By Derek DeBurger
Sunday’s matchup vs the No. 12 Virginia Tech Hokies will be an important factor in determining the seeding for the ACC tournament. If No. 18 Louisville wins, they’re right back in the hunt for first place in the conference; if Virginia Tech wins, the Cards are all but eliminated from winning the ACC regular season.
The Hokies have two of the biggest stars in all of college basketball: Elizabeth Kitley and guard Georgia Amoore. Kitley is a towering center who ranks eighth nationally in points, seventh in rebounds, and 31st in blocks. Kitley’s height is terrifying, especially against Jeff Walz-coached teams that have historically struggled with the upper extremes. She is also a decent three-point shooter, too, hitting 40% of threes—albeit she’s only two-of-five through this point in the season.
Despite being one of the most underrated players in the sport, Amoore should demand an extraordinary amount of attention from opposing teams. Amoore is the second leading assister in the country, behind Iowa’s own Caitlin Clark, and adds 17.6 points per game to make guarding her increasingly difficult. If it wasn’t hard enough to decide if you respect Amoore as a scorer or a passer, she is one of the fastest players in the sport and can hit threes from mid-court, so you better make your mind up or she’ll punish you. Amoore also leads her team in steals per game averaging just under one.
Outside the two stars, the Hokies also rely on guards Matilda Ekh and Cayla King for major minutes. Both players have solid all-around skillsets and impressive height, standing 6’ each.
Unsurprisingly, with an anchor in Kitley, the Hokies defense is excellent. Virginia Tech only allows 60 points per game and is in the top 30 in blocks and rebounds per game. The Cards have done a great job against teams that are great rebounding teams, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Cards handle the height of the Hokies down low. The one aspect of the Hokies’ defense that plays into Louisville’s hands is that they don’t go after steals and turnovers; they attempt to stay in front of people.
This will likely be one of the toughest games of the regular season, but a good home environment should help the Cards play to their highest level. I’m hoping for a Louisville win, but it feels very much like a toss-up.
