. So one would have to think Elijah is due to break outta his funk sooner rather than later. Although the whispers say he is still nursing a sore hammie and that his 2016 debut has this far been a bit, hamstrung. Yes, this two-time Cali’ state titlist is the son of veteran NBA coach Mike Brown and this is one confident looking baller to me, maybe this virtual week off is just what his his overall game and gimpy hamstring needs?

  

• Forward Tim Williams (6’8”, 244 lb. strong looking r-Sr. P/F), is the other pre-season all-Mountain West 1st-string Lobo after transferring from Samford. And he is only scorching it with a conference leading 23 ppg with 8.7 rebounds on a sizzling hot 68% from the floor. Williams has a very strong, industrialized, physical vibe to him. As he does a lotta banging work down in the paint where he generates nearly 300% more FTA’s than any other Lobo, (78% FT-shooter). He is not a vertical player (no blocks so far) and his range is a bit limited (one 3-point make in his career); though make no mistake here gents, Mister Williams is a hard match-up for us/VT.
• 7’2” 222 lb. Sr., true-Center Obji Aget -by way of Juba, South Sudan- is back as a rim protector extraordinaire. Aget is also an Academic all-Mt.West team member and he got you 6.6 ppg and 5.7 boards last year even if his playing-time and therefore his number’s have been virtually cut in half so far this fall. Obji only had two years of scholastic ball and one of them was finished off by an ugly A.c.l. tear (God Bless). Although he is still swatting two shots and shooting 56% in just half a game of P.T. thus far.
• Sam Logwood is a 6’7” 210 lb. Swing playing as the third-G in coach Neal’s 3-guard, 1-C and 1-F pet set. Sam’s a true-Jr. year ‘tweener who is a physical over match at S/G for most any other Two out there. Really cut up looking kid who is netting you a career best and second place 13.8 ppg on 67% from the floor and 50% from distance thus far. I don’t know if Sam’s doubling of his career scoring average is for real or not… although I do know that if it is, and once Brown gets his A-game back on track, this is one of the most balanced and one of the better starting-5’s we will face all year.
• Neal is said to have inked a really good recruiting class including Arizona State 6-9, 233 lb. P/F Jr. transfer Connor MacDougall (4 ppg and 3 rpg).

New Mex’ Weaknesses:

• DEATH threats!!!! No joke, and if you do not believe me, just as coach Craig Neal’s son (Cullen). Though you will have to drive from Albuquerque to Ole` Miss. (i.e. to Oxford, Mississippi) if you wanna ask him. As Cullen packed out his trash and up and left. Though his father (the big whistle), remains. Cullen Neal and his perfect 4.0 grade point average, and his Lobo u.grad diploma in a mere three years, and his 13 ppg on 46% from beyond the arc as a 6’5” hard-nosed off-Guard are all, gone. Go fig’ on all of that in several directions, plural…
• Defense, as Coach Neal’s teams do not carry a heavy stop-unit rep’.
• And they tend to play a bit loose with the rock (+turnovers, 332nd worst here last year)

New Mexico Bench: (depth=3 )
P/F Joe Furstinger is junior year prerequisite big-body sub’ (6’9” 220 lb. banger, 7 ppg and 3 rpg). Jalen Harris some thought might start though he backs-up at the Point as a string-bean 6’4” 154 lb. paperweight One (4.3 ppg, 67%, true-Fr.) And Jordan Hunter who is another home position undersized 5’10” 180 lb. soph. Pt.G. who is the defensive stopper off the pine.

Illation, conclusion (s) and OPT digits:

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… that in what appears to be a pretty well even looking match-up on R.A.T.T. O&M sporting stationary… one might do well to say that the start=the finish here.

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As this is a foreign gym with different lines-of-sight and different lighting to each squad and if one of these two post-season likely clubs can get off to a hot start early on, that could be enough in the end.

New Mexico is very likely to be no less than a Top-3 team for us out-of-conference match-up wise. Thing is -and this is the kicker here folks- one could further do well to posit that we/Virginia Tech may just be facing three, possibly four potentially non-winning games in a row. Making it critical that we get off on the right O.O.C. foot here while we have the freshest legs we will enjoy out in Cali’; what with an N.b.a. ‘esque looking four games in the next six days. That’s a lot when all four are (likely) vs. quality opponents no less than ~5oo miles from home.

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New Mexico however is a south of easy team to peg –at least thus far. The Lobo’s are well rated and likewise well thought of by all my pre-season magazines. The only dickering I reckon to be… which post-season invite to these Lobo’s merit? Inasmuch as after three underwhelming opening wins opponent wise, just what are these Lobo’s all about? At the moment they are basically a C+++ defense team and B— offensive team with a chillin’ looking superstar. Which reasons to me that only one of those two major team categories is R.A.T.T. likely to change; and I’ll give you a hint, it ain’t on the defensive end.

Therefore, ergo, to wit… if Elijah Brown remains chilly as the weather begins to turn the same outside, I’d say our chances are fair to middling here. As we match-up okay enough outside of the interior threat of Mister Williams himself. If however Brown suddenly goes off; than all bets are off, and an ugly looking o-4 sojourn is suddenly regrettably in play. As “Lobo” his Hispanic for: wolf, and Brown is due to take a bite outta someone; probably sooner rather than later. (NOTE: Brown did semi warm up for 19 points (and 8 caroms) last time out)

(55% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=80, New Mexico=75

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**

V.A.D.A. approved