GT vs Wake, Friday 3/5, 8 PM, ACCN

[CuseJacket]

 

[4shotB]

I’ve agreed with many of the comments posted about the game. Here is my view from 30,000 feet. Do you want to know how good we are? We are so good ...that Tech fans feel like we can get picky about our wins.

....and a road win at that!

 

[gtie73]

Ken is an idiot.

Disagree. He seems to understand the typical Tech fan mindset.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Really happy we took care of business tonight to keep our tourney chances solid.

Now, if coach just had some enthusiasm we’d be all set.

 

[SowegaSting]

You're reaching on some of these.

First half was bad with the TOs I'll give you that. But wake wasn't in striking distance pretty much at all the second half. The one time they did get into it we hit them with an 8-0 run almost immediately.

Also, the orebs weren't a factor for nearly the entire game. They were even most of the game until one possession where they got a couple of long bounces to go their way. I believe we had more second chance points 7-4 as well.

Jose looked off for sure, but 11 points, 4 rebs, 5 assists, and 4 steals on 57% shooting is still a good game and a pretty classic Jose statline except a little lite on the points. As far as being back to full health. He was healthy enough to go 37 minutes, so whatever is bothering him is more of an annoyance than anything more serious.

And the duke game doesn't make this performance actually any worse.

Didn’t Jose bang knees in the Syracuse game?

 

[gt02]

Great win. For everyone whining about how we did not look our best— not sure if folks realize how hard it is to win 6 ACC games in a row. Pretty sure no other team did that this year.

 

[GT_EE78]

good road win as are all ACC road wins.
This one sealed the deal for the NCAAT bid, and likely higher than "last 4 in"
any ACCT win will boost seeding
Howard's 6 pts/5 reb in 9 min (only 2 fouls) was his best game of the year
a nice confidance builder for him as we could need some minutes there.

 

[MWBATL]

I agree with all the comments previously made...mostly. Howard's performance was nice, but I believe it was predicated on the opponent, not purely on Howard's progression alone. In other words, I don't think we'll see such productive minutes the rest of the season as from here on we only play tournament teams, and they will have much tougher big men on D.

I really REALLY hope Jose gets some rest so he can operate at "old Jose" level come next Thursday (or Wednesday).

 

[slugboy]

Glad to see the jackets finish the season strong! Does this solidify us for the tourney? Would getting a double bye help or hurt us if we are still on the bubble?

Joe Lunardi joined the broadcast for a little while last night. He said “GT is in even with a loss to Wake, but it’s less margin for error” (which probably means we’d move to “last 4 in”).

In numbers that kind of show what’s going on, we went up to 37 in the NCAA NET rankings last night. In Sagarin, we’re #38, right in with a bunch of B1G teams (out of all the computer rankings, Sagarin loves Duke). In KenPom, we’re #31. Those are healthy on the right side of the bubble numbers.

Bracketology lists us as a “Last 4 Byes” right before Rutgers (an 11 seed in Gonzaga’s region). We’re at the top of the Last 4 Byes. What you can’t really see is that we’ve climbed over about 25 or more teams in the last 5 games.

Teams just ahead of us are Maryland, St Bonaventure, Loyola-Chicago, VT, Rutgers, North Carolina, Clemson, UCLA, Louisville, Florida, and UConn. Games today and in the conference tournaments can shake things up a little bit.

(Women are a projected 6 seed right now, btw)

 

[CuseJacket]

 

[lv20gt]

Great win. For everyone whining about how we did not look our best— not sure if folks realize how hard it is to win 6 ACC games in a row. Pretty sure no other team did that this year.

Just for the record, UVA won 7-0 to start the year in conference.

 

[GT_EE78]

I agree with all the comments previously made...mostly. Howard's performance was nice, but I believe it was predicated on the opponent, not purely on Howard's progression alone. In other words, I don't think we'll see such productive minutes the rest of the season as from here on we only play tournament teams, and they will have much tougher big men on D.

I really REALLY hope Jose gets some rest so he can operate at "old Jose" level come next Thursday (or Wednesday).

You could be right about Howard's progression, especially since that rate of 1 foul per 5 minutes hasn't changed throughout the season.
That's not a great rate but enough to buy Moses a few minutes of rest occasionally.
I agree we can't rely on such point production beyond unguarded dunks.
I am hopeful that the rebound rate is an indication of some progress over this season.
Thankfully Moses has been a force while staying out of foul trouble.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Had game control since late in the first half. Nice comfortable win.

LOL on comfortable. I turned on the game 3 times in the first half, each time to watch Wake pull ahead or tie. So I stopped watching the game and just watched the score. No I wasn't comfortable when Wake got within 5 with 10 minutes to go. You obviously have a better ability to flush past GT games.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Gotta love Ken Seguira and his back handed compliments. From his game summary article: “As hard as it may be for Tech fans to believe, the Jackets very much look like they’re going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Only three power-conference teams have had longer droughts.”

LOL

I think there is another way to read this. Another positive way is that Pastner has done what other GT coaches since 2010 haven't been able to do. And he did it with less recruited talent than most of the rest of the ACC. So yes, it's hard for fans who have lived through the drought to believe.

 

[lv20gt]

I agree with all the comments previously made...mostly. Howard's performance was nice, but I believe it was predicated on the opponent, not purely on Howard's progression alone. In other words, I don't think we'll see such productive minutes the rest of the season as from here on we only play tournament teams, and they will have much tougher big men on D.

I don't think Howard is likely to give us huge contributions or anything, and may not play much at all. But both his shots came off of good penetration where he got the ball in such a great position that tougher big men wouldn't have had much of a chance to make an impact. It was kinda like Miami where he had a couple plays where he basically did what Moses does a lot and finish dump offs right at the rim. I don't think right now he gives us anything in regards to creating his own shot like Moses can, but I think what we saw against Wake is something he could do against most teams, if we are able to have that kind of penetration. I think what the opponent being wake did was make Pastner confident he could get away with playing Howard because we could more reliably expect to be able to go on a run or two to take control of the game against them than say clemson or duke.

I think a bigger thing holding him back from contributing going forward is that this team isn't really set up for a true center especially with Moses + a true center on either end of the floor. It's hard for a guy to play when he fits a role that the team doesn't usually use and by putting him in the team needs to adjust to a pretty big change in dynamics that also affects them.

 

[joehamiltonfan14]

Feeling better about next years big man situation with the way Howard is progressing...hopefully Saba progresses as well in the offseason

 

[MidtownJacket]

I don't think Howard is likely to give us huge contributions or anything, and may not play much at all. But both his shots came off of good penetration where he got the ball in such a great position that tougher big men wouldn't have had much of a chance to make an impact. It was kinda like Miami where he had a couple plays where he basically did what Moses does a lot and finish dump offs right at the rim. I don't think right now he gives us anything in regards to creating his own shot like Moses can, but I think what we saw against Wake is something he could do against most teams, if we are able to have that kind of penetration. I think what the opponent being wake did was make Pastner confident he could get away with playing Howard because we could more reliably expect to be able to go on a run or two to take control of the game against them than say clemson or duke.

I think a bigger thing holding him back from contributing going forward is that this team isn't really set up for a true center especially with Moses + a true center on either end of the floor. It's hard for a guy to play when he fits a role that the team doesn't usually use and by putting him in the team needs to adjust to a pretty big change in dynamics that also affects them.

Couldn’t agree more with the specific point you make that Howard (or other true 5s for that matter) play a different game and need the team to play differently than when Moses is sitting in the 5spot.

That said we have some guys who can slash hard and quick with nifty passing skills who can set him up back door if we do things right. His size should allow him to be doing work against most of the teams we will see in the Tournaments (heck yeah that’s plural). He won’t lead us in scoring, but should be serviceable for a few breather minutes or potential foul trouble when we get to refs that’s aren’t ACC caliber (read ) and actually call contact fouls against both teams and not just GT.

 

[glandon1960]

I don't think Howard is likely to give us huge contributions or anything, and may not play much at all. But both his shots came off of good penetration where he got the ball in such a great position that tougher big men wouldn't have had much of a chance to make an impact. It was kinda like Miami where he had a couple plays where he basically did what Moses does a lot and finish dump offs right at the rim. I don't think right now he gives us anything in regards to creating his own shot like Moses can, but I think what we saw against Wake is something he could do against most teams, if we are able to have that kind of penetration. I think what the opponent being wake did was make Pastner confident he could get away with playing Howard because we could more reliably expect to be able to go on a run or two to take control of the game against them than say clemson or duke.

I think a bigger thing holding him back from contributing going forward is that this team isn't really set up for a true center especially with Moses + a true center on either end of the floor. It's hard for a guy to play when he fits a role that the team doesn't usually use and by putting him in the team needs to adjust to a pretty big change in dynamics that also affects them.

Well said - last years team improved dramatically when they scrapped the motion offense (center distributing ball from high post) to one with more pick/roll focused because James Banks was liability on offense at high post (he was not in low post or in pick/roll or on defense). Howard would struggle to play high post distributor consistently and is no threat to create his own shot like Moses is from there. I think Saba has more potential to do this, but not sure if he has developed enough - TBD what full off season with Coach Rev will do for hin.

If the personnel do not fit an offensive scheme, you can not run it a lot. Evidence the pre-Hawaii trip games last season. Great question to CJP would be is he going to entertain changing the offense scheme to fit the personnel he has next season. There are several other new comers that likely play a lot (Deebo in particular) - so should scheme change to fit personnel/skills we have next few years?

 

[orientalnc]

Well said - last years team improved dramatically when they scrapped the motion offense (center distributing ball from high post) to one with more pick/roll focused because James Banks was liability on offense at high post (he was not in low post or in pick/roll or on defense). Howard would struggle to play high post distributor consistently and is no threat to create his own shot like Moses is from there. I think Saba has more potential to do this, but not sure if he has developed enough - TBD what full off season with Coach Rev will do for hin.

If the personnel do not fit an offensive scheme, you can not run it a lot. Evidence the pre-Hawaii trip games last season. Great question to CJP would be is he going to entertain changing the offense scheme to fit the personnel he has next season. There are several other new comers that likely play a lot (Deebo in particular) - so should scheme change to fit personnel/skills we have next few years?

We will have to see what happens between now and next season with regards to our current roster and potential transfers. One of our four seniors could decide to return and play another year. I think we are now a much more attractive destination for a transfer big. Making the tournament tells kids the program is on the rise.

 

[awbuzz]

Do these clowns gabbing nonstop realize somebody is supposed to be calling play by play? ACC Network blows!

Kept thinking the same last night...