Inside The Chart – Pittsburgh

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

Compete with urgency, but don’t panic if things start slowly.

Trust your core to find its rhythm, but don’t hesitate to seek a spark off the bench.

Recognize there’s plenty of time left.  Realize time may already be slipping away.

The start of a game can be a delicate dynamic, one that’s far more nuanced than it may appear.  Lately, though, Georgia Tech (10-15, 3-11 ACC) has found itself stuck in quicksand following the opening tip.

Last 3 games – Before under-16 media timeout

The Yellow Jackets make no pretenses about themselves.  Games will be grinds.  They have the talent to compete in the ACC, as several wins (and several other close calls) have suggested.  But they also know they can’t keep sabotaging themselves with lethargic starts.

“I think everything is on the table.  Whatever we need to do to give ourselves the best chance to win,” Josh Pastner said after the NC State game.

There’s extra urgency to get that corrected Saturday.  Pittsburgh (11-16, 6-10 ACC) comes in with its confidence peaking, having won three ACC games consecutively for the first time since 2014.  The Panthers were also hot out of the gates Wednesday, shooting a season-high 60 percent in the first half en route to a 76-67 win at North Carolina.

Can the opening whistle serve as a wake-up call for Tech Saturday?  As you get ready for tip-off, enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Yellow Jackets and Panthers prepare to lock up at the Oakland Zoo (7 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):

Rodney Howard is coming off his best back-to-back performances of the season against Virginia and NC State. (photo by Anthony McClellan)

It didn’t play a factor against NC State, but Georgia Tech continues to lament a lopsided free throw differential in ACC play.  The Yellow Jackets now face the team that has worn the free throw nail to a nub this year.  As the numbers show, few teams get to the foul line with more ferocity than Pittsburgh:

They’ve been accurate too:  the Panthers have converted 91.1 percent of their free throws over the last two games (41 of 45).

Pitt has weathered some anemic stretches of offense this year, but the Panthers played as fluidly as they have all season against UNC.  Head coach Jeff Capel rolls out a fleet of lithe, smooth guards like 6-4 Jamarius Burton (13.1 ppg), 6-5 Ithiel Horton (11.6 ppg) and 6-5 Femi Odukale (11.9 ppg).  He also drops in the nation’s top free throw magnet in 6-9, 280-pound bruiser John Hugley (14.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg).  The sophomore leads the nation in free throw attempts, and his 6.9 fouls drawn per 40 minutes leads all ACC players.  In addition to being a sledgehammer on post-ups, Hugley uses pump fakes and clever extra pivots to draw contact.

Rodney Howard is coming off his best back-to-back performances of the season, highlighted by a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds against NC State.  He’s also Tech’s best physical match against Hugley.  Can he avoid the fouls that Hugley attracts?  Can Tech’s guards stay down and not lunge when defending Pitt’s guards on the drive?  Can they make multiple-effort plays against a Panthers team that’s moving the ball with increasing unselfishness?  And can they return to their irritating, turnover-forcing roots?  Pittsburgh ranks 321st in the nation in turnover rate, making them the third-most turnover-prone team the Yellow Jackets have faced this year.

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Mouhamadou Gueye, a 6-10 transfer from Stony Brook, leads Pittsburgh in both three-point attempts and blocked shots.  Only Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, a likely high lottery pick, has a comparable combination among high-major players.  Gueye gives Pitt a floor-stretching “4” man who can score on face-ups or slide to the “5” when Hugley is on the bench.

For the record, Gueye is not related to Georgia Tech forward A.D. Gueye – although Mouhamadou does have a brother named Abdoulaye.  They also pronounce their last names differently, even though they spell it the same.

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Same hometown, same last name… yes, your hunch was correct.

Pitt guard Ithiel Horton is the nephew of former Georgia Tech Hall of Famer Lenny Horton (1976-80).  The 6-7 forward from Vauxhall, N.J., led the Jackets in rebounding his last three seasons, and also played on Georgia Tech’s inaugural ACC team as a senior.  In spite of playing only one year in the ACC, Horton still holds the school record for most made free throws in an ACC game, draining 15 against Maryland on December 29, 1979.

Horton has inherited his uncle’s touch at the foul line – he’s a career 84 percent free throw shooter – but he’s far more potent as a catch-and-shoot threat from the perimeter.  Horton made all five of his three-pointers against North Carolina, and he’s averaging 20.3 points (56.5% 3pt.) during Pitt’s winning streak.  Pitt likes to run him off the baseline against zones.

With Horton leading the way, the Panthers are enjoying a late-season renaissance at the three-point line.  In its last five games, more than 49 percent of Pittsburgh’s points have come off three-pointers, a sharp rise from its season average:

Pitt – % of points from 3pt. FGM

• Season:  26.8%
• Last 5 games:  49.2%

Their accuracy hasn’t suffered either: the Panthers rank sixth in the ACC in in three-point percentage in conference play (36.4%).  Georgia Tech has yet to beat a team that ranks in the top half of the ACC in three-point shooting in league games – 0-8, compared to 3-3 versus teams ranked in the bottom half.  The Jackets will need to be ready on the catch and make Pitt’s “plus-one” passes a chore.

Also, will Horton seek some family retribution against one of his backcourt opponents?  Michael Devoe passed Lenny Horton on Georgia Tech’s all-time scoring list earlier this year.

Michael Devoe is perfect from the foul line in 13 attempts for his career against Pitt. (photo by Anthony McClellan)

Speaking of Devoe, the senior has never missed a free throw in his career against Pittsburgh.  He enters the Petersen Events Center a perfect 13 of 13 from the foul line against Pitt.

The Panthers forced the normally polished Tar Heels into a grimy, physical game.  Devoe and the rest of Tech’s guards will need to be “ball tough” when they attack the lane.  After only shooting 27 percent from three-point range over their last three games (16 of 58), can the Jackets be “shot ready” and not rise up as hurriedly as they did against NC State?  Pittsburgh allows 43.8 percent of opponents’ shots to come from three-point range, second only to LSU among Tech’s opponents.

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Josh Pastner owes one of his favorite phrases to a Pittsburgh schoolboy legend.  The Jackets’ head coach is fond of saying “engage but don’t marry,” a reference to ball handlers not driving too deep into a help-side defender.  Pastner says he learned the phrase from Dick DeVenzio, a Pittsburgh native and former ACC Player of the Year at Duke.  Pastner attended DeVenzio’s point guard camps as a kid.

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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.  We’ll see you in Pittsburgh.

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