Georgia Tech vs. Clemson – Men’s Basketball — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

Coaches can be incurable worriers.  So between the grind of final exams, a seven-day layoff between games, and several players nursing injuries that limited their availability in practice, Josh Pastner had every reason to keep his guard up ahead of Georgia Tech’s game against Alabama State.

It didn’t take long for his players to put those worries to rest.

Sure, the Yellow Jackets’ 54 percent shooting, 13 three-pointers, 25 assists and five turnovers against the Hornets looked gaudy.  But those numbers were incidental to Pastner.  More important, more meaningful, was the way his team played.

“It’s not ‘my shot.’  It’s ‘our shot,’” Pastner explained on his radio show.  “Making the right reads, the cutting, giving yourself up, and understanding that the star of the team is the team.”

Coach that he is, though, the game could only soothe him so much.  Now comes the trickier part: carrying that play back into the ACC, which restarts Wednesday with a matchup against Clemson (9-3, 1-0 ACC) at McCamish Pavilion.

Enjoy the top notes from my chart in preparation for Tech’s last game before the holidays (7:30 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):

The three-point arc continues to be a razor-wired place for opposing offenses.

After holding Alabama State to 4-of-20 from three-point range, Georgia Tech has jumped to 9th in the nation in three-point defense.  That number will get a stiff test from Clemson, which ranks 15th nationally in three-point shooting.

Three-Point Shooting

• Georgia Tech Defense:  26.2%  (#8 NCAA)
  Clemson Offense:  40.2%  (#15 NCAA)

At the head of that shooting spree is Atlanta native Chase Hunter (14.9 ppg, 4.8 apg, 49% 3pt.), a junior whom Pastner calls one of the most improved players in the ACC.  He’s a dynamic point guard with great burst, but teams can’t sell out solely to stop the drive – he’s also Clemson’s leading shot-maker from three.

That two-way ability is the lynchpin to a Clemson offense that has plenty of balance.  Pre-season second-team All-ACC center P.J. Hall (12.1 ppg) is a pick-and-pop threat who uses a variety of artisanal moves in the post (part of Clemson’s success is the way their bigs can range out and facilitate).  Pay attention to senior Alex Hemenway, a 43-percent career three-point shooter who has only made 2-of-13 three-pointers all-time against Tech.  He may be one of the hidden bellwethers of the…