Drew Scott’s Virginia Tech Basketball Preview, Part 1: The Metrics

Virginia Tech
Keve Aluma and the Hokies are poised for a big season. (Virginia Tech sports photography)

With Game 1 starting next Tuesday, I thought I would sit down for a season preview of my own with an in-depth look at what to look for and how this season might be different than the previous two iterations of Mike Young Basketball. I’ll take a look at last year’s metrics, the roster, the schedule, and then what can be done in this stage to take Virginia Tech to the next level. First up, the metrics…

Metrics

Last year, Virginia Tech ranked 52nd in overall adjusted efficiency rankings according to kenpom.com. They were 59th in offensive efficiency and 53rd in defensive efficiency, a pretty balanced effort. To dig a little deeper, let’s get into some offensive metrics.

I included possessions per game to give some context that Mike Young like a slower, methodical approach rather than getting up more shots. Slower possessions means fewer possessions. This allows you to run more actions and counters, as well as gameplan your offensive strategy more rather than hoping to get up enough shots to win. Essentially it places more of an emphasis on the coaching staff and their preparation than on the overall skill level of the players themselves (unless of course you have a young team who cannot execute). UVA, who I’ll compare a lot to in this article, was dead last in the NCAA in possessions per game. The philosophies of the two coaches are very similar.

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