What To Watch For Vs. Duke
After a 5 game trip away from home, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-7, 2-2 ACC) are coming back home to McCamish Pavilion for the first time in 3 weeks. While they finished their road trip with an impressive 96-83 victory over North Carolina at the Dean Dome, their next contest is every bit as challenging as the previous. Before going back on the road later this week, the Jackets will be taking on the #2 Duke Blue Devils (13-1, 3-0 ACC). Tip is set for 9:00pm and can be viewed on the ACC Network.
Here are a couple of the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Tech's 97th all-time matchup with the Blue Devils:
Recent Dominance
It's no secret that Duke has owned the all-time series against Georgia Tech as of late. And by "as of late", I mean in this millennium. The Blue Devils have won the last 12 contests against the Yellow Jackets, with Georgia Tech's last win against Duke coming on January 9th, 2010 when both teams were ranked in the top 20. Going even further, Georgia Tech has won just 3 games in their last 39 tries.
Prior to Wednesday's contest, there have been 18 instances in which an unranked Yellow Jackets squad has hosted a ranked Blue Devils team at home. Georgia Tech's record in those 18 games? Just 3-15. The last time it happened was back on January 10th, 2007 when center Ra'Sean Dickey went 6-8 from the field and 9-11 from the FT line for 21 points & shooting guard Anthony Morrow came off the bench to go 3-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe.
They're (Almost) #1
The Bulldogs of Gonzaga might be the #1 team in the land according to both the AP Top 25 & USA Today Coaches' Poll, but the numbers tell a different story. According to KenPom.com, Duke is the only team in the country to be ranked in the top 10 in both offensive & defensive efficiency and are ranked in the top 5 in both metrics (5th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, 3rd in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency). These stats combined make the Blue Devils the #1 team in the country, and the only team with a +30 Adjusted Efficiency Margin. For context, 10 of the last 13 national champions finished the season with an AdjEM of 30 or more (UConn '11 & '14, UNC 17).
Even in Duke's shocking 85-83 loss to Stephen F. Austin back on November 26th, they still out-shot, out-rebounded and out-assisted the Lumberjacks. Had it not been for the fact that the Blue Devils turned the ball over 22 times and went 24-40 from the FT line, the game wouldn't had even made it to overtime.
Led By No. 1
Not only are the Blue Devils the #1 team in the country (on paper), but they are also led by the #1 player in the country. As of today, freshman center Vernon Carey, Jr. is No. 1 in the KenPom Player of the Year standings, and for good reason. He is shooting 62.8% from the floor (1st in ACC), hauling in 9.0 rebounds per game (2nd in ACC), scoring 18.4 points per game (3rd in ACC) and block 2.14 shots per game (4th in ACC).
However he's not the only high caliber Blue Devil on the roster. After opting to not declare for the NBA Draft last season, sophomore point guard Tre Jones is just as good as ever. He is second on the team in PPG with 14.2, and leads the ACC in assists per game with 7.2 (8th in the nation).
Thanks in part to the efforts of these two players, Duke leads the ACC in:
- Field Goal Percentage (48.4%)
- Rebound Margin (+10.5)
- Scoring Margin (+21.7)
Not to be outdone, freshman forward Matthew Hurt (11.6 PPG) & freshman guard Cassius Staley (11.0 PPG) are also averaging double digit scoring. Duke is an incredibly deep team, and the Yellow Jackets will have to play like they did against UNC if not better if they want to break their 12 game losing streak to Duke.
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