#84 R.P.I. Virginia Tech @ #132 R.P.I. Clemson:

Virginia Tech men’s basketball closes the docket on 2o21-2o22 A.D. regular-season business this Saturday matinee down @Clemson, South Carolina.

The Hokies have been in a bit of a bull-market of sorts of late and business has been better than good. They now however have to sojourn precisely 299-miles, So-by-So-West to attempt to tame these typically pretty gamey Tigers. Clemson enters this one at an even looking: 15 up vs. 15 down overall and at: 7-12 in interleague play. Or, to put all of that another way… roaring to a homesteading upset victory over formerly nationally ranked Virginia Tech might just catch a post-season by the tail for these Tigers here. Nonetheless, what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much, rights? So, read on… to find, out!

Clemson Head Coach: Bradley Robert Brownell: age=53, 382–250 (.6o4) overall,
215–165 (.566) at Clemson.
$2,500,000.oo

Baller Brownell played high school basketball at William Henry Harrison High School (Evansville Indiana) with current Saint Louis University assistant coach and Indiana University legend Calbert Cheaney. Backcourt baller Brownell balled and graduated from DePauw University in 1991, he earned three letters at DePauw University, a Division III school in Greencastle, Ind. He ranks seventh in school history with 332 career assists. He led the Tigers in dimes three straight seasons, while also leading DePauw in steals as a junior in 1989-90. Then Brownell.edu completed his degree at the University of Indianapolis in 1994. Thereafter Brownell immediately went into an apprenticeship (i.e. assistant) coaching after graduation.

Coach Brownell was named the U.N.C. Wilmington head coach in 2002, after having won a master’s degree and having been a U.N.C.-W. an assistant coach from 1991 to 2002. Brownell’s U.n.c.-Wil’ teams made the big dance 50% of the time.

After that, he went to Wright State and amassed nothing less than a 21-win season before eventually snagging the Clemson job -in something of a surprising hire- in 2010.

At Clemson Brownell went dancing his very first season though he has only made the N.I.T. twice in the other seven years down in South Carolina. Coach Brownell’s teams have won six conference championships and he has won two conference coach of the year awards himself. All of which were mid-major caliber and therefore all of which was prior to his power conference admission at Clemson. Ergo, therefore, to wit, some would say that Brad is sitting on something of at least a warm seat at the sporting moment. Coach Brownell has already spawned four D-1 coaching tree mid-major disciples, and his teams come with a defensive first reputation.

Daddy Brownell and his wife, Paula, have two daughters,
Abby (19), a student at Clemson; and Kate (17).

Clemson at a glance:

• 43rd in Assist:Turnover ratio! (Nationwide, or ‘good hands people’).
• 45th in 3-point percentage!
• 97th in FG-percentage O.
• 111th on the defensive rebounding glass.
• 3o6th in Swats! (You can get to the rack on them).
• Other than that… this is pretty much a very bounded middleocore team. C— to C+++ letter-grades in the other 32 National Team categories I track. Moderate. Centrism 1o1.

Returning Starters=1 (20%).

Clemson Strengths:

• The lone returning 2o2o-2o21 starter would be: Al-Amir Dawes. Who was supposed to be your Lead-G via design and is now your One or Combo’ Guard per last year’s backcourt necessity. A.A.D. was an A.A.U. star and the book reads entry-level well enough here. For a scoring-G at 6′ 2″, and 182 second-sophomoric season lbs. Al-Amir is a Newark, Nj. northerner with a tag for being a pick-n-roll Ace while picking up a **** (or 4-star) national ranking good for #95th in America per ESPN.com. Dawes had a good although not over the top all-around high school stat line and he is really gonna have to come up offensively quick and provide more A.c.c. help A.S.A.P. than most had hoped here. Although up to a sharp-looking 40.2% on 3’s, or more than a decade as percent betterment since last season would seem to suggest that he has (finally) added a little range from long-distance and can legit shoot a bit. Dawes sports numbers of: 11.4 ppg, with 2.9 rpg on 2.3 apg are about 72-golf or par for the course. Tho’ everything less one single solitary tenth of an assist was up or more than a little up since we saw Al-Amir last. And the near team blue-ribbon on 89.8% free-throwing gives his late-game swagg street-cred all da mo’. This is from a kid with a quasi: ‘bump-n-run’ hopping look. Who now has classroom things looking up as well… what with: A.c.c. Academic Honor Roll love. CU.edu props bro’! And after being in the Top-3 at Chris Paul’s CP3 Camp and Top-15 on the Nike circuit you may have expected mo’, here as historic returns go… tho’ mo’ recent ratings are now showing some ESPN’s #95 overall signs.
• Nick Honor “Your honor your Honor” did not apply here last year; as Nick Honor had not called: CU.edu (clearinghouse) “next”. So, he took an unexpected r-shirt to avoid all the qualifying stink. As the half-pint (5′10″, 195 lb., r-Jr.) Pt.Guard lit it A-10 up for Fordham two seasons at virtually 16 ppg on 38% beyond the arc and this is no small get back for a kinda needy backcourt Tiger team, let me tell you. This is from a Prep School kid who was only the AAAAA Player of the Year in 2018 down in the Sunshine State (Lake, Orlando). Where he put up really sharpshooting type of scholastic digits. One of the best A.c.c. FT-shooters who hovers right on 9.17 outta 10 thus far collegiately. This is a good player, well-schooled, and he may just be the Tigers offensive/backcourt X-factor all rolled into… “One”. (Get it?) That said… Honor has honored the weight room via cutting over a 10-plate and he does look mo’ spry or kinetically useful for it. As frankly, he looked a little puffy at times upon breaking tape in the last couple of seasons. Good on him. All-A.c.c. Academic Team is a checkbox, checked. In extra particular from your Qb1 or Pt.Guard in hoops terms. As least we forgets… Nick can pour the score on when he wants/needs to… what with having become the first {sic: Fordham} Ram to earn A-10 All-Rookie honors since 2016 and just the 11th in program history to do so. Additionally, Nick has several of the made-for-Telly in-season and post-season Awards up on his selfie shelf. This indicated can drive clutch tendencies to me. This season Nick is netting you 7.6 ppg with 1.3 rpg and 2.5 apg. And that’s a bit down or off from Nick. Like he’s dinged-up a bit or gone ‘rong somehow. St.Nick bless; as his sweat quotient or willingness to work are not available to naysayers here. Tho’ Lindy’s did mention that Nick has a knack for: ‘late season, fades’.
• One #24, 6′1o″, 235 lb., super-Soph., PJ Hall… is a keeper at the Four spot, or as a P/F. Big, elongated, even a little bit kinda strong lookin’ pasty-Four. With the prerequisite Greg Brady mop-top tempting Alice the maid 25/8. And this kid is a pretty big P/F homespun get… check it out… P.J. was only the: #1 ranked player in South Carolina; he was only the:
  2o19-2o South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year; and he was only the ESPN ranked four-star prospect (No. 48 in ESPN Top 100, No. 9 power forward in the nation). That’s all. He sucks. Trade him now! One-time S.C. “Mr. Basketball” and two-time AAAAA or penta-A State Champion. Older sis’ is all-everything FLA Gator volleyball and oldest bro’ played basketball at nearby Anderson University. So, the family Genome Project projects rather well here. And right now leading the Clemson way with: 15.5 ppg, married to a pretty good 5.7 rpg on 1.6 apg pro projects 2nd-string All-A.c.c. 1.2 bpg also paces these Tigers; as the only thing that might need love is the 30.1% from deep. As the 48.9% overall and 79.1% from the charity-stripe offer alms enough. His coach says that PeeJay found 15 off-season lbs. and added S&C stamina to deal with added in-season leading-man demands. I’d say that passes the eye test in the film room. And that’s a pretty good call by Coach Bradley. (UPDATE: P.J. is now listed as: QUESTIONABLE, (sore foot). St.Sebastian bless! As this has already expensed him a handful of games already this season… BIG ole ding here if Mister Hall cannot hold court).

  

• David Collins is a: 6′4″, 217 lb., final-year off-G. And he’s pretty good when he gets his game, ‘on’. The caveat being… it has been mo’ off than on in the last three years of ppg decline. Having gone from 16 ppg now down to 10 ppg this season. Or a cut of close to 40% in scoring overall. That’s the news-news… the good news is that most of everything else us up by-the-bye. 7.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, and 1.6 spg with over 48% long are none too shabby if you can third offensive option get ’em. As rebounding, 3-pointing, and shooting overall are all at career highwater markers. So, there is that; there is also the fact that he easily leads the way in FTA’s (by: close to 30% mo’ FTA’s) than anyone else. This is your one legit penetrator as a 2-Guard here. Hommie be keeping some nearly homemade-looking ink to boot. All I will say is… if you get a look? It is very tributary… Do like the +Sr. and Grad’-transfer listing. As Collins has been nothing if not durable, now pushing up on starting nearly 15o-career games! So.FLA baller prior to Clemson. Tho’ this ex-Bull now transferred Tiger is quadruped fit enuf. D.C. formerly has scored 1,516 career points as a Bull (seventh-most in program history). The book reads: that David is a strong, physical lead-G who excels in making plays in the open court and getting to the rack per the same physicality. Collins had mediumcase So.FLA scoring digits; tho’ he also showed catching fire tendencies here-n-there down at Miami’s other school. And I (almost) kinda liked the single Bo Derek hair braid bead he vends… almost…

Clemson Weaknesses:

• Aamir Simms departure is pretty big here— all the bigger for having left these orange Tigers marooned with NO pre-season honorees on any A.c.c.-Anything. Nadda. None. Nil. i.e., star-power was mostly-cloudy here.
• Additionally, four, that’s (4) starters all went Exit Stage Left and made like a baby and headed out. Heading out also was their collective: 36 ppg and 25 rpg. Breach dat frontcourt afterbirth!
• Sr., 6′8″, 215 lb., Hunter Tyson. Tyson is kayoed for the moment with a broken clavicle, and he is not expected to return to the lineup until the middle of March. St.Christopher bless! Sidelined would be his: Useful enuff looking: 10.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg in relief. 3-time All-ACC Academic Team does not triune.edu suck. Does have a history of dings/dents, et al. Including a pretty harsh ‘facial fracture’ that he tried to play plexiglass mask through for a spell. Hunter won a metric ton of Charlotte Metro area hoops awards and regional ones too. Not as many state-wide however. 255th nationally from 247Sports was his highest hit. ESPN gave him a lower-end **** or four-stars. Slotted somewhere between 54th and 76th nationally at S/F or on the Three spot by all recruiting services. And methinks that’s pretty fair, as his statistics are a pretty fair R.O.I. on all things considered. As Hunter’s scoring has appreciated by a whopping +500% and change over the span of his collegiate career. Not many can say they moved the matriculation needle that much. Godspeed, get well soon. (UPDATE: Hunter did go hunter-gather vs. G.Tech in an unexpectedly early return… he is PROPABPLE (clavicle) for this one here… St.Christopher bless!)

Tiger Den: (depth=’pends, as they nearly go 5 deep at strength, tho’ mo’ like 2-n-change, now)

More was expected of 5.2 ppg, back-up S/G Alex Hemenway (6′4″, 195 lb., third-year)— at least per Lindy’s. As they were really high on his (potential) outside-offensive headroom here. As he was the Alpha Tiger get in his recruiting class three years gone. Does have a very sliced up 1970’s (albeit pasty) face-fro’. This future groom does not cheap on his manscaping look. So, there is that. Although the Hoosier State’s hoop crazy star has a history of dinging and denting type of ankle-rolls (St.Phillip bless). And these have (sadly) limited his role here. This guy is prolly your X2-factor. As Clemson, Sc. really needs his outside pure-shooter work; as 39.9% in relief is not the worst work if you can get it. (Which, is entirely +o.6% ahead of his ‘location location location’ or overall shooting-range gone real-estate axiom if you know what Eye memes…) Did Eye mention the face-carvings just yet? As this kid could borrow Coach Pry’s signature brown leather Shaft jacket and get away wif’ its.

Naz Bohannon is a thumpy looking: 6′6″, 232 lb., overload at the Three or the S/F spot. Final-year baller… truly. This is a can of Campbell’s chunky beef-stew-built kid. Naz be dropping you: 5.8 ppg on 4.2 rpg and 1.8 apg as a substitute teacher for the Tigers hardwood-working class. 50% long really bends your eye here… albeit on two mo’ 3-ball attempts this year than you and I combined! Still yet, the 54.9% from the floor does fingerprint at least a little bit of a skillset in addition to Bohannon’s ground-round frame. Naz is a: Youngstown State transfer baller, who put up a whopping 17 & 8 (ppg and rpg) last year. Lindy’s says this Naz is something of a Baltic Ave. man’s mini-me Point-F or orchestrator of sorts— in addition to the brute size/Newtonian Mechanics approach. 2nd-team All-Horizon League for it says to: ‘agry’. The Tiger can indeed take your two to land his (uppercase), one. Not a kid anyone is gonna be in any hurry to check at your local Y.M.C.A. in a year or two.

BONUS:
Most white-bread I’ve seen on tape in the A.c.c. in a looooong time rises here. 46.7% of the caucasian persuasion if you are keeping score at home.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Tigers who could growl @Tech=5'ish.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…that in order to be taken with this Clemson squadron being sprung for a tourneying spring-break of any sorts, they prolly needs a win here.

…mutually, in order to be taken with this Virginia Tech club being sprung for a NC2A tourneying spring-break of any sorts, they prolly needs a win here.

---

Thus, making for a hearty, needy, or ovulating type of game for both teams, girlfriends.

As each group needs a win here like a dead man, oh never worldwide, mind.

Tho’ do mind the store that although we are the rightful favorite in this one, it remains to be seen if we could take a recently improved Clemson’s A+++ best shot ‘bang’ on our visiting road-warriors chin.

We needs to be prepared for just that, their best punch crashing home and we needs to be prepared to land the same in our own self-defense.

As Clemson may not be a great team, tho’ Clemson @home has been good enuff.
Ditto historically, Bradley teams are typically Bentley’s, @home.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a mere +45 or Cyrus Lawrence looking point-tally of a VicTory. Or, a basic umpossiblity itself. Taken per capita this worked out to a more normalized looking near trifecta or 2.8125-point Tech Triumph here. The zinger(s) being… it was calling for a mind-bending +78-point VicTory until Clemson got its swagg back two weeks ago. That, and this is the zenith of head-to-head roundball round-robin Forum Guide comparisons. Or, of data-points max’ as the annualized statistical population (regular season) goes. The last game of the year has everything behind it included. Including the fact that Eye took the time to compare away oranges to home tangerines— when Venn Diagram overlaps are available. How you likes dem apples McBryde and Campbell Hallers? As Clemson was semi-competitive in Forum Guide terms at each bookend, and in the middle not so much.

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… VeeTee is up +1%-n-change in shooting percentage margin (all one of it on O, as D, is nearly gridlocked); V.P.I. is up an okay +4% in 3-point percentage margin (seventy-five-percent of which was on superior shooting on O), and yet these two (virtually) tied one another in rebounding margin year-to-date as annual Windex Wipes go. (With both bunches hovering right at +2 to the good in misses’ collection or backboarding this season overall). Not a whole whole lot to see here seasonally, just a bit of a Vah.Tech 3-pointing-advantage and not much science-fact else.

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… recently the Tigers have now gone up +2% in shooting percentage margin (+1% better of late on O & on D alike); with the Tigers now up a kinda useful looking +5% in 3-point percentage margin (little mo’ on O as our 3-pointing has dropped to a near crotchety 28% of late) and yet now the F’n Gobblers have moved up +2 caroms in rebounding margin on the fiberglass in the last couple of weeks. (Puuuur, the Tigers have gotten slightly dogged on the offensive glass in recency effect terms).

Armchair Pt.Guard’s:

STREAKING 1o1:
In this one we see two teams, both riding three-game winning streaks entering the regular-season finale.

The Hokies have been particularly hot of late, having won nine of their last 1o, and are coming off a lopsided 75-43 victory against Louisville.

Thus, these two are a nifty looking 6-nil in their last 15-days or fortnight+1 of play combined.

The data-mining curious thingy being… Clemson beat Gah.Tech by 1-shot and VeeTee beat Gah.Tech by 1.5-shots. After that… Clemson has looked just a little more demonstrative; beyond the home-schooled blowout vs. a Louisville team that was clearly ready, willing, and available raised to the obvious power to turn their jersey’s in and hang their 2o22 jocks, up.

Nobody is up much of anything at the charity stripe for the year. (on: a 2/10ths diff’).
Clemson is a .667 host; whereas VeeTee is .583 as a guest.
VeeTee is a mere +1 in R&R; tho’ must roadie here.

The Call...

No.37 Net Ranking Virginia Tech @ no.85 Net Ranking Clemson:

Two teams hoping to continue late-season flourishes will meet Saturday afternoon when Virginia Tech visits Clemson for an Atlantic Coast Conference closing contest. When the Hokies (19-11, 11-8 A.c.c.) visit the Tigers (15-15, 7-12) in the regular-season finale for both squadrons.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

So, while writing this preview, Eye honestly went from the better -and prolly hotter team as well- should have enuff thermodynamically left to warm to the All Championship Conference occasion right as rain in this one here.

Even though the visitor only wins about 3 in 10 visits historically road-warrior gone road-weary home is where the heart 7o% is A.c.c.

–oOo–

That squarely struck… the deeper I got into all things Clemson; and noticing their improved play of late in their own right- I kinda got to wondering if the Tigers have just what it takes to dirty this game up and gum up the works in this one here?

Clemson is NOT a great team. They have been clipped eleventeen times in intraleague runs since last year {sic: 2o21} for a reason(s).

They are however rebuilding and just barely good enuff to rival us on one of their better nites. As five of those 11 Ls were by 2-shots or less, and 4 of those 5 were by one 2-point shot or less.

And yes, if my Aunt Kim had nutz-n-a-bolt she’d be my Uncle… Tim.
Granted.

Tho’ these Tigers held the line and did not spit the 2o22 bit when lesser men woulda packed it in.

That tells me and the L in Space Robot that there is at least a little: “Danger” here.
I do favor VeeTee to still win this one.

Tho’ I’ma not betting the house, the car and stealing thy neighbor’s dog and betting him too.
The caveat being, those other 6 of 11 times and the Tigers got tamed by double-dights.
(And I’ma predicting this based upon their P/F-stud being short-circuited here).

Ergo, therefore, to Whit… the start=the finish here and it would be
best to go’on and finish these Tigers off from the start.

You let them hang around early on and they may hang up on you to close.

🦃 >>> 🏀 >>> 🐅

(63% confidence interval)

Virginia Tech=7o, Clemson=6o

please support the VT F.C.A.!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**