January 20, 2018

Post-Game Notes (Game 19)

Jan. 20, 2018

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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Georgia Tech starting lineup: Alston, Alvarado, Okogie, Gueye, Lammers
First subs for Georgia Tech: Haywood II for Alston at 15:28 – 1^st half
On the floor for Georgia Tech at the end: Alston, Haywood II, Okogie Cole, Wright
Opening tap won by Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech has won the opening tap seven times in 19 games this season
Series record vs. North Carolina: Georgia Tech is 25-68 overall, 5-32 on the road, 1-1 under Josh Pastner, 9-15 vs. Roy Williams
Current series streak: North Carolina won the last meeting
Georgia Tech is 9-4 at McCamish Pavilion this season, 69-34 in its sixth season in the building, 26-8 under Josh Pastner
Georgia Tech is 1-4 on the road this season, 1-5 away from McCamish Pavilion
Georgia Tech’s next game: Jan. 24, 7 p.m., at Florida State

TEAM NOTES

In the last two seasons (since Pastner arrived), no team has more wins at home over AP Top 15 teams as an unranked opponent than Georgia Tech (Tech and Colorado with four each, Syracuse with three).
Tech is in a stretch of four games against teams either ranked in the top 25 or just outside – No. 2/2 Virginia, No. 15/14 North Carolina, Florida State (receiving votes) and No. 20/18 Clemson. If Florida State were to return to the top 25 in next week’s rankings, the Yellow Jackets would play a stretch of four consecutive games against top-25 teams for the first time since the 2000-01 season (No. 13/14 North Carolina, No. 17/17/ Maryland, No. 10/9 Virginia, No. 6/6 Wake Forest). Tech went 2-2 against that gauntlet in its first season under head coach Paul Hewitt, on the way to an NCAA Tournament berth.
Head coach Josh Pastner remains two wins shy of 200 for his head coaching career (198-98).
Head coach Josh Pastner has started the same lineup for the past seven games, with Abdoulaye Gueye playing the “4” position. Pastner has used six different starting lineups this season.
Tech has had its full roster to practice only for the last four games and played a solid 7-man rotation for the first time in ACC play against Notre Dame Jan. 10. Injuries or other absences have forced Tech players to miss 36 games cumulatively this season, and the Jackets had not played a game with all 11 scholarship players healthy and available until the Yale game on Jan. 6.
Alvarado and Lammers have started every game this season. Lammers has started Tech’s last 56 consecutive games.
Georgia Tech’s playing rotation this season features four freshmen and a first-year graduate transfer who have combined to start 38 games and log 47 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ total minutes.
Georgia Tech allowed 80 points for the first time since Dec. 22 vs. Wright State but still held North Carolina under its average (82.8 ppg). Tech has held every opponent except Georgia and Wright State under its scoring average this season.
Tech ranks No. 1 in the ACC in lowest three-point percentage yield against ACC teams at 27.6 percent. The Jackets limited the Tar Heels, who came into the game hitting 38.5 percent (fourth-best in the ACC to just 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from distance.
Tech shot its best percentage from the floor in an ACC game this season (48.3 percent), it’s second best under Josh Pastner in a league game and best since connecting on 49.2 percent last Jan. 15 at NC State.
Tech has averaged 64.5 points and allowed just 61.9 per game in its eight games since the Christmas break (5-3 record). Opponents have shot 40.4 percent overall, 31.6 percent from three-point range. The Jackets have outscored the five opponents from the free throw line 12.0 to 10.1 per game, and outrebounded them 34.8-32.1. Tech also has averaged 5.9 blocks and 7.1 steals per game.
Tech has committed 33 turnovers in its last two games (18 vs. Virginia, 15 at North Carolina) after averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game in its first four ACC games. For the season, Tech has committed 12.9 turnovers per game this season, down from 14.3 at the same point last season.
North Carolina’s 46-25 advantage in rebounding was the largest deficit for Tech this season by 10. The Jackets had forged a plus-35 rebound margin over its previous four games.

PASTNER’S KEY METRICS

Assists to made field goals: Tech assisted on 15 of 29 made field goals against North Carolina and has assisted on 54 of 97 (55.7 percent) in its last five games, snapping a six-game streak of less than 50 percent. Tech’s nightly goal is 60 percent. The Jackets have assisted on 53.8 percent of their made field goals for the season (50.3 percent vs. the ACC), after finishing last season at 62.7 percent (63.2 percent rate in ACC games).
Free throws made to opponents’ attempts: Tech made 3-of-6 free throws, its fewest of the season, to North Carolina’s 19-of-24 (goal of making more than opponent tries not accomplished). For the season, Tech has converted 273 free throws, while opponents have attempted 294. Tech is 28-7 under Josh Pastner when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
Turnovers: Tech has committed 12.9 turnovers per game this season, down a half-turnover from last season and just 12.7 in ACC games, down 0.6 per game from last season.
Guard rebounding: Tech’s guards combined for 10 of Tech’s 19 defensive rebounds against North Carolina. Tadric Jackson, Jose Alvarado and Josh Okogie are all averaging well above four rebounds per game this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Josh Okogie returned to double figures with a game-high 18 points, hitting 8-of-16 shots from the floor. The 6-4 sophomore had snapped a string of 25 consecutive games scoring in double figures against Virginia, scoring nine points. The sophomore guard has scored in double figures 42 times in 48 career games. He has scored 30 or more three times (two vs. ACC), 20 or more 13 times, six times in an ACC game.
Okogie has averaged 17.8 points per game in his 11 games back on the court, including 17.0 in ACC games so far. He averaged 16.1 points as a freshman, 17.1 against the ACC. The 6-4 sophomore has hit 40 percent of his shots from three-point range and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
Ben Lammers posted his 14^th double-digit game of the season against North Carolina, scoring 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor. It was his best shooting effort, by percentage, since hitting 9-of-16 against Coppin State on Dec. 27.
Lammers blocked one shot against North Carolina, improving his career total to 232 blocks, good for sole possession of fourth place in Tech history and needing 11 to catch John Salley (243 from 1982-86) for third place.
Abdoulaye Gueye has averaged 9.1 points (28-of-46 FG) and 6.0 rebounds in seven games since sitting out the Coppin State game with an ankle injury. Making his seventh straight start and 15^th of the season against North Carolina, he scored 12 points (6-9 FG), his third double-figure game over the seven-game stretch.
Gueye has scored 64 points in the seven games since sitting out Coppin State on Dec. 27. He had scored 70 points in 39 career games prior to Coppin State.
In eight fewer games, Okogie has pulled ahead of Jose Alvarado for the team lead in free throw attempts, 75 to 67. Okogie is averaging an ACC-leading 6.8 free throw attempts per game, above his average of 6.5 as a freshman, which ranked third in the ACC.
Tadric Jackson missed double figures for just the third time this season (seven points, 3-of-6 FG, made his only three-point attempt), but he matched his season high of four assists (also vs. Northwestern) and had a career-high four steals before fouling out. The 6-2 senior has had 35 double-digit scoring games off the bench as a Yellow Jacket, 26 of those since the beginning of last season. He has reached double figures 22 times in his last 26 games and 36 times since the beginning of last season.
Jackson is hitting 56.2 percent of his shots (77-of-137) from inside the three-point arc this season, and a career-best 48.6 percent overall.
Jose Alvarado scored an ACC-game high of 17 points at North Carolina, hitting 6-of-11 shots from the floor and matching his season high of four three-point field goals (he had four each vs. Grambling State and Yale) in 37 minutes.
Alvarado ranks 10^th in the ACC averaging 34.8 minutes per game, eighth in the ACC in average minutes per conference game (38.5). After missing nearly the entire second half of the Coppin State game with a head injury, Alvarado has played 269 minutes in Tech’s last seven games, sitting out just 11 minutes.
Lammers is averaging 36.1 minutes this season, sixth-most in the ACC (38.0 mpg vs. the ACC), while Okogie averages 34.4 (35.3 in ACC games), but he has not played enough games to qualify for the league rankings.
Lammers has creeped into Georgia Tech’s top 20 all-time leading rebounders, currently standing 17^th with 683. He needs three to catch Michael Maddox (687 from 1994-98) for 16^th place.
Jackson continues to close in on the 1,000-career-point-mark, currently at 981. At his current career-best average of 13.3 points per game, it will take the senior guard two more games to become the 44^th Georgia Tech player to reach 1,000. Lammers has 902 career points, and would need nine games at his current 11.7 per game rate to reach 1,000.