Instant Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Head Scratching Loss To Boston College

Georgia Tech blew an opportunity to potentially land itself in the top 6 in the ACC and get a double bye in the ACC tournament after a head-scratching loss to Boston College. The Yellow Jackets also could have gotten over .500 for the first time since January 4th against the Eagles. Here are some key takeaways from an ugly loss

1. Turnovers rear their ugly head in defeat- Georgia Tech had just five turnovers in the first half and trailed 32-27 at the break. The start of the second half was a different story as the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over three times in a six-minute stretch and couldn’t buy a basket. This allowed Boston College to extend their lead to a game-high 15 points culminating in a 10-2 run that broke the game open. Georgia Tech's best chance of coming back came in the last five minutes when they got the score down to six points, but it was too little too late and multiple turnovers ended the Yellow Jackets hopes.

2. Georgia Tech abysmal shooting- The Yellow Jackets shot 18-56 from the field and made just five three-pointers. At the end of the first half, Georgia Tech was 10-30 from the field and 3-11 from three. Their jump shots simply weren't falling. You have to give credit to the Boston College defense but the Yellow Jackets settled for a lot of jumpers instead of attacking the rim and the basket to set up easy chances and establish a rhythm. They have players who are more than capable of slashing the rim and getting a bucket and this should be a point of emphasis especially when threes aren’t falling. The road woes continue for the Yellow Jackets and the same struggles we saw on the road this season showed their head again vs Boston College.

3. Bench struggles hurt the Yellow Jackets- A usually productive unit only had four points off the bench in the game. With the offense struggling mightily, the Yellow Jackets had no answers from their second unit. Jaeden Mustaf was the lone scorer with six points on 2-6 shooting from the floor. The Yellow Jackets still remain hampered by injuries and the seven-man lineup didn’t work against Boston College. Georgia Tech will need more production out of their second unit moving forward.

4. Lance Terry gets his groove back- Terry had five early points and was 2-2 from the field early on in the game and finished with nine points at the half. Terry finished with 15 points

It wasn’t his best shooting outing but he was money from the free throw line hitting 8-9 from the charity stripe. Terry has been struggling from the field lately in the last few games but it was nice to see him constantly attack the basketball and take advantage of his opportunities. The Yellow Jackets will need this Terry moving forward if they want a chance at making some noise in the ACC tournament.

5. Baye Ndongo continues hot stretch- Ndongo added another double-double to his tally this season bringing him to 10 this year. He nearly accomplished the feat in the first half finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds. He was the Yellow Jackets' best player on Saturday and was constant on both ends of the floor like we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. With the Yellow Jackets struggling from three, he kept attacking the paint and the glass leading to a nice run at the end of the game but it wasn’t enough. He finished with 17 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds. Ndongo also had two blocks on the defensive side of the ball. I will continue to advocate for Ndongo getting more touches for the Yellow Jackets. The game is coming easier to him and when the guards are struggling the way they were on Saturday, Ndongo needs to demand the basketball and be force-fed more touches.

6 .It was a rough game for the ACC Player of the Week- It was a very uncharacteristic game for the sophomore guard who had been playing some of the best basketball of his career. He simply couldn’t get it going until late in the game. In the first half, George had three points on 1-7 shooting from the floor. In the second half, he shot it better from three-point range knocking down 2-5 from beyond the arc and helping spur a run for the Yellow Jackets late in the game. However, it was probably one of his worst games this season especially when it comes to turnovers. He had three in the second half and finished with five in the afternoon. It was not a typical afternoon for the young emerging player. He finished the game with nine points on 3-13 shooting from the floor, six assists, five rebounds, and five turnovers. The good thing for George is he will get to move on from this game quickly as the Yellow Jackets play Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

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