2007-08 Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

Virginia Tech will look to extend their ACC winning streak to three games
when they travel to Atlanta to take on a struggling Georgia Tech team. The
Yellow Jackets are 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the ACC, and they’ll be hungry for
their first conference victory of the season.

Georgia Tech is a strange team. They started the season with an 83-74 home
loss to the same UNC-Greensboro team that managed just 39 points in Cassell
Coliseum on December 4. Make no mistake about it however, the Jackets are more
than capable of winning basketball games.

They’ve played a very tough schedule, with out-of-conference games against
Indiana, Vanderbilt and Kansas. Vanderbilt was undefeated until recently, and
Kansas is one of the top three teams in the nation. Georgia Tech nearly knocked
off the Jayhawks, but eventually fell 71-66. The Yellow Jackets also played #1
UNC very close on Wednesday night, losing 83-82 at home.

Overall Georgia Tech has lost four of their last five games, with their lone
win coming against Presbyterian 77-64.

Georgia Tech Probable Starters
Pos	Name	Ht	Wt	Year	PPG	RPG	Assists
G	Matt Causey	6-0	186	r-Sr.	5.1	1.3	60
G	Lewis Clinch	6-3	195	Jr.	12.4	2.2	28
G	Anthony Morrow	6-5	210	Sr.	14.9	5.1	17
F	Gani Lawal	6-8	216	Fr.	6.9	3.9	4
F	Jeremis Smith	6-8	236	Sr.	10.1	7.2	38

The Yellow Jackets are led by their upperclassmen. Senior wing Anthony Morrow
is the team’s leading scorer and ranks second in rebounding. Morrow is most
dangerous from the outside. He is connecting on 45.9% of his three-pointers this
year, tops on a team that is very dangerous from the outside. Morrow is good
with the basketball. He leads Georgia Tech in minutes, but he has just 16
turnovers in 16 games.

Junior
guard Lewis Clinch joins Morrow on the perimeter. They are a formidable duo on
the outside. Clinch is shooting 37.9% from the outside on the year, and he is
capable of getting hot. He does have a bad assist-to-turnover ratio for a guard,
with 28 assists and 44 turnovers.

Senior forward Jeremis Smith gives the Yellow Jackets a good inside-out game.
He is averaging 10.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. His 38 assists on the
year show his outstanding passing ability as a forward. At 6-8, 236, Smith is a
bull on the inside. He’s a very physical player. Watching him and Jeff Allen
battle it out on the boards should be a treat. Allen must play smart and stay
out of foul trouble, because Smith will take it right to the hoop.

Matt Causey and Maurice Miller split time at the point guard position. Causey
is a r-senior who sat out last season after transferring from North Georgia. He’s
a smart, heady player who leads the Yellow Jackets in assists with 60 despite
only playing 16.9 minutes per game. Causey can hit the open jumper. He’s
shooting 44.1% from the outside this year.

Miller is a freshman who has started four games, getting 17.7 minutes per
game. He’s still getting his feet wet in ACC basketball. He’s shooting just
28.6% from the field in three ACC games.

Junior Alade Aminu and freshman Gani Lawal split time at the other forward
spot. Both players play less than 20 minutes per game, but they are capable of
scoring. Aminu averages 7.5 points per game, with Lawal contributing 6.9.
Sophomore forward Zach Peacock will also play a lot. He averages 8.9 points and
4.2 rebounds per game.

Overall Georgia Tech is a very solid, very balanced offensive team. So why
are they the only ACC team with a losing overall record? If you read the
following table closely, you’ll be able to tell.

VT vs. GT
Category	VT		GT		Advantage
Category	Stat	ACC Rank	Stat	ACC Rank	Advantage
FG%	43.80%	11	46.80%	4	GT
FG% Defense	38.70%	3	45.40%	12	VT
3-Pt. %	34.40%	9	37.70%	6	GT
3-Pt. % Defense	32.80%	6	35.60%	12	VT
FT%	69%	10	70%	8	GT
Rebounding Margin	+4.8	5	+2.6	9	VT
Turnover Margin	+0.35	8	+0.94	6	GT
Assist/TO Ratio	0.92	9	1.01	6	GT
Scoring Offense	67.4	11	76.6	6	GT
Scoring Defense	59.5	1	73.8	12	VT
Average	–	7.3	–	8.1	VT

The Yellow Jackets play terrible team defense. They are dead last in the ACC in
the three most important defensive categories: scoring defense, field goal
percentage defense and three-point percentage defense. In fact, they aren’t even
close to getting out of the basement in scoring defense and field goal
percentage defense.

It’s amazing that a team that plays three seniors and three juniors as part
of their regular rotation is so bad defensively. The Hokies play six freshmen as
part of their regular rotation, but they are first in the ACC in scoring defense
and third in field goal percentage defense. Tech is the only team in the ACC
allowing less than 60 points per game, and one of just four that force opponents
to shoot less than 40%

If you look at the table above, Georgia Tech holds the advantage in six of
the 10 categories, but they are so far behind the Hokies in each defensive
category that VT holds the overall advantage.

Virginia Tech also holds an advantage on the boards. If the Hokies continue
to play good defense and they can beat the Jackets on the boards, they’ll have a
good chance to manufacture enough points against a bad Georgia Tech defense to
get another road win.

It should be a great game that can go either way, as are most ACC games. If
the Hokies can win this one and go to 3-1 in the ACC, that would be huge for
such a young team, especially with three of their first four conference games
being on the road.

2007-08 Basketball Game Preview: Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

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