Georgia Tech came away with a 64-41 win over the Elon Phoenix on Monday and here are three takeaways from the win.
Georgia Tech on Monday night played their first game at McCamish Pavillion this season and for the second time this season came out with the victory. The Jackets took on a 2-0 Elon Phoenix squad that only had beaten a pair of Non-D1 programs to pick up their first two victories of the season.
No.1: Michael Devoe could be in-store for a HUGE season
For the second straight game, sophomore guard Michael Devoe had a 20+ point performance. After a season-opening 22-point performance against the North Carolina State Wolfpack last week, Devoe had another 22-point performance on Monday night. He was tremendous against the Phoenix, shooting 63.6% overall, 83.3% at the charity stripe, and 75.0% from beyond the arch.
Now, Devoe did have six turnovers in the game against Elon but unless it becomes a consistent problem, I don’t think there should be too much of a worry there.
No.2: Evan Cole has strong night showing his versatility
This preseason, we believed Evan Cole could be in store for a breakout type season. Cole on Monday played 20 minutes for the Jackets and had a strong effort. He scored nine points in the game, shooting 3-for-7 from the field including one-for-two from above the arch and two-for-two from the free throw line. Cole also came down with nine rebounds in the game including three offensive rebounds. Add in his two assists in the game, and Cole produced a pretty strong stat line for the evening.
No.3: A classic strong defensive performance from the Jackets
Under Josh Pastner, the Jackets have historically been tremendous on defense and on Monday that wasn’t any difference. After a tougher defensive performance and matchup last week against North Carolina State, the Jackets played extremely well against Elon. Pastner’s team kept the Phoenix to just a 21.6% from the field overall (16-for-74) and just 10% from beyond the arch (3-for-30). The Jackets in the game also had seven steals and ten blocks in the game.
The Jackets will now be off until next Wednesday when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens for a basketball version of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.