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Georgia Tech Basketball: Takeaways from ACC/Big Ten Challenge Win Over Nebraska

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

Dec 9, 2020; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets forward Khalid Moore (12) and guard Michael Devoe (0) and guard Bubba Parham (3) and forward Moses Wright (5) and guard Kyle Sturdivant (1) take the floor against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2020; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets forward Khalid Moore (12) and guard Michael Devoe (0) and guard Bubba Parham (3) and forward Moses Wright (5) and guard Kyle Sturdivant (1) take the floor against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Georgia Tech men’s basketball picked up win No.2 of the 2020 season on Wednesday night with a 75-64 victory over Nebraska.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are now 2-2 on the season after picking their second-straight win on Wednesday night against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was a game that we were able to learn quite a bit about the Jackets in and we have these four major takeaways from the victory.


1) Jackets respond well to adversity

Wednesday night’s victory for Georgia Tech didn’t come easy, until about halfway through the second half, it was a claw and scratch type game for both sides. Both teams were playing physical basketball and looking to intimidate their opponent. For the Yellow Jackets, they had to battle some adversity to get the victory. First of all, the Yellow Jackets got in foul trouble early in the game and the effects of such were felt for the remainder of the game. Ultimately, nobody fouled out for the Jackets but four players recorded three or more fouls, those being Moses Wright, Bubba Parham, Jose Alvarado, and Kyle Sturdivant.

Secondly, at one point in the second half the Yellow Jackets found themselves trailing by six after being up at half time. The Jackets at that time were barely getting anything out of Moses Wright who was having an uncharacteristic off night. However, from that moment on Moses Wright and Jose Alvarado would go off and combine for 24 points out of the Jackets last 26. Wright contributed 11 second half points while Alvarado posted 13. They finished with 13 and 24 points respectively.

Overall, the Jackets responded to adversity in those forms but also in the forms of off nights for key players like Moses Wright and Jordan Usher. By doing so they picked up a second-straight huge win that eliminates much of the doom and gloom emanating from their losses to Georgia State and Mercer.

2) Moses Wright looks human (kind of)…

Coming into the game, Moses Wright was averaging a double-double including 24 points per game. On Wednesday, Wright wasn’t able to post those numbers as in the first half he struggled a bit, scoring just two points and grabbing two rebounds. It’s the first time this season that he has truly looked human this season, that being said as alluded to above, that only lasted a half. Once the second half came around, Wright began to find himself more and more before ultimately ending with 13 points and eight rebounds. All in all, a performance you really can’t complain about especially since he stepped up when it mattered the most.

3) Jackets win the turnover battle again

For the second straight game, the Jackets won the turnover battle pretty convincingly. After forcing Kentucky to 20+ turnovers on Sunday and keeping their own limited, the Jackets forced Nebraska into 16 turnovers on Wednesday to just nine turnovers of their own. It’s amazing what happens when you win the turnover battle!

4) The season still has promise

This was briefly alluded to above but it’s fair to say after their 0-2 start, there was a ton of questions about the Jackets and their goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament this season. But after their back to back victories over Kentucky and Nebraska both in quality fashion, the promise this team had coming into the season is beginning to show. It’s still a long journey that will have plenty of ups and downs but over their last two games, the Jackets have shown why their a team that people have picked to make the tournament and why they have those aspirations as a team. Their next game is against a top-25 Florida State team but after that Florida A&M, Delaware State, and UAB provide a trio of games that the Jackets could build some strong momentum before going into the heart of ACC play.