Georgia Tech game

[MSOrange]

I haven't watched much of Georgia Tech but looking at their season stats, it looks like the have a 7 man rotation. As a team they shoot just under 35% from 3 point range. Looks like there main 3 pt shooters are:

Josh Okogie 20 53 .377
Tadric Jackson 27 71 .380
Quinton Stephens 40 124 .323

Now of course, that won't stop some bench warmer from going Ryan McMahon on us. I like the matchup of JB vs Josh Pastner. I've never been super impressed with Josh. I'm surprised this is a sellout. Atlanta isn't exactly a basketball town except when a team is really good and that's not necessarily the case with Ga Tech this year. So the home court advantage will be more of a factor than I expected, but obviously, any road game is tough for us this year. Our games with them have been relatively low scoring the last 2 years with last year a 60-57 win and I'm sure nobody has forgotten the thrilling 46-45 victory that set basketball back about 50 years. I think it will be higher scoring this year. It better be for us considering our defense.

I've always felt pretty confident about these two Ga Tech games, so I'll go with a 77-73 victory.

 

[RF2044]

We have to find two more regular season wins. Absolutely have to. Three would be even better, if we could somehow manage to knock off Duke and / or Louisville.

But this game at GT feels like a "must win," for three reasons:

1. Gives us another conference win, and moves us closer to a 10-win conference record
2. Would give us another road win, to pad our resume there
3. GT is the "easiest" opponent left [twice] of our four remaining regular season games

 

[Cusefan0307]

I haven't watched much of Georgia Tech but looking at their season stats, it looks like the have a 7 man rotation. As a team they shoot just under 35% from 3 point range. Looks like there main 3 pt shooters are:

Josh Okogie 20 53 .377
Tadric Jackson 27 71 .380
Quinton Stephens 40 124 .323

Now of course, that won't stop some bench warmer from going Ryan McMahon on us. I like the matchup of JB vs Josh Pastner. I've never been super impressed with Josh. I'm surprised this is a sellout. Atlanta isn't exactly a basketball town except when a team is really good and that's not necessarily the case with Ga Tech this year. So the home court advantage will be more of a factor than I expected, but obviously, any road game is tough for us this year. Our games with them have been relatively low scoring the last 2 years with last year a 60-57 win and I'm sure nobody has forgotten the thrilling 46-45 victory that set basketball back about 50 years. I think it will be higher scoring this year. It better be for us considering our defense.

I've always felt pretty confident about these two Ga Tech games, so I'll go with a 77-73 victory.

The game is sold out because they want to shove it in our face that they are honoring Kenny Anderson.

 

[Ryand877]

We have to find two more regular season wins. Absolutely have to. Three would be even better, if we could somehow manage to knock off Duke and / or Louisville.

But this game at GT feels like a "must win," for three reasons:

1. Gives us another conference win, and moves us closer to a 10-win conference record
2. Would give us another road win, to pad our resume there
3. GT is the "easiest" opponent left [twice] of our four remaining regular season games

Agree. We need to find a way to win Sunday night.

 

[MSOrange]

The game is sold out because they want to shove it in our face that they are honoring Kenny Anderson.

Ah I just read they are honoring Lethal Weapon 3 (Anderson, Scott, Oliver). I lived in Atlanta during that time. I wanted to play them in the final 4 in the worst way to shut up those Ga Tech fans. Losing to Minnesota was just a heartbreaker for me.

 

[iommi]

I've done a lot of work on Georgia Tech this year. Their guys to worry about are Okogie, Ben Lammers and Jackson. Okogie is a fantastic player, who can score in a variety of ways. Lammers is one of the best bigs in the country and one of the most improved. #1 shot blocker in the ACC by a wide margin. Very effective around the rim but can also step out and make a 15-foot jumper. Jackson is very improved this year. Career 22% from 3 but over 40% this year.

Justin Moore hasn't done anything since playing well against cupcakes. He's a freshman guard, who is my candidate to randomly go off against us. He's not a three-pt shooter, so watch him make 3 of them. He's a terrible FT shooter, as is Jackson. Jackson is a great athlete, put up 24 against VCU, so he's capable of going off. He was a star QB in high school. Ironhead Heyward's son, Corey rides their bench and doesn't play much. Quinton Stephens rebounds and does all the little things. Glue guy. Grinder.

They don't have a deep bench.

On the sellout of their arena, it is a small arena and will be loud. Their fans have been very pumped up this year.

 

[MSOrange]

I've done a lot of work on Georgia Tech this year. Their guys to worry about about Okogie, Ben Lammers and Jackson. Okogie is a fantastic player, who can score in a variety of ways. Lammers is one of the best bigs in the country and one of the most improved. #1 shot blocker in the ACC by a wide margin. Very effective around the rim but can also step out and make a 15-foot jumper. Jackson is very improved this year. Career 22% from 3 but over 40% this year.

Justin Moore hasn't done anything since playing well against cupcakes. He's a freshman guard, who is my candidate to randomly go off against us. He's not a three-pt shooter, so watch him make 3 of them. He's a terrible FT shooter, as is Jackson. Jackson is a great athlete, put up 24 against VCU, so he's capable of going off. He was a star QB in high school. Ironhead Heyward's son, Corey rides their bench and doesn't play much. Quinton Stephens rebounds and does all the little things. Glue guy. Grinder.

They don't have a deep bench.

On the sellout of their arena, it is a small arena and will be loud. Their fans have been very pumped up this year.

Excellent recap. Much better to hear the thoughts of someone who has actually seen them play a lot, rather than me just going by stats. Although I did accomplish my goal of getting some people to actually talk about basketball again

 

[Cusefan0307]

They rank last in the conference in FG% and 3 PT%. They also turn the ball over 3rd most in conference. There's zero excuse to allow them to have a big offensive game against us collectively.

 

[OrangeDW]

Ah I just read they are honoring Lethal Weapon 3 (Anderson, Scott, Oliver). I lived in Atlanta during that time. I wanted to play them in the final 4 in the worst way to shut up those Ga Tech fans. Losing to Minnesota was just a heartbreaker for me.

That was one of my favorite non-SU college bball teams to watch. There really were some squads back then. College hoops will never be that great again.

 

[pearl31]

Lammers is one of the best bigs in the country

I mean, he's definitely improved but IMO this statement is over the top. I've watched them several times this year and he doesn't approach dominant. I can name several bigs we've played against that are better than Lammers: Collins, Mamoud, Matthiang, Fla St's combo, Happ, Meeks/Hicks...
What they do have is a very good defense - not Lvlle/UVA good but still very strong (I believe they actually lead the league in opp FG %) - we'll need to score at least semi-efficiently to win

 

[SoBeCuse]

They rank last in the conference in FG% and 3 PT%. They also turn the ball over 3rd most in conference. There's zero excuse to allow them to have a big offensive game against us collectively.

In theory, yes.

 

[iommi]

They rank last in the conference in FG% and 3 PT%. They also turn the ball over 3rd most in conference. There's zero excuse to allow them to have a big offensive game against us collectively.

Yeah, poor shooting/3-pt shooting team but they find ways to win. This is a team that gets the 50/50 balls, for example. We'd be near the bottom of the conference in that one, if they had such a stat.

 

[iommi]

I mean, he's definitely improved but IMO this statement is over the top. I've watched them several times this year and he doesn't approach dominant. I can name several bigs we've played against that are better than Lammers: Collins, Mamoud, Matthiang, Fla St's combo, Happ, Meeks/Hicks...
What they do have is a very good defense - not Lvlle/UVA good but still very strong (I believe they actually lead the league in opp FG %) - we'll need to score at least semi-efficiently to win

I disagree. Lammers is awesome. Tremendous rebounder, versatile, shot blocker who keeps the ball alive and starts breaks, makes the right play, rather than the wow play. I never used the word, "dominant," but he is one of the best.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I mean, he's definitely improved but IMO this statement is over the top. I've watched them several times this year and he doesn't approach dominant. I can name several bigs we've played against that are better than Lammers: Collins, Mamoud, Matthiang, Fla St's combo, Happ, Meeks/Hicks...
What they do have is a very good defense - not Lvlle/UVA good but still very strong (I believe they actually lead the league in opp FG %) - we'll need to score at least semi-efficiently to win

No way UL's bigs are better than Lammers. Same with FSU's (not counting Isaac). Lammers is very skilled. Besides his scoring and rebounding he can pass a little and is a good shotblocker.

I'm jealous that UL can get and/or develop guys like Mathiang who are more than serviceable but he is not in Lammers' league. I have high hopes and expectations for Sidibe but I have always wondered why SU can't get any Africans who are any good (offensively). Keita was pretty good defensively but a beanpole and couldn't do anything offensively. Chino was a disaster and Chukwu is likely a bust. Meanwhile Louisville gets guys like Dieng, Mathiang, etc.

 

[pearl31]

I disagree. Lammers is awesome. Tremendous rebounder, versatile, shot blocker who keeps the ball alive and starts breaks, makes the right play, rather than the wow play. I never used the word, "dominant," but he is one of the best.

did you watch him last night against Miami, for example? Very underwhelming, especially in 2nd half when Miami was missing their best big (forget his name, #15). No doubt he's emerged as a solid big, but nowhere near the nation's best

 

[pearl31]

No way UL's bigs are better than Lammers.
I'm jealous that UL can get and/or develop guys like Mathiang who are more than serviceable but he is not in Lammers' league.

you're as high as Spiccoli if you believe this

 

[SoBeCuse]

I've done a lot of work on Georgia Tech this year. Their guys to worry about are Okogie, Ben Lammers and Jackson. Okogie is a fantastic player, who can score in a variety of ways. Lammers is one of the best bigs in the country and one of the most improved. #1 shot blocker in the ACC by a wide margin. Very effective around the rim but can also step out and make a 15-foot jumper. Jackson is very improved this year. Career 22% from 3 but over 40% this year.

Justin Moore hasn't done anything since playing well against cupcakes. He's a freshman guard, who is my candidate to randomly go off against us. He's not a three-pt shooter, so watch him make 3 of them. He's a terrible FT shooter, as is Jackson. Jackson is a great athlete, put up 24 against VCU, so he's capable of going off. He was a star QB in high school. Ironhead Heyward's son, Corey rides their bench and doesn't play much. Quinton Stephens rebounds and does all the little things. Glue guy. Grinder.

They don't have a deep bench.

On the sellout of their arena, it is a small arena and will be loud. Their fans have been very pumped up this year.

I heard Pastner on Sirius College Sports (Ch. 84) about two weeks ago with Packer or Childers. Very articulate guy. Credited Gregory's staff for finding the gem of Okogie. He's a local Atlanta kid. He said his formula is (paraphrasing) playing hard, good defense, not having the ball stick/stop, and giving up shots for better shots. Said like everybody has been saying how difficult the league is and such.

 

[SoBeCuse]

you're as high as Spiccoli if you believe this

Well you would be on an island by yourself claiming Mathiang (or Mahmoud) is better than Lammers. Nobody would believe that and, for the record, I like both of those guys and wish we had them.

 

[iommi]

did you watch him last night against Miami, for example? Very underwhelming, especially in 2nd half when Miami was missing their best big (forget his name, #15). No doubt he's emerged as a solid big, but nowhere near the nation's best

I only saw highlights of last night's game. I've seen Georgia Tech about 6 times though. He might have had a bad game. It happens. Georgia Tech doesn't have anyone else inside with Lammers' size and skill, so he's getting a ton of attention. The Jackets don't have a great outside shooting game, so teams are doubling Lammers a lot. I'm not making an excuse, his numbers are excellent. At the very least, he's one of the most improved bigs. Would I take him over all the guys you mentioned, no. He's a top 10 big man in the country IMO. That's "one of the best."

 

[iommi]

Well you would be on an island by yourself claiming Mathiang (or Mahmoud) is better than Lammers. Nobody would believe that and, for the record, I like both of those guys and wish we had them.

Mathiang is not even close to Lammers. Mahmoud is great, with a huge upside but he's very raw. Right now, he's not polished. Neither is Lammers but Lammers already has tremendous post moves and a jumper. And Mahmoud is a good shot blocker too (2nd in ACC) but about a full block per game behind Lammers.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Okogie is the guy we need to worry about on defense. He scored 35 against FSU, 38 against Tulane, and 26 against UNC.

 

[orangecuse]

I've done a lot of work on Georgia Tech this year. Their guys to worry about are Okogie, Ben Lammers and Jackson. Okogie is a fantastic player, who can score in a variety of ways. Lammers is one of the best bigs in the country and one of the most improved. #1 shot blocker in the ACC by a wide margin. Very effective around the rim but can also step out and make a 15-foot jumper. Jackson is very improved this year. Career 22% from 3 but over 40% this year.

Justin Moore hasn't done anything since playing well against cupcakes. He's a freshman guard, who is my candidate to randomly go off against us. He's not a three-pt shooter, so watch him make 3 of them. He's a terrible FT shooter, as is Jackson. Jackson is a great athlete, put up 24 against VCU, so he's capable of going off. He was a star QB in high school. Ironhead Heyward's son, Corey rides their bench and doesn't play much. Quinton Stephens rebounds and does all the little things. Glue guy. Grinder.

They don't have a deep bench.

On the sellout of their arena, it is a small arena and will be loud. Their fans have been very pumped up this year.

Yeah, seen this movie over and over. Come Sunday night, painfully, there likely will be some other improbable limited role player never heard from before...maybe even again, that torched our zone for 20 something. :bang:

 

[OrangeZeus]

The worst records to get at-large bids were 18-14 by Arizona in 2008 and 18-14 by Michigan St. in 2011 (RPI 50 and 54 respectively; KenPom 24 and 45 respectively. Both received 10 seeds). Our RPI currently stands at 78 and our KenPom is at 48.

A 2-2 regular season finish and a first game ACCT loss puts us at 18-14 and likely a lower RPI and KenPom rating than where we currently stand. I think it's safe to say that our potential 18-14 season is worse than Arizona and Michigan State's 18-14 seasons. That means we probably need to find at least 3 more wins just to sneak into the tournament.

Syracuse is listed 5 spots ahead of Georgia Tech on Lunardi's newest rankings as well as Bracket Matrix so these two games against GT may very well decide each team's season.

 

[iommi]

Yeah, seen this movie over and over. Come Sunday night, painfully, there likely will be some other improbable limited role player never heard from before...maybe even again, that torched our zone for 20 something. :bang:

Yeah, Justin Moore. I mentioned him as the likely candidate because it would come out of nowhere.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Mathiang is not even close to Lammers. Mahmoud is great, with a huge upside but he's very raw. Right now, he's not polished. Neither is Lammers but Lammers already has tremendous post moves and a jumper. And Mahmoud is a good shot blocker too (2nd in ACC) but about a full block per game behind Lammers.

Mahmoud's coordination, agility, and skill for his height is pretty outstanding. He's still raw like you say but the tools are there. He puts on some more weight and he'll be a beast at UL and/or at least serviceable in the NBA. But, yeah, he is no Lammers yet obviously. Meanwhile we have Chukwu ready to be unleashed...again.