Yellow Jacked Up
Fansided

Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets look to start streak against Texas-Rio Grande Valley

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Georgia Tech basketball team will look to start a winning streak on Wednesday night when they take on the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.

The Georgia Tech men’s basketball team picked up their first win of the season last Sunday afternoon, narrowly escaping the claws of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in a 65-62 win.

On Wednesday, the Jackets will look to make it two-straight wins as they take on the Western Athletic Conference’s, Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros. The Vaqueros enter Wednesday night’s matchup against the Jackets with a 3-2 record and are coming off a 75-63 win over North Texas.

The Vaqueros and Yellow Jackets do have one similar opponent so far this season, and that would be Bethune-Cookman. While the Jackets struggled with the Wildcats on Sunday, the Vaqueros seemed to be barely challenged earlier this month when they defeated BCU, 92-74.

The Jackets rotational and depth players could play a big role against the Vaqueros. So far this season, the Vaqueros have 10 players who are averaging 15 or more minutes on the court during the game. A tactic that allows them to keep everyone fresh and keep their speed on the court. The Jackets, on the other hand, have just eight players that have played this season in total.

More from Basketball

A smaller team, the Vaqueros should be a good matchup for the Jackets to have success both down low and on the boards. That being said, if the Jackets get caught in too many fast break opportunities or turnover the ball too much, the Vaqueros have the offense and speed to take advantage.

The Jackets fell victim on Sunday to Bethune-Cookman shooting lights out from beyond the arch. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem on Sunday as the Vaqueros are shooting .300 from three-point range this season. Moe McDonald and Lesley Varner Jr. are too Vaqueros, however, to watch for beyond the arch.

If there is one player to watch out for on Wednesday night for UTRGV, it would be senior guard Nick Dixon. Dixon this season has been the Vaqueros best player, averaging 23.4 points while shooting .472 from the field. He put forth a 39-point effort a week ago against Texas A&M Corpus Christi and also had a 27-point game to open up the season. His lowest scoring output this season so far has been 16-points, so expect him to be quite the factor on Wednesday night.

Overall, the Jackets matchup well against UTRGV and should come away with a victory. But if anything has been learned over the last two years with the Jackets, it’s that anything can happen, good or bad. The Jackets didn’t put forth their best effort against Bethune-Cookman and it would be shocking if they had a similar effort against UTRGV on Wednesday night. Expect the Jackets to win but don’t expect a comfortable 15+ point win.

Wednesday night’s game between Georgia Tech and UTRGV will also be the Jackets last game without senior guard Tadric Jackson. Jackson was suspended three games by the NCAA for accepting benefits and is eligible return on Friday night when the Jackets take on North Texas.