Preview: Georgia Tech Basketball vs NC State
All is not well in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech is coming off perhaps the two worst losses of the Josh Pastner era and it is facing an NC State team that has surged to the top half of the ACC. The Yellow Jackets followed their 43-point loss to Duke with a loss to 2-19 Louisville and it seems that Josh Pastner and this program are at rock bottom.
The only way they can dig themselves out of this hole is by winning, but that is going to be challenging against NC State and the ACC's top scorer, Terquavion Smith. NC State won the previous matchup this season in Atlanta 78-66.
Raleigh is one of the toughest places to win in the entire country and that is going to make winning tomorrow's game tougher. NC State (18-5, 8-4 ACC) has won its last three games and seven of its last eight dating back to the beginning of January. The Wolfpack’s lone loss in that stretch was an 80-69 decision at North Carolina, and they have since defeated Notre dame, Wake Forest, and Florida State. NC State, in fourth place in the ACC standings, is 12-1 at home this season, losing only to Pitt in its conference opener back in early December.
Can Georgia Tech pull off an upset against NC State on Saturday?
After playing a series of games at home, Georgia Tech has a tough stretch of road games on the horizon. Six of Georgia Tech’s final nine ACC games are on the road, including upcoming trips to NC State, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Boston College, who are a combined 62-15 at home this season. The Yellow Jackets’ only remaining home games are against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Louisville, who are a combined 0-18 on the road this season (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Tech has won its last four games at PNC Arena and seven of 12 after dropping its first seven games to the Wolfpack in the building.
With the season at a low point, could Pastner turn to different players or lineups to help? Against Louisville, freshman Freds Pauls Bagatskis got extended playing time and as a recruit, he was known as a good shooter and that is something that Georgia Tech needs badly. The three-point defense has still been solid, but the offense has been a disaster.
Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point defense and is 50th nationally, allowing 30.8 percent from distance. Tech leads the ACC in bench scoring, with its reserves contributing 21.1 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 12 of 22 games (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Georgia Tech will need better offensive production against NC State
NC State has a 59-44 lead in the overall series which dates back to 1925. Georgia Tech has won six of the last nine meetings, although the Wolfpack have won the last two games in the series over the Yellow Jackets, both in Atlanta. The teams did not play during the 2020-21 season due to COVID issues. Twenty-three of the last 29 meetings in the series have been decided by 10 points or less, with four of those decided in overtime (Per Georgia Tech PR).
With Lance Terry (hamstring) and Deivon Smith (ankle) unavailable at Louisville, Tech utilized just eight players for the seventh time. Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 15 of 22 games. Tech ranks No. 99 in the nation this season in bench minutes (34.1 pct.), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more.
The offense has been a train wreck as of late and if they want to have any chance to stay in this game, it will have to be better. Tech has converted less than 30 percent of its three-point tries in nine games this season, and four of those have occurred over its last five games (2-for-21 vs. NC State, 4-for-23 at Clemson, 5-for-22 vs. Duke, 7-for-27 at Louisville). The Jackets have connected on just 22.6 percent from distance over that span and 29.7 percent against the ACC this season (Per Georgia Tech PR).
Tech’s 29.5-percent field goal rate at Louisville was a season low, and the Yellow Jackets have failed to make 40 percent five times in the last six games, hitting 35.7 percent across those six games. Tech is 1-14 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, and 7-0 when it has a better percentage (Per Georgia Tech PR)
Tech’s last five opponents have connected on 52.4 percent of their field goal tries, and four (NC State, Syracuse, Clemson, Duke) have each shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Only two (Georgia, and Virginia) did so in the Jackets’ first 17 games. Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), and 2-13 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have failed to score 60 in three straight games, averaging 50.7 points against Clemson, Duke, and Louisville (Per Georgia Tech PR).
The other problem against Louisville was the free-throw shooting. Tech went 15-of-24 from the foul line at Louisville after hitting just 18-of-38 over the previous five games. The Jackets have scored 14.8 percent of their points from the foul line this season (Per Georgia Tech PR).
How To Watch Georgia Tech At NC State:
Who: Georgia Tech at NC State
When: 1:00 p.m., Saturday
Where: PNC Arena
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. 385, SXM app 975 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
Prediction:
Georgia Tech has lost eight games in a row
There is no getting around it; this team is not in a good place right now and I am not sure how much motivation they have after the way these last two games have gone.
College Basketball is known for upsets and this year has seen a lot of them (Georgia Tech did after all beat Miami). However, NC State needs every win for its tournament hopes and it can't afford to lose this one. I don't think they will and the Wolfpack will cruise tomorrow in Raleigh.
Final Score: NC State 77, Georgia Tech 62
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