Hokies Men's Hoops Returns to the Cassell to Take on The Citadel
The Hokies return to Cassell to play their first game in nearly a week against The Citadel
The 8-1 Virginia Tech Hokies Men’s Basketball team returns to Cassell Coliseum on Saturday for their first game in nearly a week, to take on the Bulldogs of The Citadel.
The Hokies have not played since their 80-75 home victory over Ole Miss last Sunday due to the close of the first semester and final exams.
In that game against Ole Miss last time out, Ahmed Hill continued his strong start to the campaign, notching 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor, to go along with nine rebounds.
Forward Zach LeDay proved pivotal in the victory as well, as the Hokies’ leading scorer finished with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
While LeDay has not started many games this season, he is playing starter minutes off the bench, as he is fourth on the team in minutes per game at 28.9 per contest.
Saturday will be the 20th meeting all-time between the Hokies and the Bulldogs and the first since 2014, a match-up which resulted in a narrow 64-61 win by Tech in Cassell.
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The Bulldogs enter Saturday afternoon’s match-up seeking their fifth win in the last six games, as they enter the contest with a 7-4 record on the young season. The Citadel last played a week and a half ago, on December 7th, as nine players scored in double figures in the 144-94 win over Toccoa Falls.
The Bulldogs boast a rather large rotation, as nine players have participated in all 11 games, while two additional players have played in 10 out of the 11 contests to date. The large Bulldogs rotation also displays a very balanced scoring attack.
Sophomore forward Zane Najdawi is one of four Bulldogs player who averages double figures in points, leading the way with 20.1 per game. Three other Bulldogs that help carry the scoring load include sophomore guard Quayson Williams (14.1 points per game), freshman guard Kaelon Harris (12.1 points per game), and freshman guard Preston Parks (11.7 points per game).
This is a young group that has played only two big games to date, both of which resulted in losses to 20th-ranked Iowa State and unranked Arizona State back in November.
While the Citadel leads the nation in points per game, averaging 105.4 per contest on the season, the sample size includes lesser competition like Toccoa Falls, Johnson University, and Truett-McConnell. In those three contests alone, the Bulldogs scored 144, 119, and 146, respectively.
This is not a team that the Hokies should take lightly by any means, especially considering the close call between these two schools just two seasons ago.
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However, look for the Hokies use their size down low (as thin as they may be in the frontcourt at this point), to overwhelm the Citadel this afternoon. This should be another good spot for freshman big man Khadim Sy to take a step forward. He has been an integral part of the Hokies 8-1 start, contributing 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13 minutes per contest.
He has begun to see an increase in his minutes as his defense as improved, and Saturday afternoon should provide another opportunity for him to continue to make plays in the paint for the Hokies.
The team will need him in conference play more than ever, but it is important for him to continue to develop now while he has the chance to play against lesser competition to close out the non-conference schedule.
Saturday’s game will tip-off at 1 PM ET at Cassell Coliseum, and can be seen online using ACC Network Extra.
