On Wednesday at 6:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome Virginia Tech to Maples Pavilion for their ACC home opener. Stanford comes in at 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the ACC while Virginia Tech comes in at 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
Last time out: On Saturday, Stanford fell to Pittsburgh on the road by a final score of 83-68. Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud finished with 21 points and five rebounds while forward Chisom Okpara had 14 points. Guard Ishmael Leggett led Pittsburgh with 21 points and six rebounds after missing the previous game due to an injury.
RECAP: Stanford MBB gets pummeled at Pittsburgh
On Virginia Tech: The Hokies’ lone win over a high major opponent is at home against Miami in their previous game by a final score of 86-85. That gives them a win in ACC play. Outside of that, they’ve really struggled to keep things competitive against high major competition.
The Hokies are led by junior forward Tobi Lawal, who is averaging 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Their number two scorer is graduate student forward Mylyjael Poteat, who is averaging 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. They’re the only two players scoring in double figures for the Hokies, but there are six additional players averaging 5+ points per game, so they have a lot of balance.
As a team, the Hokies average 71.1 points per game on 44.0% shooting from the field, 35.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.9% shooting from the foul line. They average 33.8 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 5.6 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 14.1 turnovers per game. They also average a +3.1 rebound margin and a -1.7 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 73.5 points per game on 46.1% shooting from the field, 32.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 74.9% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is keep feeding Maxime Raynaud, who is averaging 20.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He’s going to be the best player on the floor tonight and Stanford needs to make sure they get him going as much as possible. If he has a big night, odds are good Stanford wins.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is maintain a good offensive flow all night long. At times, they’ve struggled with going into lulls where they aren’t scoring. If they can stay in a good flow and avoid scoring droughts of 3+ minutes, they should be fine.
Lastly, Stanford needs to defend the perimeter. Virginia Tech has a few players who can knock it down from 3-point range. If Stanford defends them well from deep, they’ll be taking away a big weapon that Virginia Tech relies on.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning this game by a final score of 80-70. Stanford is on paper the better team and with them being at home, I think they’ll get hot and put up a good deal of points. I expect Raynaud to play well and for others to feed off that. Especially Jaylen Blakes and Oziyah Sellers.
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