2008-09 Basketball Game Preview: Charleston Southern

After taking Christmas week off, Virginia Tech will take on Charleston
Southern on the road on Monday night in their final test before ACC play begins.
The Buccaneers may not seem like a team the Hokies should lose to, but this is a
classic trap game, with Duke up next on the schedule.

Charleston Southern is 5-5 on the season. They’ve played some tough
competition, dropping games to Iowa, Cincinnati and Florida State. However, they
have just three wins over Division I competition this year, and those wins came
over teams who have combined for just two wins on the season.

Charleston Southern has some capable scoring options in their lineup. Jamarco
Warren is a terrific scoring guard and an outstanding shooter. He is shooting
49% from the field this year, an extremely high percentage for a guard,
particularly a guard of his height.

Perhaps Warren’s best attribute is his three-point shooting. He is 43-of-90
(47.8%) from beyond the arc this year. He has hit 43 of his team’s 74
three-pointers. Warren can also get to the glass, and he’s third on the team
with 23 assists. If the Hokies can slow down Warren, the Buccaneers likely won’t
have anyone else that can pick up the slack enough to win the game.

Charleston Southern has some decent interior scorers to complement Warren.
Kelvin Martin is a solid freshman who is third on the team in scoring and tops
in rebounding and steals. Martin is just 1-of-12 from the outside this year, so
he’s not a perimeter threat. However, he leads the team with 46 free throw
attempts, so he can get to the basket.

Omar Carter is Charleston Southern’s other three-point threat. He is 15-of-46
(32.6%) on the season from the outside. He’s also a strong rebounder and a good
interior scorer. Carter was the Big South Freshman of the Year last season.

The Buccaneers have only played 10 players this season, and that’s not likely
to change against the Hokies. Only Jamarco Warren plays over 30 minutes.
Everyone else is between 8.6 and 28.1 minutes per game. Fatigue shouldn’t be an
issue with Charleston Southern, though like most small schools, they don’t have
much depth.

The other three power conference schools that Charleston Southern has played
– Iowa, Cincinnati and Florida State – have beaten the Buccaneers by an average
of just over 20 points per game. If Virginia Tech plays like they are capable,
they should be able to do the same.

However, Charleston Southern played Iowa, Cincinnati and Florida State on the
road. This time they’ll get an ACC team in Charleston. How many times will they
have that opportunity in the future? Not many, if ever. They’ll be coming at the
Hokies with everything they’ve got.