Friday, February 13, 2009

Noting Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech Offense 08-09
Four FactorsPercentNat'l Rank
eFG%46.9245
Turnover Rate23.1288
Off Reb Rate36.752
FTA/FGA37.5145
Georgia Tech Defense 08-09
Four FactorsPercentNat'l Rank
eFG%44.525
Turnover Rate20.8156
Off Reb Rate30.371
FTA/FGA38.5223












What's doin' with Georgia Tech since our last meeting? Anything new? No, not really, save for improved accuracy from the stripe:

Georgia Tech has turned into a free throw-making machine. The Jackets drained 17 of 20 shots from the line against Virginia Tech and have shot 77.2 percent in their last seven games, ever since their 7-for-19 night against Duke.

The Jackets are losers of five of six since their visit to Raleigh last month, and that skid has been characterized by the agonizing so-close-but-so-not-really losses to which they've become accustomed: four losses by five points or less, including one in OT.

Tech plays outstanding defense (28th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency), but when it gets to crunch time, their propensity for missed shots and turnovers ultimately provides too many opportunities for their opponents.

When it's all said and done, this Georgia Tech offense is likely to go down as the worst the league has seen in the last five seasons. The ten worst offenses in conference play since 2005:

Team      Off_Eff (Season)
GT 89.0 (2009)
UVA 94.7 (2009)
Wake 95.1 (2007)
UMD 95.4 (2009)
UMD 96.4 (2006)
Clemson 97.8 (2005)
VT 98.0 (2008)
FSU 98.2 (2005)
Clemson 99.3 (2006)
VT 99.5 (2005)

The Tech offense in depth:

                    In Conference Play
Off_Eff (Rk) eFG% (Rk) TO% (Rk) OR% (Rk) FTR (Rk)

89.0 (12) 44.6 (10) 25.2 (12) 33.9 (11) 33.0 (9)

Be thankful that Blogger does not offer a scratch-and-sniff feature (yet), because you'd need a keg of febreze to get rid of that shit. What does this much terrible smell like, I wonder. A dead hooker rotting in sewage?

They're squandering some very good defense...

                    In Conference Play
Def_Eff (Rk) eFG% (Rk) TO% (Rk) OR% (Rk) FTR (Rk)

96.5 (3) 44.2 (1) 18.7 (6) 30.5 (1) 41.0 (10)

Essentially, with both Tech and Tech's opponents shooting below 45% on the average, the Jackets have set the game of basketball so far back we're at a point in time where the sport has not even been invented. Had James Naismith seen the Tech/FSU game last week, he'd have concluded that this whole thing isn't worth it and taken up a nobler pursuit, like quilting, instead.

Conference foes are making just 42.3% of their twos and 32% of their threes against the Jackets, so the Pack's effort in the first meeting--45% from two, 37.5% from three--doesn't look so mediocre in retrospect. A similar effort from the field, along with better care of the basketball, should be enough to earn the Wolfpack a win on the road.