Tech has built significant early leads in five of its eight ACC losses. (photo by Danny Karnik)
It doesn’t seem right for a team that’s stuck on one conference win. But Georgia Tech has jumped out to some enviably fast starts of late:
| Opponent |
Lead |
Time remaining 1st Half |
| Miami |
21-11 |
12:01 |
| Florida State |
16-7 |
15:48 |
| Notre Dame |
9-2 |
17:02 |
| N.C. State |
18-8 |
15:05 |
| Syracuse |
21-10 |
12:56 |
So what can Tech do to buffer those leads for longer? Josh Pastner believes it boils down to a simple thing.
“What has triggered the runs of the opponent has been a careless turnover, which has led to them getting an opportunity to maybe give them a little life,” Pastner explained on his radio show. “Or we get a couple open shots, and we’ve been hot, and we start getting cold.”
Tech can ill afford either Tuesday – Clemson leads the ACC in defensive efficiency in conference play (0.95 PPP). True to form under head coach Brad Brownell, the Tigers will gap up and dig hard on paint touches, with nimble bigs who recover well. Tech will need to rotate the ball better to the second and third side than they did in their first meeting. They’ll also need to be strong on their pick-ups and precise on the plus-one passes that Clemson’s digs often create. Pastner said his team’s transition defense wasn’t up to par in the first meeting; that could be key in warding off any Littlejohn-livening baskets in the open floor.
*****
Clemson still leads the ACC, but the Tigers have had to persevere without starting point guard Chase Hunter (14.9 ppg), who has missed the last two games with a foot injury. The Atlanta native is Clemson’s chief playmaker, with the surrounding players scoring mostly off actions.
If Hunter can’t play, that could divert more of the scoring load to center P.J. Hall (14.0 ppg), who gouged the Jackets for 25 points in December, and 6-8 Hunter Tyson, who ranks fifth in the nation in double-doubles (15.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg). Hall can be a maestro in the high post with his ability to shoot and facilitate, while Tyson may be the trickiest inside-outside cover in the ACC. Not only does he shoot 41 percent from three, he cuts hard for post-ups and has a feathery touch in the paint. He’s also come a long way from getting posterized by James Banks at McCamish Pavilion as a sophomore.
Will the Tigers make a more concerted effort to pound it into the post, especially if Hunter is limited? Among the areas where Pastner wants to see improvement from the first meeting: better slides in the halfcourt and sharper transition defense. Also worth monitoring: Clemson’s two worst turnover rates of the season have come in the games Hunter has missed.
*****
The additional COVID year has ushered in a whole generation of college basketball graybeards who have warped our sense of time.
Case in point: Clemson guard Brevin Galloway turned 25 years old in December, making him one of just nine players in Division I who’s at least 25.
He’s seven days older than the Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox, who’s currently in his sixth NBA season.
With Hunter potentially out, Galloway could be even more uninhibited as he ranges around for deep threes. He’ll also try to shake off an ACC-low 3 points against Virginia Tech.
