Georgia Tech Basketball vs Clemson: Preview, How To Watch, and Prediction
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Things are not getting any easier for Georgia Tech this week.
It has been downhill since upsetting Miami and the Yellow Jackets have now lost five games in a row, the latest being an embarrassing 17-point loss to Syracuse. Syracuse fans were certainly heard in McCamish Pavillion Saturday and the frustration and disappointment among the fans is growing with each loss,
Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner was asked about this after the loss on Saturday and here is what he had to say:
"Well, losing is no fun and our guys are giving their maximum effort... we just had some stretches there where we are not scoring the ball and just not putting the ball in the basket. Like I said, we gotta get to 70. Look, I understand losing stinks, losing is no fun, our results to this point are not acceptable, I sure don't find them acceptable, and I know our fans don't either so, like I said last time, the only way we are going to win the crowd back is to start winning games.
As I also mentioned, since my time here, in all seven years, it has been like that for a while at Georgia Tech, even going back to Coach Gregory or Coach Hewitt, where just because of the alumni fanbase, a lot of times, opposing teams in the ACC are going to have people in the crowd, that is just nothing about this year. With that being said, the frustration of the fans, the disappointment from them... they have every right to be disappointed and frustrated because we are not winning and we are not getting it done and we have to win the crowd and you have to win games.
There is not an issue with our effort, the issue is we are just not making shots where we need to make shots and we are going on scoring droughts, we are not getting to 70 as I mentioned. Basketball is a funny game, Virginia Tech last year was 2-7 or 2-8 and they ended up winning the ACC championship so... sports you just have to get hot, you have to win and break through the barrier as I mentioned and... but as I mentioned, I understand every single fans frustration and disappointment and they have a right to be because the results are not acceptable."
Georgia Tech is 1-8 in ACC play this season
So can Georgia Tech snap the losing streak against No. 24 Clemson?
The Tigers come into this game all alone at the top of the ACC with an 8-1 record in the conference. Clemson sustained their first ACC loss last Tuesday at Wake Forest and rebounded Saturday with a slim 51-50 win over Virginia Tech. Clemson is 11-0 at home this season, including a 5-0 mark in conference games.
After playing three straight games at home, the Yellow Jackets are going to have to play three of the next four on the road.
The last few games between these two teams have been very close. The last three meetings between Tech and Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum have been decided by a total of eight points. The game-winning winning points were scored with 15, 1, and 14 seconds on the clock, respectively.
Tech has won four of the last seven games in the series, and the teams have split their two regular-season meetings each of the past two seasons. The home team had won four straight games in the series until Clemson scored a 79-66 win at McCamish Pavilion in December (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Despite struggling in most areas, Tech leads the ACC in three-point defense, allowing 29.2 percent from distance this season in all games (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Georgia Tech has struggled to shoot the ball this season
Georgia Tech has not been a good three-point shooting team, but that has not stopped the team from trying to shoot. Tech has averaged 24.5 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16). The Jackets’ 31 attempts were the most for the team since trying 32 against Georgia State on Nov. 25, 2020, a game that went four overtimes (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Pastner has spoken of trying to get the team to score more than 70 points and you can see why by the team's record when they do. Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), and 2-10 when failing to reach 70 (Per Georgia Tech PR).
One bright spot in Saturday's loss was that Deebo Coleman had perhaps his best game of the season. Deebo Coleman scored a season-high 17 points against Syracuse, surpassing the 16 he scored at Georgia State in the second game of the season. He matched a career-best by hitting five three-point field goals. Coleman’s career high in points remains the 19 he scored in the second game of his college career against Lamar, the same game in which he hit five threes for the first time (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Clemson is 6th in the ACC in PPG, averaging 75.3 PPG and 4th in defense, giving up only 66 PPG. They are 1st in the ACC in opponent FG percentage, which could spell big problems for Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech's three-point defense is going to be tested as Clemson is 2nd in the ACC in three-point FG percentage (37.7%).
Hunter Tyson is the top scorer on Clemson and 11th in the ACC, averaging 15.9 PPG. P.J. Hall and Chase Hunter are two other names to watch for the Tigers.
How To Watch Georgia Tech At Clemson
Who: Georgia Tech at Clemson
When: 9:00 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 384, SXM app 974 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
Prediction
Can Georgia Tech upset Clemson on the road?
This is going to be a tough matchup for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets lost by 13 to the Tigers in Atlanta earlier this season and Clemson did so by scoring inside and exploiting the weaknesses that Georgia Tech still has.
Going on the road and playing and beating a good Clemson team seems unlikely given the way that Georgia Tech has been playing, especially on offense.
I have been wrong before, but I don't think I will be on this one.
Final Score: Clemson 77, Georgia Tech 65
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