Article Jackets Head to Evanston for ACC/B1G Challenge

Jackets Head to Evanston for ACC/B1G Challenge

Sophomore Guard Curtis Haywood (photo courtesy of ramblinwreck.com)

Josh Pastner and the Yellow Jackets hit the road for the second time this season on Wednesday, heading to Evanston, Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. The game is part of the annual ACC/B1G challenge and will tip at 9:15 pm on ESPNU.

The Yellow Jackets are competing in the challenge for the 18th time and have a record of 7-10. You might be thinking that Northwestern is a familiar foe. You would be correct. This will be the fifth time that Georgia Tech and Northwestern face off in the challenge. The two met in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017 and again this year. In the four previous match ups the Jackets are 3-1, including two wins at Welsh-Ryan Arena and each of the last three games. The average margin of victory is 8.8 points in those four games, the largest being 20 (Northwestern) and the slimmest being 1 (Tech last season).

Currently, according to KenPom, Northwestern is a 68-61 favorite. Georgia Tech is currently 77th in the Pomeroy rankings, while Northwestern is 46th.

While Georgia Tech is mostly led by freshman and sophomores, Northwestern has a lot of veteran leadership. Seniors Vic Law and Derek Pardon have a combined 187 collegiate contests under their belt at the Big 10 level. Two very talented transfers, Ryan Taylor (Evansville) and A.J. Turner (Boston College), bookend the Wildcat staples with 158 more games played. All four players average double figures on the season. The leader of the group is Law, who after a somewhat underwhelming career, has seemingly come into his own as a senior. He currently leads Northwestern in points (18.5), assists (3.0) and blocks (1.5).

Northwestern’s strength this season is their defense. While some of the numbers are currently skewed by their offensive tempo, they are currently surrendering 61 ppg (27th in the nation) and allowing 31% from behind the arc. Of course, their strength of schedule is also currently 254th in the country.

Northwestern is led by Chris Collins, who is currently in his sixth season in Evanston. He has compiled a record of 93-78 overall and a 36-54 in the Big 10. The Wildcats are still seemingly cruising after a 2016-17 season that saw them go 24-12 with an invitation to the prom for the first time in program history. That season was highlighted by a last second shot by Derek Pardon versus Michigan. They ended up losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Gonzaga. They parlayed that success into a preseason top 25 ranking last year but ultimately under-performed. They were out of the rankings by week 3 and have yet to return.

If this game was in Atlanta I would be tempted to take the Jackets. Though Georgia Tech performed well in Knoxville, I still can’t get behind such a young team on the road. I expect the good guys to cover but the Wildcats to win. They have the star power in Law and a quality big man in Pardon that could ultimately negate James Banks, who is still rounding into form. Taylor and Turner have the length and experience to handle players like Brandon Alston, Curtis Haywood and Mike Devoe.

Then again, Northwestern doesn’t have a point guard. Georgia Tech has one with an attitude. One that really hates to lose. One that just recently willed his team to victory in a game in which they struggled a great deal. Can you really bet against Jose Alvarado when he plays with a chip on his shoulder? Will Haywood and Devoe combine to go 1-7 from deep two games in a row? Smart money says, emphatically, no.

I have no idea who is going to win, but I think it is going to be extremely tight wire to wire.

 

[orientalnc]

We will probably be 6-8 point underdogs in this game. And this will be our best chance this week.

This is a pretty good article about the ACC/B1G Challenge. I would love for the writer to be wrong about our team.

https://www.dukebasketballreport.com/2018/11/25/18110661/acc-big-ten-challenge-notes-duke-basketball

 

[Fatmike91]

Interesting comments. Hope they end up on the locker room wall:


Like most people we usually blow some of our predictions but we feel fairly safe in some of these. ... Georgia Tech is a train wreck on offense and has dumbed their schedule down accordingly.

AND

Finally, Georgia Tech lacks the offensive talent and the competitive experience to beat Northwestern. The Wildcats are more talented and, we think, better coached.

/

 

[YlJacket]

NW's schedule isn't anything to write home about either. 3 creampuffs plus American (OK sort of game) - all at Evansville. They then stepped up in class against Fresno State and laid a 20 point egg - shooting 27% from 3 and 35% overall. Watching part of that game they are long and OK athletic but their offense doesn't strike fear in anyone either. We may be a 6-8 point dog at this point but I don't see a big gap between these teams.

 

[mstranahan]

I think NW is still benefitting from their feel good NCAA appearance a couple years ago. (their ONLY bid ever) This game will be closer than most think. If we shoot well and avoid silly fouls, I think we keep this very close and very possible we get the W on the road.

 

[Milwaukee]

I'll be there, looking forward to it.

 

[kg01]

I think NW is still benefitting from their feel good NCAA appearance a couple years ago. (their ONLY bid ever) This game will be closer than most think. If we shoot well and avoid silly fouls, I think we keep this very close and very possible we get the W on the road.

Agree totally. NW is nothing to be scared of.

Congrats on being on the 'right' side for once.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I'll be there with my 3 oldest kids. Sitting in Section 109, behind the bench.

 

[LibertyTurns]

NW's schedule isn't anything to write home about either. 3 creampuffs plus American (OK sort of game) - all at Evansville. They then stepped up in class against Fresno State and laid a 20 point egg - shooting 27% from 3 and 35% overall. Watching part of that game they are long and OK athletic but their offense doesn't strike fear in anyone either. We may be a 6-8 point dog at this point but I don't see a big gap between these teams.

Probably the easiest call is for us to get whipped, but I’m not sure you can be so certain about our team yet. We definitely lack a lot of things and predictability is one of them.

 

[MtnWasp]

The largest issue I see is that the game is on the road and we are not the most level-headed team. Our club seems to easily lose focus, especially on offense. If we are going to do anything this season, that has to change.

 

[orientalnc]

The largest issue I see is that the game is on the road and we are not the most level-headed team. Our club seems to easily lose focus, especially on offense. If we are going to do anything this season, that has to change.

I am not going back to watch the replay again, but I doubt a lack of focus was an issue against PV. We missed our first 8 3s and I think they were all open shots. If we hit three of them (which would be close to our team average last year) this is a very different looking game. The other three wins were all blowouts and our only loss was to what now appears to be a very good Tennessee team. We are scoring more this year than last year.

I am not happy with our level of play as yet, but I do not think focus is the issue. Our overall lack of talent and experience are the problems I see. We can be better, but this team has a lower ceiling than most us like.

 

[AE 87]

Fresno St played the scrappiest, tightest man to man D I think I've ever seen.

If we can match that intensity on D and hit some shots, we can compete. If we come out cold on O as we have, it'll be tough.

 

[orientalnc]

Northwestern defeated Utah by 22 points today. It was a 4-point game at the half and NW outscored the Utes 51-33 in the second half. If you have access to WatchESPN you can see the replay now.

 

[alagold]

We play good defense but you have to score SOME on Offense--we are are not a good shooting nor passing team (sad that PV outshot us on FTs at OUR home),hard to score without turning over the other team

 

[Deleted member 2897]

I’m hoping we used up all our masonry in the last game and we are more hot than usual.

 

[ramblinwreck1378]

I feel better about handling the road aspect having already been to Tennessee. I’d expect us to try to push the tempo a little bit and play tough D. This won’t be the prettiest game you’ve ever seen - probably something in the low 60’s. But if we can hit a few shots and take care of the ball, I think we have a shot.

 

[YlJacket]

I didn't see the NW game today but if you look at the box score the difference in the game was TOs/points off turnovers and their 3 point shooting. So taking care of the ball, tough D and finding some scoring punch seem the way to victory.

 

[bke1984]

I’m not as down in the team as I was a couple weeks back. I think we are better at shooting than we have been in a while, despite the slumps we’ve seen. I think our biggest problem is a lack of an effective inside presence. This game should tell us a little bit more of what to expect this year.

 

[Peacone36]

Biggest advantage we have in this game is point guard play. They don’t really have one. Ryan Greer is an re-classified freshman who is a little out of his depth.

Vic Law is finally living up to his billing though. He’s a stud.

 

[MWBATL]

Live by the three, die by the three. Which kind of night will it be for us? Who knows?

I tend to agree, though, that I am hopeful to see an entertaining and competitive game (unlike Saturday).

 

[RamblinCharger]

If NW is favored by more than 3-4 points I'll be hammering the good guys. We can win this game I think. It will be an ugly 63-61 type of win, but we can beat them. They are not very good.