#28 R.P.I. Florida Atlantic vs. #86 R.P.I. Virginia Tech: 

Virginia Tech men’s hoops got their 2nd-wind and got past the Cyclones on Friday nite down in Kissimmee, FLA. As here they are in the E.S.P.N. made for telly final-2; whereas last year F.A.U. was (merely) in the Final… IV. Nationally. For everyone.

The Hokies are now tasked with a VERY tall task itself. As this is a BIG ole #19 in America ranked Florida Atlantic menz hoops club. 4 up vs. 1 down (Bryant got ’em: 52-61) and 1st-best in the on-the-come American Athletic Conference itself. And did I mention their Top-2o national metrics yet? Or their ’23 Final 4? K, and anyhoo… what you wanna know is… who is gonna win and by how much, rights? So, read on… to find, outs!

Florida Atlantic Head Coach: Dusty A. May: age=, 104–61 (.63o) overall, and at F.I.U.
Has a rep’ for being an in-game Ace/thinker. And for scrapers. High perspiration teams.
$1,250,00.oo

After graduating from Eastern Greene High School in 1995, May served as a student manager at Indiana under Bob Knight as an undergraduate from 1996 to 2ooo. After graduation, he had video and administrative roles with both USC and Indiana before landing his first assistant coaching job at Eastern Michigan, where he was on staff for the 2oo5–2oo6 season. May then had subsequent stops at Murray State, and UAB, where he served under former Indiana head coach Mike Davis. He joined the staff at Louisiana Tech where he was an assistant under both Kerry Rupp and Mike White.

May followed White to take an assistant coaching job at Florida, where he served from 2015 to 2018 before being named the head coach at Florida Atlantic on March 22, 2o18 replacing Michael Curry.

Championships:
NCAA Division I Regional — Final Four (2023)
C-USA Tournament (2o23)
C-USA Regular Season (2o23)

Awards:
C-USA Coach of the Year (2o23)
The May resume is well-decorated, as he was named the CBS Sports National Coach of the Year, as well as the NABC All-District 17 Coach of the Year, Conference USA Coach of the Year, and Palm Beach County Coach of the Year!

Daddy May and his wife, Anna, have three sons, Jack (guard on the Florida men’s basketball team), Charlie (guard on the UCF men’s basketball team), and Eli.

F.A.U. at a glance:

• 35th most 3’s made/game!!
• 39th best in Assist:Turnover ratio!
• 43rd Effective FG-percentage!
• 43rd in fast-break points! (+++Tempo team 1o1).
• 59th in 3-point percentage.
• Nothing bad to list… tho’ a slew of C to B— things after ^that^.
• 2 hurts listed… Coach God bless, twice!

Returning Starters=4*.

Florida Atlantic Strengths:

• ‘whispers’ say… possibly the deepest team in school, history; ever!
• Finders-keepers… as this Staff has found a slew of lowercase *** to near ** kids from small schools in H.S. terms who can still big-time D-1, play!
• * One #5o, Vladislav Goldin, true-C! MONSTA, big ole stiffy Five here men. 7′2″, 24o lb., Nalchick, Russia native; God Help. ex-post-up-facto of: Texas Tech to boot. 16.8 ppg with 6.8 rpg, on 1.0 apg, paired to 1.2 spg and married to 2.o bpg! That’s all. He and his box-score stuffers suck. Deport him right now!  However, to do so would be to deport your leading: scorer, rebounder, and swater. That’s all. 2o22-23 Third Team All-Conference USA. Still developing; and frankly, Vlad’ looks like he could easily add another 10-lb. plate, maybe mo’. Kinda got that Vitali Klitschko onboard build to him. Strong; though lean about it more so than powerful about it such as younger bro’ Wlad’ Klitschko was. As this is a Juniorific near stud Five folks. Long, big azz wingspan: (7-4). And a legit: (216cm) (109kg), comrades. As try as Billy might, you still kan’t coach… height. Tough match-up here. Has all kinda experiences, just like Jimi… CSKA Moscow— their hoops football factory school, 2 years on the Russian National Team, and then 2 mo’ seasons of their Euro Championship team and their World Cup team alike. This is a pretty far side of the Experience & Learning Curves 2o-year old kid-o to be sure. 35% flooring as a Red Raider rook’ up to a near ≅68% for the Owls shows you he does give a hoot. Ditto the near +1,5oo% betterment in points-production itself. Leads the A.A.C. in fouls drawn; and is an anchoring eraser of misQs by the Owls’ higher-risk defenders on D. O & D board-eater; called: “an elite rebounder” by Lindy’s and 2nd-string Lindy’s all-conference pre-season. Prolly is a Pro’, prolly an Association one; or the €uros will flow freely for this BIG here. Stud. Very. Studly.

  

• * 6′3″, 2o1 lb. Johnell Davis G, all-round roundballer 1o1. 14.2 ppg with 6.4 rpg and 1.6 apg; from your 4th-option who has become your 2nd-leading scorer and rebounder alike are good problems to have. Heeeeeer’s… Johnell… your 2o22-23 Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year. Hondo’ much? Penetrator or slasher via trade. The 5o% 3’s are a nice off-season add-on touch. Has a nice stop-unit rep’ as well as all these early ’23 improvements. That could be code for over$eas love if the 3-deep holds course.
• * Pre-season Lindy’s American Athletic Player of the Year: Alijah Martin; that’s all. He sucks too. Although, the: 11.6 ppg with 5.2 rpg and team-pacing 1.8 spg are off a bit, actually.  Junior; with a limelight tag for big-game heroics. Plays the One though kinda mo’ of a Lead-G at: 6′2″, 21o lbs. 3-level scorer; tho’ code for: drives, FT-line, and 3-ball triune pointing here.
• Brandon Weatherspoon G 6′4″, 186 lb., Senior. His brothers… Quinndary and Nick, were standouts at Mississippi State. Quinndary is coming off All-SEC honors and his second season in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. So, the N.b.a. D.n.a. is fully downloaded and installed here. Low turnover high (12o) offensive rating kid-o here. Prolly could gun it a bit mo’ on O for it. 5o% behind the arc for: 9.6 ppg with 2.8 rpg and 1.6 apg might just say so.
• * Nicholas Boyd G 6′3″, 175 lb., third-year, Point-Guard, (see: below… St.Nikon bless!). As his: 10.7 ppg with 3.o and 3.3 apg are dinged-up here. This One is their Qb1 on-court and would be a significant sit Boyd cannot give it a go. Perimeter glass-crasher with a nose for the ball. St.Culbreth help.

Florida Atlantic Weaknesses:

• The hunter now becomes the bull’s eye or the hunted— how well will that go when taking everyone’s final-four A-game best punch we shall see…
• Ok FT-team. Not bad; just okay.
• Owls do have 4 wings in total clipped and this is injuring Depth here.

Owls nest: (depth=’bout 3 deep, not super deep)

Super shooty though… as sub’ Bryan Greenlee was merely tabbed: Lindy’s American Athletic Conference Shooter of the Year pre-season. That’s all. He sucks too; in particular from deep. Though the 39.8% is a bit down from him… actually. 8.2 ppg with 1.4 rpg and a crafty 4.o apg are nice Qb2 work.

Giancarlo Rosado: a 6′8″, 248, P/F, gear-grinding worker. Swamp-donkey over in: Okefenokee swamp-azz terms. See: above. Tho’ his final year was highly experienced: 9.o ppg with 3.7 rpg and 2.o apg in relief would be missed if he cannot go. Likewise, the 67% efficacious makes. Best frontcourt bullpen guy they have hands down.

6′3″, 185 lb.,  Jalen Gaffney off-G: 6.8 ppg with 3.4 rpg and 2.8 apg and a near Conference calling 61% when dialing long-distance. Jay-Gee’s range is the Gym; if he is in it, he is… open. ex-of UConn; 5th year baller. A playmaker who could have taken a larger offensive role somewhere else tells you a lot here.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Owls who could parliament @Tech=7'ish.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…it is to be taken with these come at you in waves Owls.

And their inside-out licks to the Center of the Tootsie role-playing Pops, indeed.

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As this is a high-pressure team; prolly mo’ so on O… as they hit you in waves via design to test your S&C late.

Their screwball upset (as no.1o in the last Poll) vs. nobody Howard is not a Masters and Johnson’s masterful look. Not very magical thereof either. Does kinda have the feel for got too full of themselves to me. As F.A.U. is better than that.

As formerly #12 aTm just –7 points found out.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for an A.c.c. ask back in December here.

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… Vah.Tech is up just over a nominal looking ~+1% in shooting percentage margin (on: F.A.U. little better O & VT a bit better D); with F.A.U. up another just over a nominal looking ~+1% in 3-point percentage margin (’cause: these two squadrons precisely tied on 3-O and yet the Owls were just a smidgeon better on 3-D), and yet the F’n Gobblers reupped a leftover looking +2 carroms collected in rebounding margin for the year-to-date. (F.A.U. is okay, VeeTee has been a bit mo’ okay is all in backboarding annual terms. Additionally, the Hokies are missing less of late and that is skewing this in their favor, actually).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… in shooting percentage margin, in 3-point percentage margin, and in rebounding margin… they say… “ask the 6-hole, b.street!”

Armchair Pt.Guard’s:

F.A.U. is up +4 in R&R in the last fortnight+ of play.
VeeTee is a .667 neutral; whereas F.A.U. is 1.oo Swiss.
V.P.I. is up a decent +4% at the charity stripe for the year.

The Call…

No.44 Net Ranking Florida Atlantic vs. no.1o4 Net Ranking Vah.Tech:

Me?

Well, I’ma calling for another shot of Wild Turkey here!

LOL… c’est la (u)Vee(a)

The VerdicT:

The Hokies’ top three guards are all scoring in double figures and shooting better than 4o percent on 3-pointers. That includes Hunter Cattoor, who is averaging 15.3 points; and Tyler Nickel, who is averaging 10.4 points.

The Owls will have to protect the 3-point line where Pedulla is netting 46.2 percent, Cattoor is shooting 45.8 percent and Nickel is accurate on 42.9 percent.

^That’s^ your lifeline gentlemen… we won’t be punking this throwback back-to-the-basket legit Five on the Inside anytime soon. We gotta win this one with a better long game than their best short game. As size does matter… wimminz species, rejoice.

The Digits:

If you asked me -and you did via reading these very words- if you ask me… the starting line-up dictates this one here.

Similar to someone’s winning Rivalry call… (thx @Coach God on dat)…

…the Start(ers)=finish in this one.

–oOo–

OPT:

IF, FLA.Atl is at full medicine and has a mess of (backcourt) guys available, with a mess of fouls to run at our slickster long-rangers, their inside guys can overpower the day. IF such a handsy halt-unit team is short-handed in the backcourt, our outside firepower will hold, court.

Hootie hooooooo or Owl health=W’er or L’er… here depending upon your point of view.

 

(48% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=82, Florida Atlantic=80

please support the VT F.C.A.!

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**