Saturday, Georgia Tech did the extraordinary at Notre Dame in turning the ball over a mere five times. It was one shy of the school record and well below the Yellow Jackets’ season average of 16.4 turnovers per game, a rate that ranked 336th in Division I.
However, the Jackets still lost, 80-72, dropping their record to 10-12. They were defeated in part because the Fighting Irish, a team highly dependent on the 3-point shot, dropped nine of them in 24 attempts, a healthy 37.5 percent (Notre Dame also benefited from a 28-12 free-throw advantage thanks to Tech being called for 22 fouls to the Irish's nine, the most advantageous differential for a Jackets opponent this season.)
In coach Josh Pastner’s four seasons, it has typically been the opposite in these two categories, as the Jackets have had difficulty controlling the ball but excelled at defending the 3-point shot. That Tech lost with the roles flipped illustrates one of the many challenges Pastner has wrestled in trying to convert close losses into wins.
Tech is playing better on offense because it is devoting more practice time to it, Pastner said Monday, but as a result the defense is suffering.
“It’s probably the first time in my life I’ve ever done that, because I’ve always been defensive-oriented,” Pastner said. “But because we were not going down a good path offensively, we needed to just spend every waking moment we had to improve our offense.”
That approach’s merits will be tested again Tuesday night with a home game against Virginia Tech. The Hokies rely on the 3-point shot for 43.1% of their offense, which ranked fourth nationally after Sunday’s games, according to KenPom. They also were 45th in Division I in 3-point accuracy (36.6%). There are other opponents that Pastner might choose to play at a time when his team isn’t at its best challenging 3-pointers.
“They can shoot the daylights out of it,” Pastner said.
Also, the Jackets will likely have to win without leading scorer Michael Devoe. Pastner said Monday that he was doubtul to questionable for the game with a foot injury, but said he’s more likely to play at Pitt on Saturday. Devoe has missed the past three games.
The numbers certainly suggest a drop in Tech’s ability to defend the 3-point shot, even as the shot’s distance was extended over the offseason. Pastner’s goal for every game is for his team to hold teams under 30% from 3. This season, Tech has met that objective seven times in 22 games this season and twice in 11 ACC games.
Last season, the Jackets did it 16 times in 32 games and nine times in 18 regular-season league games as they finished 11th in Division I in defensive 3-point field-goal percentage (29.7%) and second in the ACC in league games (30.2%). Through Sunday’s games, Tech was overall holding strong nationally at 31% (84th nationally) but was 12th in the ACC in league games (34.6%).
“It’s a balancing act of what can you get done within the practice plan,” Pastner said.
The extra attention to the offense has worked. Tech ranks eighth in offensive efficiency in ACC games, according to KenPom, after ranking last or second to last in his first three seasons. Point guard Jose Alvarado has emerged as a more consistent scoring threat. Turnovers are going down. But the gains have had a price.
Against Tech, Notre Dame found open shots in a variety of ways – quickly rotating the ball along the perimeter, shooting well beyond the arc, setting screens for shooters and getting shots in transition before the Jackets could set their defense.
The Hokies will surely seek to similarly exploit the Jackets Tuesday. Guard Landers Nolley, a graduate of Langston Hughes High in Fulton County, is the primary shooter, having made 57 of 158 3-point attempts (36.1%).
“We’ve improved in a lot of areas offensively, but we’ve had some slippage defensively,” Pastner said.
If Tech used a straight man-to-man defense, it might be easier to skimp on practice time, but the Jackets rely on a 1-3-1 zone defense that requires more attention.
“We’re going to have to spend a little more time on defense, but we are going to have to keep who we are offensively and make sure we’re not taking a downward slide,” Pastner said.
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