Virginia Tech Basketball: 3 keys for the Hokies against Washington

1. Slow down Jaylen Nowell and Noah Dickerson on offense

The Washington Huskies offense is led by a two-man attack of sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell and senior forward Noah Dickerson. Nowell is producing 18.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on 44.1 percent shooting from 3-point range. The Hokies have enough players in the backcourt to contain Nowell, but they’ll have to be sure to keep him off the 3-point line.

Dickerson may pose a bigger threat with his 6-foot-8, 225-pound frame. He’s putting up 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Hokies frontcourt is limited in size outside of 6-foot-10 forward Kerry Blackshear Jr.. He’ll need to stay out of foul trouble in this one or they could find Dickerson having a career game.

He already put up a season-high 28 points against the Minnesota Golden Gophers back on Nov. 21. It’s also a revenge game for Dickerson, who didn’t play too well in last season’s meeting and finished with four fouls. With more games under their belt, the result could be a lot different this time around.

Virginia Tech will have their hands full on Saturday but they should be up for the challenge. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Justin Robinson and Ahmed Hill leading the way, it will be interesting to see what nearly a week off from games has done for their chemistry.