After a poor shooting night Tuesday against Davidson, Charlotte men’s basketball will now have to contend with one of the ACC’s premier offenses — Virginia Tech.
The 49ers face the Hokies, their first and only Power Five opponent of the season, on Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. And through three games, Virginia Tech (3-0) is averaging 99.7 points per game, the third-most in the ACC. All five of the Hokies’ starters are averaging in double figures, with junior forward Amani Hansberry and freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas leading the way with 18.3 ppg each.
Avdalas, a 6-foot-9 guard from Athens, Greece, is one of the more intriguing international prospects in the country. 247Sports ranked him the No. 2 incoming international prospect after Avdalas played two seasons of professional basketball in HEBA A1, Greece’s highest league.
The freshman fueled the Hokies in their most impressive win of the season so far — a 107-100 overtime win over Providence on Nov. 8. Avdalas posted a season-high 33 points, six assists and five rebounds.
“(Avdalas) was good today, but … this is still growing on him,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said after the Nov. 8 win. “He’s immensely talented, needless to say. 33 points in a high-level game against a well-coached and good defensive Friars team.”
Avdalas and the Hokies’ starting five will test a 49ers defense that has held strong this season. Charlotte (2-1) is allowing 67.7 points per game, but its opponents are hitting shots at a concerningly high clip. The 49ers’ opponents have connected on 48.3% of their field goal attempts and 36.1% of their 3-point attempts.
Charlotte’s offense has also lagged behind its defense this season.
Since scoring 92 points against Indiana State in its season opener, Charlotte’s scoring has fallen from 70 points against Tennessee Tech to 55 points against Davidson.
Charlotte scored 19 points in the first half against the Wildcats, digging itself into an early 10-point hole that coach Aaron Fearne thought was preventable.
“We did have plenty of wide-open shots, and we probably only needed to make a couple of them,” Fearne said. “You would’ve been in a totally different ballgame.”
To keep pace with the Hokies’ offense on Sunday, Charlotte will need an offensive resurgence.
