Michael Devoe drained seven of nine shots from the floor for 19 points last year vs. Notre Dame. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame last year in spite of having its worst defensive efficiency rating of the season according to KenPom. Only twice in the last 20 years has Tech had a worse efficiency rating in a win:
| Worst Defensive Efficiency in a Win |
|
| Year |
Opponent |
PPP Allowed |
| 2008 |
Wake Forest (102-101) |
1.23 |
| 2014 |
Boston College (74-71) |
1.22 |
| 2021 |
Notre Dame (82-80) |
1.19 |
Defending the three will once again be a top priority Saturday. No team in the ACC attempts a higher volume of three-pointers than the Irish, who excel at making the pump fakes and plus-one passes that lead to open looks. Six-foot-10 Nate Laszewski, who had a team-high 27 points against Georgia Tech last season, made 6 of 7 threes in Notre Dame’s win over North Carolina and thrives on quick pick-and-pops. Leading scorer Dane Goodwin (15.1 ppg, 46.8 pct. 3pt.) comes off screens well and has a fondness for elbow jumpers. Guard Prentiss Hubb, who’s slowly emerging from a season-long shooting slump, had 15 points and 10 assists against Tech last year and is a clever creator off the dribble.
With the Irish’s blocker-mover continuity offense, the Jackets can’t overcommit on help or close out soft on Notre Dame’s shooters. They’ll also need to make Laszewski feel their physicality – he’s adept at ranging and relocating for threes.
*****
How supercharged was last year’s game offensively? It was only the ACC game in the last decade – and just the third between power-conference opponents in the last decade – in which both teams shot better than 58 percent from the field.
| Both Teams Shooting 58 Percent from the Floor |
| Date |
Game |
|
| Feb. 6, 2021 |
Georgia Tech (58.3%) vs. Notre Dame (59.3%) |
| Jan. 25, 2018 |
Michigan (60.3%) vs. Purdue (62.0%) |
| Feb. 16, 2010 |
Ohio State (62.9%) vs. Florida (61.2%) |
Notre Dame has allowed better than 50-percent shooting against Tech in each of its last two games at McCamish. The Irish won’t extend up the line as breathlessly as Duke or Louisville did.
*****
Josh Pastner had to cut himself a deal.
Pastner likes the cutting and read-and-react concepts of his motion offense, and he trusts his players to braid the ball into a good shot. But he also saw his team continue to commit an ungainly number of turnovers as ACC restarted.
In an effort to curb that, Pastner said he decided to call more designed plays going into the Louisville game. It may be anathema to his coaching philosophy, but it’s worked: the Yellow Jackets committed nine turnovers each against Louisville and Duke. The Blue Devils ranked 13th nationally in turnover margin; Tech finished with a +1 edge on Tuesday.
Why will turnovers be so crucial against Notre Dame? The Irish have a perennially low turnover rate, and combined with their penchant for shooting threes, any “possession gap” created by Tech turnovers could be costly. Also, can the likes of Parham, Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly and Deivon Smith provide some relief from outside? The four are a combined 1 for 20 over the last two games. North Carolina kickstarted its comeback in the second half by switching to a four-guard lineup; if Tech follows suit, any one of them could be thrust into the spotlight.
