Georgia Tech drops road game to Pitt 76-68
Well, another game that was within reach has slipped away from the men’s team once again. After winning 3 of their last 4, the Yellow Jackets looked like they could continue their roll and complete another upset. Instead, they moved to 11-17 overall and 1-9 on the road. A weak last 10 minutes of the game with some sloppy mistakes sealed the deal on what was a close game until the final two minutes.
It should be noted that Deivon Smith was out for this game and that left the Yellow Jackets shorthanded.
The first half showed a mixed bag. After 10 minutes, Tech was 2-10 in 3PT shooting and down 14-17, and this looked like it was going to be another tough game to watch, but Tech changed it up in the rest of the first half, even with 1-5 for 3’s in the next 10 minutes, and was able to bring the score to 32-33 going into the break. They ended the half shooting 20% from 3PT and 42.3% from the field along with 1-2 on free throws.
Ja'von Franklin was a key player once again
Tech made it through the first half with zero turnovers to Pitt’s five. Tech had scored 11 points off the 5 turnovers. Pitt had significantly better shooting the entire game, but they did not have the volume of shots that Tech had in the first half (6 more FG attempts). Pitt’s strong shooting defense was very apparent as we continually struggled to score, and they were winning the rebound game with 6 more than Tech in the first 20 minutes. Despite Pitt looking like the better team on paper, Tech was looking dangerous with serious potential for an upset.
With Smith out with an injury and Tristan Maxwell out of the game, the bench did not have its normal energy changers that provide not only relief for the starters, but a change of pace and style that can disrupt opponents. Deebo Coleman and Ja’von Franklin played all 40 minutes along with Miles Kelly and Kyle Sturdivant playing 37 and 38 minutes. Jalon Moore filled in the main 5th man spot with Lance Terry’s foul issues, ending with 30 minutes. All of this was working extremely well until the end when it became clear they were getting tired as their defense began to weaken significantly.
Jalon Moore ended with 10 points off the bench
Tech’s final lead in the game came at the 9:31 mark of the second half, and while there still seemed to be extreme potential for a win at this moment, Pitt stepped up their game. This lead was in the midst of a nearly 5-minute-long field goal drought for Georgia Tech that concluded at 7:25 with a Ja’von Franklin layup. Unfortunately, this scoring drought would prove to be their demise in this game as Pitt took over the lead and very slowly took the game out of reach.
The game truly felt like it was slipping away with five minutes to go. Lance Terry fouled out with 5:03 left in the second half after reaching 4 personal fouls with 7:28 to go in the first half. Despite being one of the crucial offensive players in the last few games for Tech, he ended with just 15 minutes of playing time and 0 points because of his foul troubles.
The most glaring and frustrating part of Tech’s game, not just today but throughout much of the season, was the poor shooting, especially in the first half. Tech entered the game 15th in field goal % and 13th in 3PT%, and while the field goal shooting ended at 47.3% to be on par with Pitt, the 3PT shooting was about on par for us at 32.1%. The second half’s significantly improved shooting raised these numbers and kept the game within reach. The missed shots are hurting chances for wins every single game, and several of the shots are either unnecessary and rushed or wide-open and just missed. Pastner needs to ensure the players are patient enough to get the right shot, especially when none of the players are true three-point specialists. They have been great with ball movement, and these longer plays consistently set them up for success whether it ends in a 2 or 3-point shot.
The shooting fouls significantly hurt Tech as Pitt went 19-20 from the line compared to Tech’s 7-10. In their January matchup, there was also a large disparity in free throw attempts that put the game out of reach. Many of these fouls were unnecessary and clearly, some disciplined play could have changed the outcome of the game, especially when it takes one of Tech’s top shooters out of the game.
Kyle Sturdivant dropped 16 against Pitt
The last obvious issue within this game was the rebounding. Going into this game, Tech was 5th in the ACC and Pitt was 4th in the ACC in rebounding. The end line on the stat sheet was 24 to 34 total rebounds, meaning we both had below our averages, but Tech was about 12 rebounds lower. This took away several of Tech’s normal scoring opportunities, especially with their uncharacteristically low offensive rebounding. Having only Ja’von Franklin in the paint and occasionally Jalon Moore did not help this, though, and the absence of Smith becomes very apparent when looking at our immediate rebounding difficulties since he went out.
Miles Kelly ended the game with a career-high 24 points, going 6-13 from three and 7-18 from the field. Ja’von Franklin nearly continued his double-double streak but ended with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Kyle Sturdivant showed why he deserves his spot in the starting 5 once again with a 16-point game and 5 assists, making shots when the team needed the spark. Overall there were many promising pieces of the game, but another loss in a now 11-17 season just puts one more nail at the end of this season.
Georgia Tech returns Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for their final home game against Louisville.
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