Georgia Tech had a myriad of issues that led to their worst defeat in ACC play this season. They could not hit a shot in the second half, they could not keep Clemson off of the offensive glass, and they had many dumb turnovers just as it seemed they were turning it around.
Nearly ever player on the Jackets struggled shooting the ball. Marcus Georges-Hunt just looked a little bit off and missed several tough layups that he normally makes. Adam Smith took almost exclusively terrible shots. They were falling early, but he soon went cold. Mitchell made some nice plays early, but his tip-ins did not go in the second half. Those three scored 33 points, but it took them 31 shots to do it. The only player who really scored effectively was Quinton Stephens who scored 9 points on 7 shots, although he missed a couple of open threes at the end. As a team, they went an atrocious 34.5% from the field and just 1-11 from deep. This team needs Adam Smith to shoot out of his slump and give this team a real deep threat again.
The Jackets snagged an impressive 14 offensive rebounds, thanks to Charles Mitchell's 6. However, on the other end they gave the Tigers way too many second chances. Clemson grabbed 15 offensive boards including plenty of huge putbacks as the Jackets tried to come back in the second half. Many missed box-outs and and guards missing long rebounds led to easy baskets for the Tigers.
Almost as frustrating as the rebounds was the turnovers. Whether it was dropped balls, offensive rebounds, or most egregiously, lazy passes, this team gave away way too many opportunities. They had 13 turnovers which is not awful, but it seemed like every single one came right as Georgia Tech was gaining momentum.
The offense for the Tigers was very spread out. Their star, Jaron Blossomgame had 17, but most came in the first half. Jordan Roper came on strong in the second half and ended with 15 points. Landry Nnoko and Donte Grantham added 9 each and Avry Holmes ended with 8. The Tigers did not shoot well either, just 40% from the field and 2-13 from three, but their advantage on the turnovers and hitting just a few extra shots gave the Tigers the easy win.
Next, the Jackets head to Tallahassee to face Florida State, who is entrenched solidly in the middle of the ACC with a 6-6 record, on Wednesday at 9. Then the Jackets head home for their return matchups against Clemson and Notre Dame.