By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
A late night turned into a long night for Georgia Tech Wednesday, unable to stop a clinically efficient offensive performance from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The Yellow Jackets showed fight in the second half – expect nothing less at this point – before succumbing to an 81-66 final at Cassell Coliseum.
They’ll look for better results Saturday against a Clemson team that, like Virginia Tech, is coming off a spirited win over Florida State. Efficiency has been elusive for Georgia Tech (9-12, 2-8 ACC), but perhaps the Yellow Jackets can draw some inspiration from their last home game with Clemson (12-9, 4-6 ACC). Last year at McCamish Pavilion, the Jackets buried 16 three-pointers and averaged 1.33 points per possession, a KenPom-era record against an ACC opponent, in an 83-65 win.
Enjoy the top notes, quotes and anecdotes from my chart in preparation for Saturday’s matchup at McCamish (2 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):
Michael Devoe averaged 22.5 points 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals in two games vs. Clemson last season. (photo by Danny Karnik)
In scouting Clemson, it’s clear there’s some dissonance between the conference standings and the conference stats.
The Tigers are 4-6 in the ACC, but they also rank in the top 5 in the league in both field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense. So do Duke and Wake Forest, who are 8-2 and 8-4 in league play.
| Category | Pct. | ACC Rank |
| FG% | 46.60% | #5 |
| Opp. FG% | 41.80% | #4 |
Defensively, look for Clemson to gap up, play physically, and help hard from the baseline. They have pesky guards led by Al-Amir Dawes and David Collins and sound, rangy bigs who recover well. The Tigers also turned in one of the statistical surprises of the season when they outrebounded Florida State by 13 and allowed just five offensive rebounds to the Seminoles’ gigantic front line.
Tech will need to cut hard and play with strong pick-ups at the elbows and blocks. It won’t hurt to knock down some kickout threes either, which could extend Clemson’s help and stretch the floor for dribble-drives. Pay attention to Jordan Usher, who made a career-high five three-pointers against Clemson last year and is averaging 44.7 percent from three in Tech’s wins.
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Last Saturday Michael Devoe surpassed Kenny Anderson on the Georgia Tech career scoring list.
On Wednesday Devoe posted his third career 30-point game on the road.
Who was the last Yellow Jacket to record at least three games of 30+ points on the road in his career?
Kenny Anderson.
Even in a program replete with dynamic scorers, the 30-point mark has been a surprisingly hard barrier to clear on the road. Devoe has had success against Clemson lately, averaging 22.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals in two games against the Tigers last year. He’ll spot a familiar face Saturday in Clemson guard Nick Honor, a stocky, deep-range shooter from Orlando, Fla., who broke Tech fans’ hearts with his banked-in three-pointer in the final second at Littlejohn Coliseum last year. Devoe said he and Honor were teammates on his first-ever AAU team as a third grader.
Their team’s name? The Tigers.
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It’s rare that you come across a global scouting report. But no less an authority than Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski recently said of Clemson’s P.J. Hall: “He’s got to be one of the most improved players on the planet.”
That praise was echoed by fellow world traveler Josh Pastner, who last year saw Hall score zero points in six minutes against the Jackets at McCamish. After averaging 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds last season, the 6-10, 240-pound sophomore comes in averaging a team-high 14.8 and 6.1 rebounds per game. He’s an agile big with a quick release who can also take quick-pop threes after setting screens.
Clemson was dealt a blow Wednesday when 6-8 senior Hunter Tyson (10.4 ppg) broke his clavicle against Florida State and will be out indefinitely. Still, the Tigers surround Hall with hard-nosed, attacking power guards like junior Al-Amir Dawes (11.0 ppg) and graduate transfer David Collins (11.2 ppg). The 6-4 Collins also leads Clemson in rebounds and free throw attempts. Tech will need to prevent him and Dawes from puncturing its zone and getting downhill drives to the rim, which could lead to drop-offs to Hall or kickouts to Honor, Alex Hemenway or Chase Hunter (12-19 3pt. last six games).
In spite of a down defensive night in Blacksburg, Georgia Tech forced Clemson into two of its four worst turnover rates of the season last year. Not coincidentally, Georgia Tech outscored Clemson 29-6 in fast break points. For a team that’s looking to jumpstart its efficiency, can the Jackets’ defense earn them some points in transition?
Jordan Usher knocked down five threes against Clemson at home last season. (photo by Anthony McClellan)
A modest milestone from Wednesday: Georgia Tech converted all eight of its free throws against Virginia Tech. According to my research, it was Tech’s most made free throws without a miss since they went 13-13 against SMU on December 21, 1986. The game famously took place at the old Suntory Ball in Tokyo, Japan.
The Jackets would have loved to have gotten to the line more – they were outscored by nine by a Virginia Tech team that ranked 350th in the nation in free throw rate – but it was an impressive turnaround after a 3-of-10 performance against Miami. That accuracy could come in handy against a Clemson team that allows 20.0 percent of its ACC opponents’ points to come off free throws (#3 ACC).
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Clemson welcomed in two graduate transfers in the offseason.
One attended Youngstown State (Naz Bohannon).
One didn’t but grew up in Youngstown (David Collins).
Collins’ Mom, though, is the all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball history at Youngstown State.
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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports. See you at McCamish.
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