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.

 

[shakim3]

This team is one of the best defensive teams in the country. If they can make shots, they can win games. I just think Pastner needs to encourage them to shoot more even if it's not the perfect shot. They realized in the second half that their defense can spark their offense. That second half can be a momentum builder for the rest of the season. It's easy to dismiss this team after the initial showing, but there is something different about these guys than in year's past. Northwestern made shots they haven't made all season (29% 3pt shooter was 4-7) and the refs didn't help much in half 1.

I still think Pastner is trying to figure out the ideal lineup but imo it should be: Alvarado-Devoe-Hot Hand-Moore-Banks. Extremely skilled defensively with enough offense to score. A little patience is needed, but a team that plays that well defensively will be in every game.

 

[up state jacket]

This team is one of the best defensive teams in the country. If they can make shots, they can win games. I just think Pastner needs to encourage them to shoot more even if it's not the perfect shot. They realized in the second half that their defense can spark their offense. That second half can be a momentum builder for the rest of the season. It's easy to dismiss this team after the initial showing, but there is something different about these guys than in year's past. Northwestern made shots they haven't made all season (29% 3pt shooter was 4-7) and the refs didn't help much in half 1.

I still think Pastner is trying to figure out the ideal lineup but imo it should be: Alvarado-Devoe-Hot Hand-Moore-Banks. Extremely skilled defensively with enough offense to score. A little patience is needed, but a team that plays that well defensively will be in every game.

Bingo. They didn't quit and that is how grow and get better.

 

[MiracleWhips]

This team is one of the best defensive teams in the country. If they can make shots, they can win games. I just think Pastner needs to encourage them to shoot more even if it's not the perfect shot. They realized in the second half that their defense can spark their offense. That second half can be a momentum builder for the rest of the season. It's easy to dismiss this team after the initial showing, but there is something different about these guys than in year's past. Northwestern made shots they haven't made all season (29% 3pt shooter was 4-7) and the refs didn't help much in half 1.

I still think Pastner is trying to figure out the ideal lineup but imo it should be: Alvarado-Devoe-Hot Hand-Moore-Banks. Extremely skilled defensively with enough offense to score. A little patience is needed, but a team that plays that well defensively will be in every game.

Our Defense is kinda scary but man is our shot selection terrible. Think Pastner may need to tweak these offensive sets before ACC starts or **** is gonna hit the fan fast. We have the defense to keep us in any ACC game (except duke of course). If we can get the offense figured out we could be a scary team moving forward. I still beleive we can finish 8/9 in conference play. Just need to make some adjustments.

 

[shakim3]

Our Defense is kinda scary but man is our shot selection terrible. Think Pastner may need to tweak these offensive sets before ACC starts or **** is gonna hit the fan fast. We have the defense to keep us in any ACC game (except duke of course). If we can get the offense figured out we could be a scary team moving forward. I still believe we can finish 8/9 in conference play. Just need to make some adjustments.

I agree with most of this, but I think it's interesting that you note that our shot selection is bad. I actually think the opposite. I don't think we shoot enough *bad* shots. Meaning, we try to get the perfect shot almost every possession and that turns into a rushed drive to the rim. Devoe, Alvarado, and Alston are the only ones who have showed an ability to take on a defender one on one and drive (Shembari should be too), but the lanes are clogged when the team is stagnant or waiting for the perfect shot.

I think the offense is fixed quite easily by taking more shots and cutting more to the rim. Because our defense is so good, we can afford to shoot volume with a lower percentage. If you noticed in our comeback, our shots were quicker, we ran in transition more, and our drives were more purposeful. So in a weird way, I kinda want to see more *bad* shots, which will stretch the defense and open up some more lanes.

 

[GTJason]

The dribbling into no man's land and picking up the dribble is what kills me while watching. I remember when Pastner first took over he told the guys they were giving the basketball a headache by dribbling too much. I think he needs to reinforce that attitude. Also our guys need to stop running away from the guy with the ball. Get open or clear out the lane. I think this will improve as the season goes on and the guys get more comfortable. We need to figure out how to get over a slow start. It seems we've started slow every game this season and it's killed us

 

[wreckrod]

I like that we play really good defensive basketball, but our lack of ability to score is extremely frustrating. GT sports in general have me frustrating with only being good at one facet of any given game.

 

[YlJacket]

I don't necessarily want to see more "bad" shots but I take your point we have to shoot more to stretch the floor. Right now we are running a 4 out set trying to get good spacing (which we generally have to start) and then looking primarily for a drive and dish initiation of the offense. This works pretty well if you are Duke or KY with superior athletes who can take folks off the dribble. It is a staple of high end AAU teams who have superior players and want to minimize double teams. We don't have those athletes. I like Alvarado and Devoe but they are not guys who can come down court and routinely beat good P5 players off the dribble. Note our performance at UT and again last night - especially in the first half.

So at half CJP put in that really high 3 man weave to try to get an offense initiated. That did force some movement and did create some minimal driving lanes. So at that level good, but at the other levels it destroyed any spacing in the offense and took everyone off the 3 point line - but it also didn't create a "lot" of space so most of the drives were head down hard as I can go drives to contested layups/floaters. Alvarado made some really hard, contested layups but didn't have anything remotely close to easy. I don't remember a kickout to a shooter off that weave. Alston did have a couple of times he could have kicked but he was so head down he couldn't have seen a shooter 2 feet from him.

Basketball is about getting "easy" baskets - not necessarily layups but good open shots. Even UVA - for all the crap their pace of play gets them - is really good at getting their shooters relatively open "easy" shots. But they have an approach to movement and screens that the players understand and execute. Everyone is really good at their roles from Salt who screens like a brick wall to the shooters Guy and Jerome. We don't get anything easy. I hate to say it but this year the offense looks a lot like Hewitt's CTO. Not a lot of movement and a requirement for the PG or someone to finally drive to the hoop to start something. It was an early form of "positionless" basketball.

Going forward, we have to accept that we don't have the athletes/players to simply put them in space and expect they can make a play on their own. We are not Duke. We are a lot more like UVA or Michigan or one of several teams with good to great players who run different variations on somewhat structured motion offenses to initiate an offense and get "easy" shots in the flow of an offense. And a lot of these should be 3's. That is the game today. There are a ton of ways to do it from modified Princeton to whatever. But underneath it all is a recognition that we have to help these younguns get legit shots this year - especially if we want the next wave of recruits to see themselves being successful at GT and in this offense.

Rant off

 

[GTJake]

I like that we play really good defensive basketball, but our lack of ability to score is extremely frustrating. GT sports in general have me frustrating with only being good at one facet of any given game.

This is by far the most frustrating thing for me, it seems we recruit shooters, but once they set foot on campus they can't throw it in the ocean ... I don't get it ??
Watching other games it seems like no matter who it is, PoDung State ... most teams have guys that can hit the 3's ???

 

[shakim3]

This is by far the most frustrating thing for me, it seems we recruit shooters, but once they set foot on campus they can't throw it in the ocean ... I don't get it ??
Watching other games it seems like no matter who it is, PoDung State ... most teams have guys that can hit the 3's ???

We shot 33% from Three. That's not great but it's not awful. The problem that @YlJacket is correctly bringing up, however, is we only shot 12 of them because we couldn't get good looks. It's not that we can't make shots, it's that the shots we are taking are counter to the strategy the team is supposed to be committed to. A lot of that has to do with our level of player at this point. That's why I believe in volume and reliance on defense vs. slow, half-court sets that gets you the same poor % level of shot at the end of the shot-clock.

 

[MWBATL]

But gee, according to the Northwestern coach the only reason we got back into the game was his team was tired from their travel schedule and the blizzard Sunday/Monday.

No?

 

[GTJake]

I like the up-tempo offense as well, but you still have to shoot the rock ... think Bobby Cremins and Lethal Weapon 3.

 

[Connell62]

What a joke. 2-3 caliber acc players and our only recruit for next year doesn’t even start for his juco team.

For someone that is supposed to such a big time supporter, this post is just sad. Based on your contributions to this board and others, I feel that you are better than this..

You're frustrated, I understand that, I was frustrated too in the first half, but I think that you got caught up in your emotions a little bit.

 

[kg01]

For someone that is supposed to such a big time supporter, this post is just sad. Based on your contributions to this board and others, I feel that you are better than this..

You're frustrated, I understand that, I was frustrated too in the first half, but I think that you got caught up in your emotions a little bit.

I demand credit for holding it in check last night ... for the most part.

On a serious note, I really like Banks. Hopefully he can avoid foul trouble going forward.

 

[Connell62]

This team is one of the best defensive teams in the country. If they can make shots, they can win games. I just think Pastner needs to encourage them to shoot more even if it's not the perfect shot. They realized in the second half that their defense can spark their offense. That second half can be a momentum builder for the rest of the season. It's easy to dismiss this team after the initial showing, but there is something different about these guys than in year's past. Northwestern made shots they haven't made all season (29% 3pt shooter was 4-7) and the refs didn't help much in half 1.

I still think Pastner is trying to figure out the ideal lineup but imo it should be: Alvarado-Devoe-Hot Hand-Moore-Banks. Extremely skilled defensively with enough offense to score. A little patience is needed, but a team that plays that well defensively will be in every game.

Great post.. Thank you for injecting some realism into this thread....

NW shots lights out in the 1st half and played excellent D and we didn't match their intensity.

Didnt help that we missed bunnies and was terrible from the stripe.

 

[Connell62]

I demand credit for holding it in check last night ... for the most part.

On a serious note, I really like Banks. Hopefully he can avoid foul trouble going forward.

KG, I wasn't around last night, but I know that secretly you're a glass half full guy.. It just that sometime you let Peac influence you..

 

[GT_EE78]

Shembari and Moses provided a combined 1 point in 37 minutes. Wonder if they should be starting? Maybe CJP should look at playing Moore at the 4spot. If devo,Haywood,Moore and banks started, that would leave seniors Alston/Gueye to come in after 1,2,3 minutes when we get off to another wretched start .....

 

[MtnWasp]

The first half was highly discouraging. The team showed little composure on the road (which I feared), the offense was stagnant, so many shots were hard off the back rim and some players didn't look like ACC level players.

The second half didn't start any better but then Pastner pulled certain players and stuck Moore in and then all of the sudden we started to play. For the final 12 minutes of that game we saw what we could do.

The line-up of Alvarado-Devoe-Alston-Moore-Banks made a hard charge and made up 23 points in the second half. But any other combination lost ground.

Despite the loss, I think Gt probably feels better about that game than Northwestern. I'm hoping we witnessed a team's nads dropping in the second half.

Gt shot 6 of 24 in the first half and missed 6 of 13 free throws. The half was a offensive hot mess as our player combos were ineffective.

In the second half, despite 6 minutes of additional futility, we shot 14 of 29 from the field and 10 of 11 from the stripe.

Again, Moore's insertion changed things for the team. He didn't look to score but he was cutting hard and persistently and was decisive with the ball, made good passes and that allowed our offense to move the defense enough for our guards to make some things happen. Moore also played good defense. He was a glue guy.

Alston played hard again. Alvarado gave it all he had to get us back in the game but he was gassed. If one key guard would start to play even okay, the team would be so much better.

We might have found a line-up that works on offense. We'll see if Pastner goes to it earlier next game.

Apparently, Phillips can't play in this offense at all. He takes the air out of the ball every time he touches it . The offense utterly grinds to a halt when he is in the game. Pastner can't play him 20 minutes a game when he is playing like that. Gueye was poor match-up on the defensive end and boards against NW. Wright was the Deer in the Headlights on the road.

 

[shakim3]

The first half was highly discouraging. The team showed little composure on the road (which I feared), the offense was stagnant, so many shots were hard off the back rim and some players didn't look like ACC level players.

The second half didn't start any better but then Pastner pulled certain players and stuck Moore in and then all of the sudden we started to play. For the final 12 minutes of that game we saw what we could do.

The line-up of Alvarado-Devoe-Alston-Moore-Banks made a hard charge and made up 23 points in the second half. But any other combination lost ground.

Despite the loss, I think Gt probably feels better about that game than Northwestern. I'm hoping we witnessed a team's nads dropping in the second half.

Gt shot 6 of 24 in the first half and missed 6 of 13 free throws. The half was a offensive hot mess as our player combos were ineffective.

In the second half, despite 6 minutes of additional futility, we shot 14 of 29 from the field and 10 of 11 from the stripe.

Again, Moore's insertion changed things for the team. He didn't look to score but he was cutting hard and persistently and was decisive with the ball, made good passes and that allowed our offense to move the defense enough for our guards to make some things happen. Moore also played good defense. He was a glue guy.

Alston played hard again. Alvarado gave it all he had to get us back in the game but he was gassed. If one key guard would start to play even okay, the team would be so much better.

We might have found a line-up that works on offense. We'll see if Pastner goes to it earlier next game.

Apparently, Phillips can't play in this offense at all. He takes the air out of the ball every time he touches it . The offense utterly grinds to a halt when he is in the game. Pastner can't play him 20 minutes a game when he is playing like that. Gueye was poor match-up on the defensive end and boards against NW. Wright was the Deer in the Headlights on the road.

Moore is our most important developmental piece imo. He is the exact kind of player that the NBA is looking for, and if he can have confidence in his shot, his length, hustle, and defensive skill could be massive moving forward. Shembari is not used to playing without the ball. I think Pastner needs to let him play freely and take shots. He's a 40% 3PT shooter. He looks nervous. He's too good of a player to keep slumping. He will be important in march. Plus he had to sit out a full year.

I think Banks-Alvarado-Devoe-Moore should absolutely be starters. The final spot should be a rotating spot based on hot hand or development.

Also, and I know this is a bit weird to admit, but the team was missing a player like Cole last night who could box out and rebound. Moses will be a good player as a senior (and his dribbling has massively improved) but is still too raw to rely on.

 

[up state jacket]

I suspect we'll see a lineup changes as the year goes forward. We'll also see some players playing time shortened.

 

[shakim3]

Also, Devoe's skills are incredible and he + Alvarado in the backcourt could become the best we've had here in decades.