2nd Round Charleston Classic
Line: GA TECH -1.5
Moneyline: Ga Tech -125, Va Comm +105
Tipoff: 5:30 PM EST from Charleston Arena, Charleston, SC
Things did not go well for Georgia Tech this off season. Their coach got fired; their best player left for the NBA; their third best player transferred; the best freshman decided not to enroll; and the on campus arena is not going to be available all year. Iman Shumpert is gone to New York to play with the Knicks and the aforementioned Brian Oliver now plays for Seton Hall.
They hired Brian Gregory to fill the void at coach, and realizes he has been dealt a heavy hand. They will need meaningful contributions from the likes of Julian Royal and Daniel Miller, but are a huge longshot in the ACC, and may finish near the cellar of it.
Daniel Miller only averaged 4.4 points per game and 5.0 rebounds in over 25 minutes a night. Nate Hicks was even worse with 1.6 ppg and 2.1 rpg in 9.4 minutes a night, while Kammeon Holsey only put up 3.4 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 14.4 mpg. Holsey is a good athlete and started 12 games last year after missing his true freshman year with a torn ACL. He is going to a be a rugged rebounder, but really should be a lot better than he has been so far, short as that time has been. They will likely go with a 1-4 offense anyway, to minimize their short comings in the front court.
Glen Rice, Jr. is the main story for Georgia Tech, but he is not that good really. He shot only 30.2% from down town last year and came off the bench for the final five games of the season. He is obviously the best player on this poor team and they will go as far as he can or can’t carry them. Jason Morris will be a big help, as he was the one who started when Rice was benched.
Transfer student Brandon Reed may help the most, as he averaged 15.1 points per game for Arkansas State last year while winning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the year. Gregory isn’t concerned about him jumping a level in the competition, and says he thinks there is ” a chance (for him) to be a very good player.” Still, Georgia Tech has only 8 scholarship athletes and they need more from walk on Nick Foreman.
Virginia Commonwealth is 1-1 so far this young season, and beat Saint Francis by 6 in their first game on November 11th. A predictable loss to Seton Hall was weathered last night, as they dropped the game by 15. Bradford Burgess was the only VCU player in double figures, as he scored 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting from the field, while playing 37 minutes. In the opening game against Saint Francis, he shot 0 of 12 from the floor and finished with 2 points, so this game was good redemption for him, even if they did lose. Last season, Burgess averaged 14.3 points per game on 48.7% shooting from the floor, so we have every reason to expect him to improve on his 6.5 point scoring average through two games.
Troy Daniels is leading the way for VCU with a 15.0 point scoring average. The 6’4 guard scoreed 22 against Saint Francis, going 5 of 15 from the floor but connecting on 7 of 8 free throws, while also pulling down 6 boards and dishing out a couple assists. He made no meaningful contributions his first two seasons with VCU, so this has been a nice surprise so far for Rams. Given Georgia Tech’s problems in the frontcourt, I see a lot of reason to back the slight underdog Rams in this game. They are going to get more from Burgess and if Daniels continues to see big minutes and produce, they have an outside chance at being a team that makes noise despite low expectations.
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