Georgia Tech Basketball: Breaking down the Jackets November schedule

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 14: Markell Johnson #11 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Nov. 5 at NC State (Season Opener)

The Jackets over Josh Pastner’s tenure with the Yellow Jackets have struggled in ACC play goin a combined 20-34 including 6-12 in each of the last two seasons. The Jackets will get their first conference game out of the way, right away this season when they travel to Raleigh to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack. The Jackets took down the Wolfpack in their only meeting last season, a 63-61 win to end the regular season.

The Wolfpack are coming off a strong 2018-19 season where they went 24-12 overall and 9-9 in ACC play. After a hot 14-2 start, they would be up-and-down over their last 20 games, going 10-10. They’d make it out of the opening round of the ACC Tournament before falling to Virginia and would go onto play in the NIT, where they made it the quarterfinals of the tournament before falling to Lipscomb.

Head Coach: Kevin Keatts (3rd year, 45-24)
Last season: 24-12 (9-9)
PPG: 80.1
PAPG: 71.3

Key Returners:

The Wolfpack return an experienced heavy lineup in 2019-20 which should help them once again be one of the better teams in the ACC and possibly get them back to the NCAA Tournament. Their top returner from last season will be guard Markell Johnson who averaged 12.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He’s also the Wolfpacks’ top returning three-point shooter after shooting 42.2% from beyond the arch last season.

Redshirt senior C.J Bryce also returns and will be one of the Wolfpacks’ top scoring threats in 2019-20. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 11.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game.

Key Losses:

The biggest and only real notable loss to discuss is that of Torin Dorn. Dorn was the Wolfpacks’ top scorer last season averaging 14.0 points per game and 7.2 rebounds. Dorn scored double-digit points in 30 of 36 games last season and scored 15 or more points in 13 games.

Additions:

PF Pat Andree – Andree is a transfer from Lehigh and was great for the Mountain Hawks last season. Andree averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 rebounds last season, his second straight season of posting 12.0+ points per game and 5.0+ rebounds per game. At 6-foot-8, he’s one of the Wolfpack’s bigger players.

SF Atticus Taylor – A JUCO transfer, Taylor came to NC State from Southwest Mississippi C.C.. Taylor was ranked as the 39th best JUCO transfer by 247Sports. He averaged 9.0 points per game on 47% shooting for Southwest Mississippi C.C.. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds per game.

Overall:

Overall, if the Wolfpack can replace Dorn’s production, they’ll be in a strong spot in 2019. Last season, they suffered from a weak non-conference schedule and this season it’s not too much better. They’re most likely cruise through most of their non-conference schedule but if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament, they’ll need to find their winning ways in conference play.