Penn St- ACC/B10 Challenge

[Peacone36]

IMHO this is the first measuring stick of our roster. Big 10 opponent, on the road, lot of media coverage.

They have 3 really good freshman in Tony Carr, Lamar Peters and.......Mike Watkins I think is his name. He's a big man who will see Lammers a lot. Which is a matchup I like for us. They also have Shep Garner who is a really good upperclassman guard. I think Jax should start ahead of Corey in this one because we will need the athleticism and scoring early. I anticipate there will be a big minutes discrepancy between Josh and Justin this game. I like J-Mo but I think this game might swallow him up. We are going to need a strong showing by everyone. These guys hung with Duke, were destroyed by Cinci and also lost to Albany, but have beaten a decent GW team recently.

Need Q to get it together and have a strong game and continue to crash the boards.

 

[Connell62]

Nice post Pea.. I think that you are right on the money. If we don't come to play, it could get ugly. Bring our lunch pales and a belief that we can win, and we could sneak out with a W.

In order to win, our upperclassmen have to play like upperclassmen, no balls in their throats on the road. Q.. plain and simple, we need you.

This is generally the type of game he bust out.. He hasn't been shooting it too well, big game on the road, and you don't expect much, and he hits 5 of 8 from deep.

Should that occur, then I like our chances tomorrow night.

 

[kg01]

I was a huge Q fan when he committed but he seems to have a talent-ceiling. Commend him for trying to be a leader this year but man watching him dribble or do anything but catch/shoot is just ... well, not awe-inspiring.

 

[Peacone36]

***Lamar Stevens not Peters.

 

[RamblinRed]

They are an interesting matchup and in some ways a very similar team.
They basically use a 8 man rotation - so they are not that much deeper than GT is.
They start 2 FR and 1 R-FR to go with 2 JR. The 2 FR are former teammates at Roman Catholic High in Philly (2 of 4 players - 3 of them starters on this team from that HS). Both FR starters are 4-star recruits, One borderline TOp 50, one borderline Top 100).

They are a good 3-pt shooting team (35%) and a great FT shooting team (81% - do not foul them and send them to the line). They are not an overly strong rebounding team -that is an area GT really needs to win the battle. They were badly outrebounded in 2 of their 3 losses.

There starting 5 is
6'2
6'3
6'6 (223)
6'7 (218)
6'9 (246)

Balanced scoring team.
They are currently 102 in KenPom, GT is 106.
102.7 in AdjO (GT 102.1), 97.9 in AdjD (GT is 97.5). 80th in AdjTempo, GT is 162.
They have played a much tougher schedule to date than GT (GT is in the bottom 25 nationally in SoS so far).

Will be a good first test for GT. A game that is winnable if you play well, a loss otherwise.

 

[SteamWhistle]

Give it to Ben and get out of the way.

 

[Connell62]

We will have to lean on Ben, but we're going to need some production from our guards.

It will be interesting to see how Okogie and Tadric play against better competition.

Getting both of them going in this one will be a major key to victory.

Can Heath get his first triple-double of the season?

 

[Peacone36]

We will have to lean on Ben, but we're going to need some production from our guards.

It will be interesting to see how Okogie and Tadric play against better competition.

Getting both of them going in this one will be a major key to victory.

Can Heath get his first triple-double of the season?

Not sure will need the triple double. Just his expected contribution. 47-18-6

 

[kg01]

What in the blue hell is FSU wearing?

 

[jbix80]

Going to my first Georgia Tech game tonight. I've lived in Pennsylvania my whole life, but have been a Georgia Tech fan since I was 5 when Mark Price was running the show. Looking forward to a good road test and hopefully victory.

 

[Connell62]

Going to my first Georgia Tech game tonight. I've lived in Pennsylvania my whole life, but have been a Georgia Tech fan since I was 5 when Mark Price was running the show. Looking forward to a good road test and hopefully victory.

Hopefully they give you a game to remember. Something like a Tadric dunk in traffic or Josh Heath fadeaway 3 with :01 seconds left for the buzzer beating win! All kidding aside, I hope that you enjoy the game and of course that we win. The Georgia Tech basketball program has given me lots of gray hairs over the years, but it is one of my true passions that I think I'll always have.

 

[AE 87]

I'm looking forward to watching tonight's game against a team which should be comparable. So, far, we've played little depth and not completely dominated lesser opponents. Over the last few years, CBG would be playing 10 or 11 guys in these early games with similar results.

Don't get me wrong, from what little I've seen, I like what Pastner is doing with both our O and D. We actually seem to be doing something from the scheme department that should be a big plus for us going forward. However, I'm still not optimistic about actual competitiveness, even within the bottom third of our league. We'll see, and tonight should give us a big clue.

 

[orientalnc]

IMHO this is the first measuring stick of our roster. Big 10 opponent, on the road, lot of media coverage.

They have 3 really good freshman in Tony Carr, Lamar Peters and.......Mike Watkins I think is his name. He's a big man who will see Lammers a lot. Which is a matchup I like for us. They also have Shep Garner who is a really good upperclassman guard. I think Jax should start ahead of Corey in this one because we will need the athleticism and scoring early. I anticipate there will be a big minutes discrepancy between Josh and Justin this game. I like J-Mo but I think this game might swallow him up. We are going to need a strong showing by everyone. These guys hung with Duke, were destroyed by Cinci and also lost to Albany, but have beaten a decent GW team recently.

Need Q to get it together and have a strong game and continue to crash the boards.

I think this will be a close game, but PSU is a team we can beat. They lost to Duke in a close game, but Duke is not yet the dominant team we thought they would be. Their comfortable wins have been against teams GT could also beat. And their highly ranked freshman have still not played a minute. And GW is not a good team.

 

[Peacone36]

I think this will be a close game, but PSU is a team we can beat. They lost to Duke in a close game, but Duke is not yet the dominant team we thought they would be. Their comfortable wins have been against teams GT could also beat. And their highly ranked freshman have still not played a minute. And GW is not a good team.

Their freshman are 3 or their 4 leading scorers.

 

[Peacone36]

I think this will be a close game, but PSU is a team we can beat. They lost to Duke in a close game, but Duke is not yet the dominant team we thought they would be. Their comfortable wins have been against teams GT could also beat. And their highly ranked freshman have still not played a minute. And GW is not a good team.

Probably should have said GW has a good roster. I have yet to watch them play but I'm sure changing coaches a month before the season is having its toll

 

[orientalnc]

Their freshman are 3 or their 4 leading scorers.

I was referring to Duke's three freshmen , Giles , Bolden , and a 3rd whose name I can't remember .

 

[Connell62]

Line is GT + 7

Seems about right. First real road contest for this team and a big step up in competition.

Aside from Ohio (87 in KenPom), this is by far the best team we have played.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst...at least until we get this thing turned around.

 

[ramblinwreck1378]

I'm looking forward to watching tonight's game against a team which should be comparable. So, far, we've played little depth and not completely dominated lesser opponents. Over the last few years, CBG would be playing 10 or 11 guys in these early games with similar results.

Don't get me wrong, from what little I've seen, I like what Pastner is doing with both our O and D. We actually seem to be doing something from the scheme department that should be a big plus for us going forward. However, I'm still not optimistic about actual competitiveness, even within the bottom third of our league. We'll see, and tonight should give us a big clue.

We shouldn't play people just to "be deep". I like that Pastner's playing the guys he thinks he can win with - if that's only 6 or 7 guys, then so be it.

Definitely a winnable game, but we've got to pound inside, both with Lammers in the post and Tadric/Okogie on the dribble. Must shoot and make a lot of FTs. We do those two things I like our chances.

 

[AE 87]

We shouldn't play people just to "be deep". I like that Pastner's playing the guys he thinks he can win with - if that's only 6 or 7 guys, then so be it.

Definitely a winnable game, but we've got to pound inside, both with Lammers in the post and Tadric/Okogie on the dribble. Must shoot and make a lot of FTs. We do those two things I like our chances.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with it either. I am just less optimistic for tonight's game and the season when it's taking our best effort to get results comparable to what we got with less investment in past years.

 

[RamblinRed]

Probably should have said GW has a good roster. I have yet to watch them play but I'm sure changing coaches a month before the season is having its toll

FWIW, GW's 2nd best player was scratched against Penn St after getting hurt before the game started. Still, any road win you should be proud of. GW is 3-3 on the season so far