Inside The Chart – Miami

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

They committed 18 turnovers and their leading scorer was held to three points, 16 below his season average.

Ordinarily that would be grounds for a blowout.  For Georgia Tech they turned into forgivable footnotes in an energizing win over Clemson at McCamish Pavilion.

“I really like our team.”  How often has Josh Pastner said that throughout the year?  Even during lean stretches, Tech’s head coach believed his team had a balanced, complete ACC game in them.  On Saturday they finally put it on full display.  They forced 18 turnovers of their own.  They gridlocked Clemson’s normally efficient three-point shooting, holding the Tigers to 6 of 24 from beyond the arc.  They got a career-high 10 points from Miles Kelly and a Georgia Tech career-high 16 from Deivon Smith.  They got a team-best +16 plus-minus from a player who hadn’t appeared in the last three games.  Even Michael Devoe drew praise from Pastner, who complimented his guard’s passing and decision-making in the second half.

All wins are welcome.  But team wins can have a special kind of staying power.  Georgia Tech (10-12, 3-8 ACC) hopes that can propel them into a rematch Wednesday with Miami (16-7, 8-4 ACC) at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.

(And don’t worry about Devoe’s meager scoring output against the Tigers.  The senior has made 10 of 18 three-pointers all-time at Miami.)

Enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Yellow Jackets look to turn a win into a winning streak in ACC play (7 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):

Michael Devoe enters tonight’s game with 1,540 career points, 17th on Tech’s career list. (photo by Anthony McClellan)

Georgia Tech landed on the opposite side of that equation when it faced Miami Jan. 29 in Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets forced Miami into a season-high 16 turnovers.  The Hurricanes came in leading the ACC in turnover margin.

Tech held Miami to 41-percent field goal shooting.  The Hurricanes came in leading the ACC in offensive efficiency in league games.

Yet Miami led by as many as 19 points and survived a second-half comeback to win 73-62 at McCamish.  It’s easy to point to free throws as the splitting point – Miami made 21 of 25 while Georgia Tech only made 3 of 10.  To make that number even more maddening, the Hurricanes have only attempted six free throw attempts combined in their two games since.

But more than that, Josh Pastner pointed to a pair of L’s – layups and live-ball turnovers – as the bigger culprits.  The Hurricanes bothered the Yellow Jackets by picking their guards up early and making it difficult for them to get into a flow.  Miami loves to swipe down on dribble-drives and ceiling-fan its arms in passing lanes.  The Yellow Jackets will have to pass and cut hard to apply pressure on the second and third side; if so, they can get cleaner driving lanes than the ones they encountered in Atlanta.  Tech’s struggles with layups last month was even more puzzling considering Miami lacks a true rim protector.  Can the Yellow Jackets drive with force and finish better around the rim Wednesday?

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Their approaches may differ – Miami predominantly plays man-to-man – but the Jackets and Hurricanes share a similar profile statistically in ACC play:

Miami has dropped consecutive games for the first time all season, so expect Tech’s defensive sharpness to get tested early. The Hurricanes once again roll out a collection of smooth, pick-and-roll-savvy guards led by Isaiah Wong (15.7 ppg) and Kameron McGusty (team-high 20 points vs. Georgia Tech).  A lot of Miami’s ending action involves a middle iso for them, though 5-11 Charlie Moore (12 points) also has an ability to get deep and attack the crevices of the halfcourt.  Each is capable of quick pull-ups from three if Georgia Tech’s defenders have their hands down.  Tech will need to crowd the floor and be “in the feet” of the Hurricanes’ shot-makers.

Pay attention to Wong, a preseason first-team All-ACC guard who’s still searching for a breakout game against Georgia Tech.  The 6-3 junior has a high release and a deft pullup, but he’s only shot 28 percent and gone 1 of 13 from three in his career against the Yellow Jackets.  He’ll look to get engaged following a season-low 6 points in Miami’s 71-58 loss to Virginia.

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Michael Devoe will meet his numerical doppelganger Wednesday.

Devoe enters the day with 1,540 career points and 533 made field goals.

Moore enters the day with 1,534 career points and 530 made field goals.

In Devoe’s defense, he’s done it in less time – Moore is a sixth-year senior, one of four on the Hurricanes’ roster.  Moore (No. 2 in the ACC in steals) battled foul trouble in Atlanta, but he’s a subversive guard who gives Miami a pestering presence at the point of attack.

Head coach Josh Pastner channeling his inner Elvis. (photo by Arielle Holloway)

“One of the officials before the game came up to me and he said, ‘What’s up with the sideburns?’ Yes, they probably need to be cut.  I actually like them.  Here’s what I try to tell people.  I’m just keeping my roots from Memphis from Elvis.  This summer when people saw me, they called me ‘Coach Elvis.’”

-Josh Pastner, in response to a sideburn-related tweet from his sister Saturday.  He says he also takes inspiration from Will Ferrell’s Ricky Bobby character in the movie “Talladega Nights.”  Pastner’s sister lives in Coral Gables.

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Georgia Tech scored 37 bench points against Clemson.

At one point last year, Georgia Tech scored 37 bench points combined over a six-game stretch in the ACC.

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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well.  Join us for pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports.  See you in Coral Gables.

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