Northeastern vs Virginia Game Preview
By Josh Burton
Finally Wahoo Nation, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team will be back in action this Saturday (12/16) as they take on Northeastern. The game at JPJ will air on the ACC Network and have a 6 pm EST tip time.
About Northeastern
The Northeastern University Huskies of the Coastal Athletic Association are led by head coach Bill Coen, who is in his 18th season. Coen is the all-time winningest coach for the program, going 274-269. He was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2018. This season the Huskies are 4-6 and coming off a narrow 73-71 loss to Vermont.
For Starters
Northeastern has eight players who average double digit minutes, and six of them are guards. They had used the same starting lineup until senior guard Joe Pridgen missed the last two contests. There hasn’t been any information put out on how long he will be out. If he does miss the contest, the lineup should be:
G - Rashad King (6’6” sophomore) Averages 7.9 points per game.
G - Luka Sakota (6’6” senior) Averages 11.7 points per game.
G - Masai Troutman (6’6” sophomore) Averages 10.3 points per game.
G - Jared Turner (6’8” sophomore) Averages 9.8 points per game, hitting 40% from three.
F - Chris Doherty (6’7” senior) Averages 11.9 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Matching Up
This should be an interesting matchup, as Northeastern plays four guards but is generally long at each of the guard spots. They also space the ball out well with each starter able to score. The Huskies have a pretty solid offense. Their strengths are scoring inside the arc, getting to the free throw line, and grabbing offensive boards. I would expect this to be another contest where the Cavaliers are able to test out their small-ball lineups with both four guard sets and also running Leon Bond III and Ryan Dunn as the frontcourt for stretches.
Look for Dunn to check Doherty while Reece Beekman may move around onto whichever guard is doing damage. This should also be another contest where first-year Elijah Gertrude is able to continue to expand on his game as he gets adjusted to playing at this level. And watch for Isaac McKneely to try and continue his hot shooting after hitting 6-8 from three in back to back contests last week. His emergence as a major scoring threat will continue to open things up for the rest of his teammates.
Walking in Memphis
Next up for the Cavaliers after Northeastern will be a trip to Memphis and the FedEx Forum to take on the Memphis Tigers (Tuesday, 12/19). This will be the first true away game of the season for the Wahoos and should be a fun one. Follow along with us on Locker Room Access!
(Featured Image Credit: Emily Faith Morgan/UVA Athletics)