With perhaps its best chance to beat Duke in recent years, Georgia Tech fell short.
The Blue Devils were essentially using a six-man rotation and were without coach Mike Krzyzewski, who did not make the trip to Atlanta after he fell ill Monday and was taken to the Duke University Hospital. However, with this opportunity to make a statement in a season growing in frustration, Tech was overtaken by the Blue Devils in the second half and lost 80-71 at McCamish Pavilion.
Tech (12-10 overall, 2-7 ACC) was waylaid in the second half by scalding play by Duke (16-6, 5-4) on the offensive end. The Blue Devils erased Tech’s 40-36 halftime lead in five possessions with guard Grayson Allen dropping three of his 7 3-pointers in that stretch.
The Blue Devils, with associate head coach Jeff Capel in Krzyzewski’s stead, took the lead for good when Allen scored on a layup in a transition to go up 49-48 before eventually pushing the lead to as many as 17.
Here are five observations from the game.
Not aggressive enough
On Monday, coach Brian Gregory said one point of emphasis for his team was to “explode to the rim” when post players got the ball in the post or on offensive rebounds. For Tech, it would hopefully either result in shots at the rim or fouls to send the Jackets to the free-throw line, a way to address the free-throw disparity that has been a factor in its losses.
However, forwards Nick Jacobs and Charles Mitchell often relied on hook shots, which have a low probability of getting blocked and have been effective, but on the other hand proably aren’t going to draw fouls, either. Tuesday, Jacobs and Mitchell took a combined 18 shots from the field, but only took one free throw.
Going into the game, Tech had been outshot 219-158 at the free-throw line, and the disparity continued Tuesday, as Duke took 18 free throws while the Jackets took 11.
Duke runs hot
Despite being shorthanded, Duke is still a supremely efficient offensive team and showed it against the Jackets. Despite the obvious threat that Allen presented, Duke’s ball movement and transition play still enabled him to take several open 3-pointers. Allen shot 7-for-10 from 3-point range to finish with 27 points.
Pushing the ball upcourt before Tech could set its half-court defense, the Blue Devils shot 48.3 percent from the field for the game and 55.2 percent in the second half, at one point making seven of eight field-goal attempts.
Strong at the start
Jacobs gave the Jackets a big lift in the first half, scoring 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Jacobs took considerable advantage of loose defense played by Duke center Marshall Plumlee.
Jacobs often scored with ease as the Jackets led by as many as seven points while shooting 18 for 31 from the field in the half, 58.1 percent. However, Tech missed chances to get him more touches when the Blue Devils were vulnerable in their zone defense.
Shift to man changes game
That changed when Duke shifted to its standard man-to-man defense in the second half and the Jackets began to have more difficulty getting open looks and also rushed shots. Tech shot 13-for-42 (31 percent) in the second half, including 0-for-11 from 3-point range. With Plumlee playing more aggressively in post defense, Tech’s big men were 2-for-12 in the second half.
Stars in the stands
If the basketball wasn’t satisfying, Tech fans were at least treated to visits from two of its all-time greats, football legend Calvin Johnson and former British Open champion Stewart Cink. Put up on the video screen in the second half, Johnson, who reportedly has retired from the Detroit Lions, received a standing ovation. He turned down a request for an interview as he left the arena.
Former British Open champion Stewart Cink was on the court at halftime for a putting contest in which a student attempted to win $25,000 by sinking a putt the length of the court. After the student missed, Cink drilled his 94-foot bomb through a golf hole-size slot in the target board, eliciting a huge roar from the crowd.
Also in attendance: Dennis Scott, Mark Teixeira, Roddy Jones, Taylor Bennett and Isaiah Johnson.
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