Virginia Tech Basketball: Previewing Radford

The Hokies welcome a fellow Virginia program to the Cassell Coliseum when they lost the Radford Highlanders Sunday afternoon. Buzz Williams and Virginia Tech look to avoid a two game losing streak, following a three point setback to Penn State on Wednesday. Radford comes into town with an identical 4-3 mark as the Hokies, coming off a 57-46 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday.

The Highlanders are lead by 6'4", 205-pound senior forward Javonte Green, who is averaging a double-double on the young season. His 13.1 points and 10 rebounds per game lead Radford in both categories. Senior guard R.J. Price is second on the team in points and assists per game this season with 11.3 and 2.1 respectively. Price carried the Highlanders last Saturday in their win, leading the way with 21 points making up for an off night for Green who only scored seven points.

Radford's balanced offense features a third player averaging a double digit point total on the season, junior guard Rashun Davis (10 points per game). Davis also leads the program in assists with 3.4 through seven games.

Junior Adam Smith, freshman Justin Bibbs, and junior Joey Van Zegeren are all within one point of each other for the Hokies' scoring lead this season. Smith leads the way for Tech, averaging 12.9 points per game in 2014. He had a chance to tie the game against Penn State as time expired, but missed a buzzer beating three point attempt.

Van Zegeren has performed well off the bench for Virginia Tech, averaging three rebounds short of a double-double this year. He lead the Hokies in points and rebounds against the Nittany Lions, but may have lost the game for his side by going 0-7 from the charity stripe.

Van Zegeren's struggles from the line highlighted an overall problem for the Hokies Wednesday evening. The team was 4-14 on free throws and had an overall poor shooting night, both costly in a narrow three point defeat. The Hokies should handle the Highlanders and move to 5-3, but if they again fail to convert easy points the game could be closer than it should be.