Tobacco Road Report

Georgia Tech 80, Clemson 62

Georgia Tech can play defense? On Saturday afternoon at the Thrillerdome, the Jackets stopped the bleeding, temporarily at least, by beating Clemson at their own game. The Jackets scored the bulk of their points in the lane with dribble penetration and domination of the offensive glass. The Jackets pulled 21 offensive boards (4 less than Clemson’s total) and exploited the soft Tiger post defense. Tech collected 62% of their missed shots.

The Jackets shot an effective 48% from the floor, and scored 1.10 points per possession for excellent efficiency. The Tigers were sloppy and did not get to loose balls, turning the ball over on 30% of their possessions. In a surprise move, Coach Hewitt played seldom used Alade Aminu over Faye on Saturday. The move worked well as Aminu gave the Jackets length inside, but he also played strong with the ball in the post. The best news for the Jackets was that they held Clemson to an effective field goal of 45% and only 0.85 points per possession.

The star of the game was Javaris Crittenton who stuffed the stat sheet with the following line: 26 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, 7 steals, and 2 treys. For those not tracking GT basketball, when Crittenton plays well, the team excels.

For Clemson, the Tigers need to get back on track as their stock is beginning to slip. The Tigers have one game this week at home against FSU in a key game for the ACC standings. With games still against Duke, at BC, and at Virginia Tech, the Tigers need to reverse the momentum immediately.

For Tech, the next week presents an opportunity to get back in the NCAA discussion. Home dates against NC State and UCONN are two games that the Jackets must have to even get into reaching distance of the “bubble.”