Georgia Tech Basketball heads to Athens looking for Coach Pastner’s first win against the Georgia Bulldogs. Can the Yellow Jackets take out its rival?
Clean, old fashioned hate. Four words that, when strung together, paint a picture of dislike unlike any other in sports. While Duke/Carolina owns the patent on legendary matchups between power programs, no two schools legitimately dislike one another quite like Georgia and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is full of nerds. Georgia is not a legit institute of higher learning. As a sidewalk Georgia Tech fan (meaning I did not attend the Institute), I am not aware of the entire back story, but I can assure you that the hate is real.
There is an interesting dynamic to this matchup this season, unlike in recent years. Both teams having NCAA Tournament aspirations isn’t a typical occurrence lately, but while Georgia boasts highly talented youth, Georgia Tech is reliant upon experience. Georgia, a top 50 team in offensive efficiency against Tech, a top 50 team in defensive efficiency. The 61st ranked team in Kenpom taking on the 63rd ranked team in Kenpom. You really can’t script it any better than it already looks on paper.
The Bulldogs, currently 3-0 on the season, come into the game averaging 95.3 points per game, have yet to face a power 6 team on the season but did defeat Western Carolina to open the 2019-20 campaign, a team that just gave ACC member Florida State everything they could handle. Georgia freshman Anthony Edwards appears to be as advertised, averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists on the season. Rayshaun Hammonds is also having himself a tremendous start to the campaign, averaging a double-double through Georgia’s first trio of games despite shooting poorly from beyond the arc.
Georgia Tech has only played two games this season, but have already displayed an inconsistent nature that has plagued the program for what seems like years. When they look good (second half against NC State) they can play with anyone. When they play like they did last week against Elon, they are capable of losing to anyone, except Elon evidently. Mike Devoe has been a star so far this season, averaging 22 points through his first two contests and shooting 6-9 from behind the arc. James Banks has been equally fantastic averaging 15.5-10.5-5.5 in his first two games.
It seems plausible that Edwards and Devoe will cancel each other out in this game so it could down to supporting casts, which is where Georgia Tech has the advantage. While Hammonds has been solid for the Dawgs, Moses Wright could give him some real issues. Khalid Moore has also been a defensive savant for the Yellow Jackets early on. Moore currently sports a defensive rating below 75, a number that is impossible to maintain, yet speaks to how good he has been so far this season, don’t be shocked to see him match up with Edwards if the Jackets decide to go to man defense.
The biggest question mark for this game is the health of Jose Alvarado. Tech’s point guard sat out the Elon game with a bum ankle and was seen wearing a boot on the sideline. If I were to venture a guess I would say that there is no way he misses this game, but we will wait and see. Tech struggled offensively without him against Elon, if they replicate that performance, Georgia could run away with this game.
Of course, I have to mention that Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner is 0-3 against Georgia as the Tech head coach. The average margin for the Dawgs has been 16.3 points in the previous trio of games.