Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets look to start season off with win over NC State

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets open their 2019-20 regular season on Tuesday evening against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

The 2019-20 season is finally here for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and on Tuesday night, they’ll take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack as they start the season off with some conference action.

The Jackets are coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw the Jackets go 14-18 overall and 6-12 in conference play, finishing 10th in the ACC. This offseason has been clouded in controversy once again and it ended with the program receiving several penalties for various infractions, the most notable of those penalties, a postseason ban for the Yellow Jackets.

The Wolfpack, on the other hand, are coming off a quality 24-win season that saw them break .500 in conference play at 9-9. They’re entering the third season of  Kevin Keatts who is 45-24 through his first two seasons. They lost their top player Torin Dorn but return a solid chunk of their team from last season. They’ll not the most talented team in the ACC but they’re experienced enough to make a run at making the NCAA Tournament this season.

Three Keys to a Georgia Tech victory:

1.Strong defensive effort (limit quality shots)

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The Wolfpack will look to run a fast-paced offense on Tuesday night and will throw up a lot of shots in the process. Last season, the Wolfpack took the eighth most shots in the country at 2,319, an average of 64 shots per game. The Jackets defense has been their top asset under Josh Pastner so far and while they need to take a step forward offensively, they’ll need to continue to be stout on defense and limit NC State’s quality shot section.

2. Slow down the game 

As mentioned above, NC State will run a high-tempo offense and will look to take a ton of shots. The Yellow Jackets offense under Pastner have been historically slower on offense which means it will be tough for them to come back from any major deficit against the Wolfpack. If they can slow down the game and limit the Wolfpacks’ quality shot selection, they’ll have a decent chance at winning.  Additionally, this will mean also limiting the Wolfpack in transition and stopping fast break opportunities.

3. Take advantage of opportunities

Where the Yellow Jackets have struggled the past few seasons has been taking advantage of golden opportunities. They struggle at the free throw line and they’ve struggled with picking up points off of turnovers. They’ll need to take advantage of as much opportunities as they can on Tuesday.

4. Shoot the three-ball effectively

No one is expecting the Yellow Jackets to shoot lights out from beyond the arch but shooting effectively from three would be a bonus for the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets last season were one of the worst teams in the ACC shooting from three-point range, if they hope to be better in 2019, they’ll need to be effective from downtown.

5. Limit turnovers and foul trouble

The Jackets won’t light up the scoreboard offensively, so they’ll have to limit their turnovers on offense while staying out of foul trouble on both sides of the floor. The more they can limit North Carolina State’s shot attempts, the better.

Players to Watch:

Georgia Tech: C James Banks III

Banks III had the highest player efficiency rating of any Yellow Jacket regular last season at 19.8. This season, the defensive standout will be expected to replicate that performance and then some. On defense, Banks averaged 2.5 blocks per game and had a defensive rating of just 95.4 while on offense he averaged 10.5 points per game.

NC State: G C.J Bryce

Bryce was the Wolfpacks’ No.2 scorer last season, averaging 11.6 points during his first season with the program. The former UNC Willmington Seahawk was a versatile scorer, shooting over 50% from within the perimeter while shooting 34.5% from three-point range. He enters this season as the Wolfpacks’ likely No.1 option. Bryce also averaged 4.6 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game.

Game Prediction:

We’re going to predict a North Carolina State victory in this one by a close margin, our final score prediction is 72-66 with the Wolfpack using a big final five minutes to pull out the victory. We expect big games out Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe tonight but also think transfer Bubba Parham will have himself quite the game as well for the Jackets.