Article Jackets head to Miami to take on St. John's

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Jackets head to Miami to take on St. John's

KNOXVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 13: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Michael Devoe (0) takes a shot over Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Bowden (23) during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on November 13, 2018, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Coach Josh Pastner’s Jackets remain on the road this week. After dropping a game to Northwestern in the ACC/B1G challenge, they head down to Florida to play an undefeated St. John’s squad on Saturday. The contest is being called the Air Force Reserve Hoop Hall Miami Invitational and tips at noon EST on ESPNU.

St. John’s is one of 17 remaining undefeated teams in the NCAA and is currently ranked 46th by KenPom. This game will mark the first time St. John’s has played outside of the NY/NJ area this year. The Red Storm currently rank 245th in strength of schedule and their highest rated opponent, according to KenPom, is Rutgers. Despite the poor schedule and their ability to score in bulk (83 points per game), their average margin of victory is only 11.5 points.

The Red Storm are led by dynamic junior point guard Shamorie Ponds who averages 2o points, 5.2 assists, 3.3 assists per game. Going back to 1992-93, he is the only St. Johns player to have a season of 550 points, 100 assists, 65 steals and less than 10o turnovers. He has done it twice. He is joined this year by high scoring Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron, who was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA. Heron is currently averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. He is also shooting 43.5% (23 attempts) on the young season. As a team St. John’s shoots an impressive 38% from three. LJ Figueroa, a budding star for Coach Chris Mullin, shoots 54% from deep on the season.

As mentioned, St. John’s is coached by former Red Storm superstar Chris Mullin. As a player, Mullin appeared in 125 games, averaged 19.5 points and won the Big East Player of the Year award for three straight seasons. His coaching acumen thus far has been a bit underwhelming, having yet to lead his alma mater to an above .500 season in his first three tries. His record coming into the 2017-18 season was 38-60.

This is an interesting match-up for Georgia Tech. The Johnnies are a live by the three, die by the three team and the Jackets currently rank 14th in the nation in three point percentage against at 25.7%. The good guys only give up 59 points per game, good for 16th in the nation. The contrast in styles is one of the most intriguing parts of this contest. St. Johns is 56th in adjusted tempo (KenPom), while Georgia Tech is currently 190th.

The KenPom metric currently gives St. Johns a 73-70 edge. If Georgia Tech can maintain their defensive intensity and put together a complete game on the road they have a chance. The Red Storm have yet to really play anyone of consequence, while the Jackets have played two opponents inside the top 50 (Kenpom) and both on the road. The Jackets hold the edge as far as being battle tested.

Georgia Tech needs to defend and they need to shoot it. Stop me when this sounds familiar. It is always a grab bag when this program goes on the road. I guess we will just have to see what we see.

 
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GTbball2016

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Banks has been a great surprise. Phillips easily biggest disappointment. Curtis has got to find a way to get confidence away from his home court. He’s basically unplayable on the road.
 

mstranahan

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CGB has not lived up to what I expected, but I still think he will. His injury last year cost him valuable practice and game time. I believe he has the skills to really help this year and the next two. Just need to light to fully go on at game speed and get his confidence up.

Jose is playing really well (what I expected) but needs to learn when to rein in the alpha and look for others. This comes with experience and some tough lessons on court. I am bullish on him now and for the next couple of years.

Alston is playing above the level I expected. That said, he played much better in OOC than ACC last year, so hope we avoid that regression to the mean this time

I think it's too early to say much about Devoe given his injury and loss of practice reps. Still very optimistic

Khalid is on a faster learning curve than I expected. Too early to say I'm sold, but he looks to be the big surprise this year

I had no expectations for Banks (thought NCAA wouldn't approve him) but am very very happy with his play and production.

Moses shows flashes, but he's still very inconsistent and his BBIQ hasn't caught up to his physical ability. As expected, but time will tell

Cole gets a hall pass due to injury

AD, Sly & Sjolund are delivering exactly what I expected

Shembari has not impressed thus far. Expected a lot more given his experience at UT and a year of practice here as a RS
 

YlJacket

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I think the key issue/message is the defense has been better than expected and the offense is still a work in progress. Improve on the offensive end and we could be a decent to good team by year end.
 
GT_EE78

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YlJacket said:
I think the key issue/message is the defense has been better than expected and the offense is still a work in progress. Improve on the offensive end and we could be a decent to good team by year end.
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yup agree with that, sure would be nice too see Devo step it up to about 13-15 ppg over the next 6 games. ACC is tough as usual but at least we dont play Duke,NC,Va twice
 
Peacone36

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And I think we found the ooffense in the St. John’s game. That first half we looked really good. Run the two man game with Jose and Banks. Give Banks as many minutes as his foul situation and conditioning allow and put ADs behind on the pine.
 
slugboy

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Peacone36 said:
And I think we found the ooffense in the St. John’s game. That first half we looked really good. Run the two man game with Jose and Banks. Give Banks as many minutes as his foul situation and conditioning allow and put ADs behind on the pine.
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Is "oofense" an accident, or is it the new catchphrase for our offense until we get our 3pt average up?
 
okiemon

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GT_EE78 said:
yea, sjolund too ,not that unexpected for frosh but we at least one of the other three to step up with some shooting consistency
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So, basically, it’s not unexpected for Sjolund to play below expectations...


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GT_EE78

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okiemon said:
So, basically, it’s not unexpected for Sjolund to play below expectations...


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not exactly, that was just my hasty mis-speak, what i meant to say was that imo 3star guys aren't expected to be major contributors as frosh so he's performing at that level. i didn't intend it to be a comment about his potential or future.
 
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