Virginia Tech-Coppin State Preview

Chris Hirons

December 19, 2020

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Coming off of a late win on Tuesday night to open up ACC play against No. 24 Clemson, Virginia Tech returns to its non-conference slate and plays a much weaker opponent in Coppin State.

The Eagles are the No. 332 ranked team in the country out of the eligible 357 Division One schools, according to the KenPom rankings. And that ranking is for good reason, too. Coppin State enters Saturday evening with a 1-5 record, with each of those five losses being by double digits.

To Coppin State’s credit, however, it only lost to No. 21 Duke by 10 to open the season. Since then, the team has dropped four of its last five to George Washington, Drexel, Georgetown and UMBC.

The only team that the Eagles have beaten this season? UNC Greensboro, by a slim six-point margin.

These two teams have such a disparity when it comes to talent that the Hokies season-opening 77-62 beatdown against Radford will likely be a closer game than the one that will take place on Saturday.

Coppin State’s Key to the Game: Limit VT From Beyond the Arc

Virginia Tech has certainly lived up to the ‘live by the three, die by the three’ mantra - just see the games against VMI and Penn State. Against VMI, the Hokies pulled out a close win over the Keydets, but shot just 29.2% from deep. And against Penn State, VT lost by 20 in the ACC/Big Ten challenge and was a hoffric 27.3% from three.

The Eagles’ defense has been the team’s strength this season as it ranks in the upper-third across the nation in terms of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating. The Coppin State offense, on the other hand, ranks as one of the absolute worst offenses in college basketball, shooting an ugly 34.6% overall and an uglier 26% margin from deep. If CSU keeps it close, it’ll be a low scoring affair rather than a shootout.

Virginia Tech’s Key to the Game: Get the Offense Going Quickly

For the Hokies, a common theme this season is waiting until the third or fourth minute of the game to score a basket. A slow start almost cost them the game against VMI and Clemson. Against the Nittany Lions, the game was basically over by the end of the first half. Even against Radford, the Highlanders only trailed by six heading into halftime.

For Mike Young’s offense, the lid will have to come off the basket rather quickly if the Hokies plan to blow out CSU and essentially end the game by halftime.

Coppin State Player to Watch: Anthony Tarke (No. 3)

The six-foot-six guard is easily CSU’s best player on both ends of the floor. The redshirt senior does it all for the Eagles as he leads the team in points per game (17.3), rebounds per game (7.8), steals per game (three) and blocks per game (1.3). He’ll be all over the floor against the Hokies, and will almost single-handedly attempt to lead a pitiful Eagles team to victory.

If the Hokies, though, are able to key in on him and limit his offensive and defensive mobility, it’ll be a long game for Coppin State.

Virginia Tech Player to Watch: Keve Aluma (No. 22)

The Wofford transfer has taken a back seat on the offense in VT’s last two games after being named ACC Player of the Week for his efforts against Radford, Villanova and South Florida. In his first four games, Aluma averaged 17.8 points per game. In his past two, he’s only averaged 10.5.

Against Radford, the opponent that compares best to CSU, Aluma lit up the scoreboard in his Hokies debut with 19 points and was efficient with his 10 shots, making seven of them. Aluma will have his chance to take charge of the Hokies offense against Coppin State, especially as Tarke limits Tech’s guard play as much as possible.

Score Prediction:

Chris Hirons: Virginia Tech 75, Coppin State 53

David Cunningham: Virginia Tech 80, Coppin State 62