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Georgia Tech Basketball: Three Jackets who need to step up against Northwestern

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Jose Alvarado #10 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a call against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - JANUARY 20: Jose Alvarado #10 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a call against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Dean Smith Center on January 20, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday night and these three Yellow Jackets will need to step up.

1) PG Jose Alvarado

We talked about it on Sunday and we’ll mention it again. If the Yellow Jackets are going to meet and surpass expectations for this season. Jose Alvarado will need to become a dynamic scoring threat for the Jackets. Alvarado is without a doubt a leader of the team and he’s done well so far averaging 11.6 points per game but the Yellow Jackets will need more against Northwestern. Alvarado across the board is posting similar numbers to last year which was good enough for a team with three strong scorers in front of him but for right now, he’s expected to be the primary scorer. If the Jackets can get a big game out of Alvarado, it will go a long ways towards a Tech victory.

2) SG Curtis Haywood II

Haywood has already taken a step up from where he was a year ago but against Northwestern, Haywood will need to give a little more. Haywood is averaging 10 points per game this season and has three double-digit performances. He also has two games where he contributed 2 and 7 points. The Yellow Jackets will need Haywood to be on his game against Northwestern and they’ll look for him to be on point from beyond the arc where he is shooting 36% from through five games.

3) G Shembari Phillips

Shembari Phillips entering this season was expected to have a quality impact for the Jackets on both sides of the ball. Through his first five games with the program, the defensive performance has been there for Phillips. He has a defensive rating of 85.7 which is one of the best on the team. However, on offense, his rating is just 92.5 which is almost 8 points below his 2016-17 offensive rating of 100.6 when he was with the Tennessee Volunteers. Phillips hasn’t had a double-digit performance since the season opener against Lamar. If the Yellow Jackets are going to take down the 5-1 Wildcats, Phillips will need to have his best offensive performance of the season.