I watched the entire Stanford-Virginia Tech game after dinner last night. I decided that I would awaken early at 6:30 on Sunday morning to do my analysis. The Hokies turned out to be completely the opposite of my pre-conceived notion of the team. All season long; I had been concerned that Va Tech was too tall, too fast & too high
powered on offense for Cal to handle. In reality, VT is the most similar team to Cal of any ACC opponent to date.
I predict that the Bears will beat the Hokies, 75-72, this afternoon. Megan Duffy is in her first year as this team's head coach. She has seven years' experience running major Div I programs. She has proven to be quite successful, leading her teams to 20 + win seasons in every one of them. Jen Hoover, a former Cal assistant, is a member of her staff.
Va Tech has been trending downward, losing 5 out of their last 7 ACC games. The Hokies are only 3-5 at home in conference. Their overall record is 16-10 with a 7-8 in the ACC. Stanford lost the initial three quarters last Thursday night and trailed by 7 points heading into the final quarter. The Cardinal tied it up and forced overtime.
VT played sloppy basketball and committed 22 turnovers that led to 22 points for Stanford. PG Chloe Clardy scored 30 points to provide the impetus to pull off the upset.
Cal primarily plays six players and has all five starters averaging double figures. Va Tech employs six that are on the floor for 23.4 to 33.8 minutes per game. Four of the Hokie starters average in double figures. The Bears average approximately 9 three pointers as compared to the Hokies 7 treys per contest. Both teams can live and die by their long-range accuracy on a given day.
Women's Basketball 2024-25 - Virginia Tech Athletics
This is my analysis of their key personnel. Their starting PG is 6-0 RS-SO, Carleigh Wenzel. She has good speed and athleticism. Wenzel leads VT in scoring with 14.5 points and is second in three pointers w/ 40. She also is tops in assists (94) and second in steals w/ 30. Their primary inside force is 6-2 SR PF Rose Micheaux. She is athletic & has "hops". Her season stats are 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Micheaux pulled down 13 boards vs Stanford. She transferred from Minnesota and this is her 2nd season at VT. The number three offensive threat is a 6-2 forward that likes to shoot from outside. Carys Baker is a 6-2 sophomore post player that puts up 12.2 points and grabs 6.5 boards. She likes to shoot threes from the corner and is 3rd on the team with 37. The player that impressed me the most was 6-2 senior wing, Matilda Ekh, from Sweden. This is her second season with the Hokies after transferring from Michigan State. Her offensive numbers are 12.0 points per game, but she is a dead-eye three-point shooter with 51 made. In the Stanford game, she was six for six from the field in the1st half and kept Va Tech in front. She comes around outside screens and gets open looks around the top of the key. Her shots are pure. Lani White should sound familiar as a transfer from Utah. This is her first season with the Hokies. She is athletic and a 6-0 junior SG who contributes 9.6 points and is fourth in treys w/ 28. In summary, the Hokies have a trio of 6-2 players that can play both inside & outside plus two 6-0 guards.
VT_SeasonStats_2024 (3).pdf
The sixth "man" is 5-8 RS FR PG, Mackenzie Nelson. She is a distributor of the ball to her shooters with 84 assists. Nelson is a spark plug on defense and leads the Hokies in steals with 34. She also adds 5.6 points to the offense. A seventh player, Kayl Petersen, sees 15 minutes per game. She is a 6-0 frosh SF that tallies 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per appearance. She is tied for the team lead in shot blocks w/ 19. Petersen can also hit the three with 11.
The reasons that I believe the Bears will succeed can be seen in nearly every statistical category. Va Tech has outscored their opponents on the season by 7 points but in the ACC they are -2 per game. The Hokies are yielding 74.9 ppg to conference opponents. Cal should be able to outrebound this team because of the Bears trio of 6-3 post players. VT has averaged 35.1 rpg but only 33.4 in conference. The key to victory will probably be this stat: they only force 15.7 opponent's turnovers (13.9 in the ACC) per game. I would speculate that the three-point shots will be relatively close. If Cal continues to play well (3 game winning streak), they should have an excellent chance to emerge victorious. It will not be easy. The Bears have yet to sweep an ACC road trip. GO BEARS!
powered on offense for Cal to handle. In reality, VT is the most similar team to Cal of any ACC opponent to date.
I predict that the Bears will beat the Hokies, 75-72, this afternoon. Megan Duffy is in her first year as this team's head coach. She has seven years' experience running major Div I programs. She has proven to be quite successful, leading her teams to 20 + win seasons in every one of them. Jen Hoover, a former Cal assistant, is a member of her staff.
Va Tech has been trending downward, losing 5 out of their last 7 ACC games. The Hokies are only 3-5 at home in conference. Their overall record is 16-10 with a 7-8 in the ACC. Stanford lost the initial three quarters last Thursday night and trailed by 7 points heading into the final quarter. The Cardinal tied it up and forced overtime.
VT played sloppy basketball and committed 22 turnovers that led to 22 points for Stanford. PG Chloe Clardy scored 30 points to provide the impetus to pull off the upset.
Cal primarily plays six players and has all five starters averaging double figures. Va Tech employs six that are on the floor for 23.4 to 33.8 minutes per game. Four of the Hokie starters average in double figures. The Bears average approximately 9 three pointers as compared to the Hokies 7 treys per contest. Both teams can live and die by their long-range accuracy on a given day.
Women's Basketball 2024-25 - Virginia Tech Athletics
This is my analysis of their key personnel. Their starting PG is 6-0 RS-SO, Carleigh Wenzel. She has good speed and athleticism. Wenzel leads VT in scoring with 14.5 points and is second in three pointers w/ 40. She also is tops in assists (94) and second in steals w/ 30. Their primary inside force is 6-2 SR PF Rose Micheaux. She is athletic & has "hops". Her season stats are 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Micheaux pulled down 13 boards vs Stanford. She transferred from Minnesota and this is her 2nd season at VT. The number three offensive threat is a 6-2 forward that likes to shoot from outside. Carys Baker is a 6-2 sophomore post player that puts up 12.2 points and grabs 6.5 boards. She likes to shoot threes from the corner and is 3rd on the team with 37. The player that impressed me the most was 6-2 senior wing, Matilda Ekh, from Sweden. This is her second season with the Hokies after transferring from Michigan State. Her offensive numbers are 12.0 points per game, but she is a dead-eye three-point shooter with 51 made. In the Stanford game, she was six for six from the field in the1st half and kept Va Tech in front. She comes around outside screens and gets open looks around the top of the key. Her shots are pure. Lani White should sound familiar as a transfer from Utah. This is her first season with the Hokies. She is athletic and a 6-0 junior SG who contributes 9.6 points and is fourth in treys w/ 28. In summary, the Hokies have a trio of 6-2 players that can play both inside & outside plus two 6-0 guards.
VT_SeasonStats_2024 (3).pdf
The sixth "man" is 5-8 RS FR PG, Mackenzie Nelson. She is a distributor of the ball to her shooters with 84 assists. Nelson is a spark plug on defense and leads the Hokies in steals with 34. She also adds 5.6 points to the offense. A seventh player, Kayl Petersen, sees 15 minutes per game. She is a 6-0 frosh SF that tallies 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per appearance. She is tied for the team lead in shot blocks w/ 19. Petersen can also hit the three with 11.
The reasons that I believe the Bears will succeed can be seen in nearly every statistical category. Va Tech has outscored their opponents on the season by 7 points but in the ACC they are -2 per game. The Hokies are yielding 74.9 ppg to conference opponents. Cal should be able to outrebound this team because of the Bears trio of 6-3 post players. VT has averaged 35.1 rpg but only 33.4 in conference. The key to victory will probably be this stat: they only force 15.7 opponent's turnovers (13.9 in the ACC) per game. I would speculate that the three-point shots will be relatively close. If Cal continues to play well (3 game winning streak), they should have an excellent chance to emerge victorious. It will not be easy. The Bears have yet to sweep an ACC road trip. GO BEARS!
