PREVIEWING THE HOKIES MATCHUP AGAINST A "PHYSICAL" LONGHORN TEAM

By Wyatt Krueger

Staff Writer

March 18, 2022

MILWAUKEE, W.I. – When asking No. 11-seeded Virginia Tech coaches and players on what to expect from No. 6-seeded Texas in Friday’s Round of 64 matchup, one common theme stuckout: physicality.

“One thing we’ve talked about is just how physical they are,” forward Keve Aluma said. “We know the game is going to be a dog fight.”

“I know they rebound pretty physically, and they’re aggressive,” guard Storm Murphy said.

“We’ve got to be ready to step up and not only meet but exceed the physicality of the game and be ready to play,” forward Justyn Mutts said.

It’s clear this Texas team has an identity in head coach Chris Beard’s first year with the program.

The Longhorns are No. 14 in Ken Pomeroy’s defensive efficiency rankings and are No. 6 in the country in scoring defense allowing 59.6 points per game.

The fundamental principles of the Longhorn’s defense started the first day Beard arrived in Austin.

“We have what we call nonnegotiables that aren't going to change as long as we're coaching,” Beard said. “We want to be a team that doesn't give up easy baskets, that’s a commitment to being competitive at the rim.”

“We want to be a defense that doesn't foul in bad moments or in unnecessary moments. That's discipline. We want to be a defense that tries to take something away from you. I know in this game if we let Virginia Tech do what they want to do, start the bus.”

It didn’t take long for the players to buy into Beard’s defensive staples as a coach.

“Since day one, Coach Beard wanted our defense to be one of the best defenses in the country,” guard and primary perimeter defender Courtney Ramey said. “We know that's what's going to make our team stand out in March, and we want to carry it over until now.”

Virginia Tech comes into this matchup with all of the momentum. The Hokies have won 13 of their last 15 games including an ACC Tournament run where they beat No. 10-seeded Clemson, No. 2-seeded Notre Dame, No. 3-seeded North Carolina and No. 1-seeded Duke.

The Longhorns, however, have lost three of their last four games and got bounced from the Big 12 tournament in the quarterfinals to TCU.

Regardless of what each team’s records say heading into the big dance, Beard’s squad has had some tough matchups down the stretch in a good Big 12 conference.

“I would think they're obviously playing great basketball, but we are, too,” Beard said. “You look at our last three games. Baylor got a one seed. Kansas got a one seed. So it's not like we're playing schools down the road. We feel like we're playing pretty well right now,

Texas has also had to deal without junior forward Tre Mitchell, who left the team on Feb. 15 for personal reasons.

At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, Mitchell was the tallest player on the roster and would’ve likely been tasked with guarding Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma. Mitchell was averaging 8.7 points and 4 rebounds per game before his personal leave of absence.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is still a veteran Texas group that finished fourth in the Big 12.

“Chris has got an old bunch,” Young said. “Typical of Coach Beard's teams, they're just so aggressive. Good Lord, you know exactly what they're trying to do.”

“We cannot turn the ball over 15 times, if we do, we've got a problem,” Young said. “We've got to have sureness with the ball. We've got to catch well. We've got to pass well. We've got to put the ball in the post to Aluma and Mutts and see how the Longhorns are going to guard that, and then we've got to rebound.”

Surely the Hokies will have to bring their hard-hats and be a detail-oriented group on Friday if they want to advance to the Round of 32.