Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets host Tusculum in non-conference matchup

Having dropped two straight games, the Yellow Jackets take a break from ACC play on Tuesday night to host the Tusculum Pioneers of the South Atlantic Conference.

Georgia Tech (13-10, 5-6 ACC) has yet to lose three straight games this season, and with a home game versus a Division II team Tuesday, don’t expect that to change.

The Jackets will get a chance to take a breather and brush up their game before jumping back into the fire of the ACC, hosting Boston College in Atlanta on Saturday evening.

Last Time Out:

Tech got a shot at a pretty evenly matched Wake Forest team on Saturday, but continued their struggles in conference road play, losing 81-69.

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“We just have no margin for error,” Pastner said of his team. “We’re really thin in a lot of areas and we’ve had a couple of injuries that make us even more thin. We’ve got to continue to get better.”

Pastner continued by saying his Jackets were the “most inexperienced team in college basketball,” and that “it’s just going to take us some time. Our margin of error is zero.”

Know the Opponent:

Tusculum College (10-12, 7-9 SAC) is a private school located in Greeneville, Tenn, and plays in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference.

The Pioneers have won two straight games going into Tuesday night, but are 2-9 on the road so far this season.

Georgia Tech and Tusculum College have never faced off on the basketball court.

Players to Watch:

Georgia Tech: C Ben Lammers

Ben Lammers has come into his own through the first half of the season, and has gone head-to-head with some of the best big men in the ACC. There’s no reason Lammers shouldn’t match up well against Tusculum’s senior center Chase Mounce, size wise, and have a solid game.

Tusculum: G Kendall Patterson

Senior guard Kendall Patterson is leading the Pioneers in scoring this season with 15.5 points per game, and he’ll need that and more to keep pace with the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. Look for Patterson to lead his team, even in a loss.

Prediction:

The last time Georgia Tech played an NCAA Division II team, they needed overtime to beat in-state Shorter University in exhibition. It turns out, however that the Hawks are a pretty good basketball team led by Phil Taylor who led all of college basketball in points per game for a time this season.

Tusculum isn’t Shorter, and they don’t have a Phil Taylor. Don’t expect the game to be close, and look for Josh Pastner to get his bench some playing time in the second half. Jackets roll.