Instant Takeaways From Georgia Tech's 75-55 Win In The Season Opener Over Hampton

The Yellow Jackets move to 1-0 in the Scott Cross era

Georgia Tech head coach Scott Cross has added another coach to his first staff | Georgia Tech Athletic

Georgia Tech played its first game of the season against the Hampton Pirates and did some good things in its season opener. We take a look at what stood out and caught our eye in the launch of the Scott Cross era. 

1. The Yellow Jackets defense is much better 

It is just one game, so take it with a grain of salt, but the Yellow Jackets made it tough for Hampton to get comfortable and easy buckets at the rim. They held the Pirates to 6-for-33 shooting and 0-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Yellow Jackets also forced five turnovers and had six blocks. In the second half, Hampton got going, but the defense still forced Hampton to shoot 11-28 in the second half of the game, and 4-13 from beyond the arc. The area where they hurt Georgia Tech was from the free-throw line where they converted 14-19 second-half free throws. Defense will be the calling card for the Yellow Jackets this season.

2. Tylis Jordan May Be The Defensive Anchor The Yellow Jackets Need 

Jordan was all over the floor, playing top-tier defense and rotating weakside at a high level. In the first half, he had four rejections and brought the intensity and defense the Yellow Jackets needed. He is also a good rebounder and cleans the glass well. These are two areas Georgia Tech struggled with a season ago.

They may have finally found the defensive anchor they have needed for years to step up and defend the rim. He gave the Yellow Jackets a much-needed momentum shift in the second half when they struggled to shoot. His chase-down block on one end and then his alley-oop dunk on the other allowed Georgia Tech to snap out of the funk they were in.  He finished with nine points, eight rebounds, five blocks, and two steals.

3. Georgia Tech having shooting struggles still a problem

One of the big things the Yellow Jackets struggle with is outside shooting. They were one of the worst teams in the ACC. This season, while they have improved some, they still can’t shoot well from the perimeter. They were 2-15 from beyond the arc in the first half. The second half was a little bit better. But overall as a team they shot just 4-28 from beyond the arc. Shooting remains one of the issues that has plagued Georgia Tech the last few years, and Tuesday night was a friendly reminder: they have a lot of work to do here.

4. Georgia Tech is a much better rebounding team than a year ago

New squad, and you can see how good the Yellow Jackets are on the glass. They create a lot of second-chance opportunities. In the first half alone, the Yellow Jackets had eight offensive rebounds, which led to seven second-chance points. They dominated the glass in the first half and held a +14 advantage. On defensive rebounds, they were +17. Overall, they finished with a +26 advantage on the glass. The Yellow Jackets also had a 19-10advantage on the offensive glass. This is one of the areas of the game where they dominated from start to finish and showed good signs. This could be a key area to watch this season for the Yellow Jackets

5. The guard play for Georgia Tech is underwhelming 

Call me a critic, but the guard play for the Yellow Jackets was underwhelming on Tuesday. It wasn’t consistent enough, and the decision-making wasn’t ideal. You can look at the shot selection, turnovers, and lack of ball movement as easy things to notice. Of the four guards who played in the second half alone, Georgia Tech had 11 turnovers, with seven coming from guards. If you can’t take care of the basketball against bad teams, good teams will blow you out when you face them, no matter how well your defense plays. This was something the Yellow Jackets worked hard to address this offseason, but it looks like it will be a true work in progress.