HOOPS Preview: Notre Dame Vs. Georgia Tech

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NOTRE DAME (10-3, 0-0 ACC) VS. GEORGIA TECH (6-6, 0-0 ACC)

Where: Purcell Pavilion (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Rankings: Both teams enter the matchup unranked.

Time/TV: 2 p.m. ET/ESPNU

Last Meeting: Feb. 26, 2017. Notre Dame 64-60.

Series Info: Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 9-7.

Notre Dame begins its quest for an ACC regular season title this afternoon against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The Irish opened up 5-0 in ACC play last season and will aim to get out of the gate on a good note again.

Last season, the two teams split the series with the home teams winning each game.

Here is a quick overview on each team heading into the matchup and a prediction of the outcome.

The Irish bounced back last week with wins over Dartmouth and Southeastern Louisiana which followed a 2-3 stretch with upset losses to Ball State and Indiana.

Mike Brey said on Thursday during his press conference at Notre Dame spent a ton of time developing the team’s starting lineup and that may have created somewhat of a negative in terms of bench development.

With ACC play about to get into full swing, Brey turned more focus towards furthering his team’s bench in hopes of getting more consistent play from the group.

Notre Dame certainly had its shares of ups and downs during the non-conference slate. The Irish got pretty much what most expected from senior forward Bonzie Colson (21.3 PPG, 9.8 RPG) and senior point guard Matt Farrell (16.8 PPG, 5.2 APG).

The first big question was who would step up as the third scoring option. Enter TJ Gibbs. The sophomore guard is averaging 14.4 points to provide a much-needed complementary scoring option to the senior duo.

Junior guard Rex Pflueger has shown his versatility on offense (8.7 PPG, 2.4 APG) while continuing his role of being the team’s defensive ace. Pflueger is also grabbing 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.

Senior big man Martinas Geben has taken a step forward in his production sitting at 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Off the bench, freshman wing DJ Harvey lead the way with 16.5 minutes of action per night and averaging 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds. Sophomore big man John Mooney (3.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG) played 10.7 minutes per game. Sophomore guard Nik Djogo, junior big man Elijah Burns and senior big man Austin Torres will look to take advantage of their minutes during ACC play and provide a spark for the Irish.

Through 13 games, Notre Dame sits 11th in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and 61st in defensive efficiency. Can the Irish continue that play in the ACC?

Georgia Tech has lost five of its last seven heading into its ACC opener against Notre Dame including losses to Grambling State, Wofford and Wright State.

The Yellow Jackets though have dealt with suspensions and injuries including sophomore guard Josh Okogie (18.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG) and senior guard Tadric Jackson (15.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG). That has resulted in the team averaging just 67.2 points per game (No. 309), but the team’s defense has been strong allowing 64.8 points (No. 39).

Per KenPom’s rankings, Georgia Tech sits No. 202 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 86 in defensive efficiency.

Teams will aim to take Okogie and senior big man Ben Lammers (13.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG) each night to limit Josh Pastner’s unit.

Against Coppin State, Pastner used his fifth starting lineup (per the Georgia Tech athletic site) which included Lammers, Okogie, freshman guard Jose Alvarado (13.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG), junior guard Brandon Alston (6.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG) and freshman forward Moses Wright (4.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG).

Jackson came off the bench along with freshman forward Evan Cole (2.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG). The Yellow Jackets used just seven players as a few players deal with injuries, etc. including freshman guard Curtis Haywood (8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.5 APG) and senior forward Abdoulaye Gueye (3.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG).

Georgia Tech is shooting 43.5 percent from the field while allowing opponents to shoot a 41.1 percent clip. Opponents are making 38.4 percent of their three-point attempts against the Yellow Jackets while Pastner’s group makes just 32 percent of its attempts.

On the glass, Georgia Tech holds a 34.6-32.2 edge during its 12 non-conference games.

Coppin State led Georgia Tech 54-51 with just under 10 minutes remaining before the Yellow Jackets reeled off a 25-8 run to close out the game.

This is a game that features two teams still searching a bit as they get to league play. The health of Georgia Tech could play a role in this game if players get into foul trouble.

An area of concern for Notre Dame would be controlling Lammers on the inside. The big man averaged 13.5 points and 10 rebounds in the two matchups last season. Notre Dame will have to try and keep Lammers from causing havoc on the offensive glass. It will be interesting to see how Geben fairs in this matchup.

For Georgia Tech, turnovers will be something to watch. Notre Dame ranks as the top team in the country, per KenPom.com, with a 13.2 percent turnover rate while the Yellow Jackets sit at a 19.8 percent mark (No. 218).

Prediction

Notre Dame 75, Georgia Tech 62

Though Georgia Tech got a key back in Okogie four games ago, the Yellow Jackets haven’t played that well in his return going 2-2 in that stretch with losses to Georgia and Wright State.

I see this being a close game through the early stages of the second half, but in the end I think Notre Dame will pull away to secure a win to being ACC play.

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