Virginia
Pittsburgh Basketball: 3 keys to bubble battle home matchup with Virginia Tech Hokies
After five straight wins and finding its way onto the bubble, Pittsburgh Basketball suffered a setback this week, losing by 33 points on the road at Wake Forest. But all isn’t lost, as they have a Quad 2 opportunity at home this Saturday against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 15-11 on the season but are coming off a blowout win of its own, beating Virginia by 34 points at home.
This feels like a bubble elimination game of sorts, with the loser of this game likely needing the ACC Tournament auto bid to make the Big Dance. The Panthers simply can’t lose this one. Here are the keys to them getting the victory.
The Hokies have one of the best backcourts in the country in Sean Pedulla (15.2 ppg and 4.3 apg) and Hunter Cattoor (14.0 ppg), who combine to shoot around 40% from deep on over 11 attempts a game. If they go off it’s going to be extremely difficult to beat them. That’s the challenge that freshmen guards Jaland Lowe and Carlton Carrington will have to face and against some of the other top guards, they’ve been okay.
But defending well and avoiding foul trouble as well will be a tough task, assuming that Ish Leggett deals with Tyler Nickel on the wing for Virginia Tech. If Lowe/Carrington finds a way to match their production, the Panthers would be in great shape. Just not getting outscored by a ton will be ideal.
The third key contributor for Virginia Tech this season has been a surprise, with 6’10 center Kidd breaking out. He went from 5.0 ppg off the bench a year ago to 13.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg on 65% shooting from the field. He’s had some big games this season, including a 31-point and 11-rebound game against American.
It’ll be up to the center duo of Federiko Federiko and Guillermo Diaz-Graham to slow him down. They had some recent good games collectively but got thoroughly outplayed by Efton Reid and Matthew Marsh in the last game inside against Wake Forest. It might not be as important as the guards but preventing a big game from Kidd will be another key.
On paper, these are two fairly similar teams when it comes to playstyle. One big difference is the rebounding, as the Hokies are fairly weak. They’re one of the worst in the country at rebounding, especially at creating second-chance opportunities. That’s one of the Panthers’ strengths, ranking 12th nationally in offensive rebounds allowed at 7.9 a game.
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For a team that can be as potential as Virginia Tech, making sure they don’t get second chances is a big key. A Blake Hinson masterclass scoring game could make this all obsolete but if not, winning the rebounding battle also is going to go a long way to winning on Saturday.
Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer led fellow Democrats to major gains in November’s election. Now he’s turning his attention to the redistricting of the Commonwealth, and a run in the newly proposed 7th district. He joins Sydney Persing on The Final 5 to discuss.
FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — Virginia State Police have identified the man who was shot and killed by a trooper after a crash ended in a stabbing attack on Interstate 495 Sunday afternoon.
Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean, died at the hospital on Sunday after he was shot.
RELATED | 2 dead, dog killed after stabbing spree, trooper shooting on I-495 in Fairfax County
Investigators said Llamado was confronted by the trooper who opened fire around 1:17 p.m. The trooper was responding to a report of a road rage incident and found Llamado with a knife, according to a news release.
Four stabbing victims, all women, were also found at the scene, along with a dog that was also stabbed.
Michelle Adams, 39, died from her injuries. The dog also did not survive. The three other women were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to VSP. 7News is not identifying the surviving victims.
Investigators said the stabbings stemmed from a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495.
The trooper who opened fire was not hurt and is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the use of force.
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Investigators said they do not believe the attack is connected to terrorism.
Virginia
Two dead after I-495 road rage incident leads to stabbing, Virginia State Police shooting – WTOP News
A road rage incident led to a shooting involving the Virginia State Police on Sunday on Interstate 495. Four individuals were also stabbed.
Two people are dead Sunday in Annandale, Virginia, after a road rage incident led to a shooting involving Virginia State Police on Interstate 495.
A release issued by the Virginia State Police said a trooper fatally shot a man after responding to a report of a road rage incident on the southbound lanes of I-495 just before 1:30 p.m. at exit 52, near the Little River Turnpike.
The man, transferred to a hospital with serious injuries, has been pronounced dead. VSP said the trooper shot in self-defense after the man confronted him with a knife.
The trooper did not suffer any injuries during the altercation.
Officials found four stabbing victims at the scene, but only identified a 39-year-old woman and a dog. Both the woman and the dog died.
Early findings suggest the stabbings took place after a crash on the Capital Beltway. The crash remains under investigation.
The VSP’s release comes after the main lanes of the Capital Beltway Outer Loop, before Little River Turnpike, were closed to traffic for several hours, only recently opening the express lanes. Main lanes between Arlington Boulevard and the Little River Turnpike remain closed.
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