Coming off of a monumental 74-73 upset over No. 3 North Carolina, the Jackets were looking to complete the North Carolina victory tour against another ACC opponent, the NC State Wolfpack. 

The Wolfpack were a solid test for the Jackets — their offense is top-five in overall points, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio. On the defensive end, their 8.14 steals per game ranks fourth in the ACC. In short, NC State makes few mistakes and punishes offenses that turn the ball over. The Jackets rank second-to-last in the ACC in turnover margin, so this game presented a challenge for head coach Damon Stoudamire’s young squad. 

NC State came out aggressive from the tip-off as senior guard DJ Horne drove into the paint and made the midrange floater over two Tech defenders. In five minutes, the Wolfpack went up 13-4 after some early misses from Tech. They forced the electric Jackets freshman guard Naithan George, fresh off a game-winning layup over UNC, into a turnover and parlayed it into a three-pointer from senior guard Michael O’Connell. 

Fortunately, George answered with a three-pointer, and the Jackets defense buckled down. They held the Wolfpack to only two points across the next five minutes while the offense found some success in the paint. 

Sophomore forward Tafara Gapare, senior forward Tyzhaun Claude and junior guard Miles Kelly were all able to score against NC State’s big man duo of senior forward DJ Burns Jr. and junior forward Mohamed Diarra. 

Still, the Wolfpack led 15-13 before they went on a 10-2 run. Stoudamire called a timeout to give the Jackets time to regroup, but the team  did a poor job of taking the ball. Junior guard Kowacie Reeves Jr., who only averages 1.3 turnovers per game, had back-to-back turnovers, while freshman forward Baye Ndongo also coughed the ball up. 

A head injury forced Ndongo to leave the UNC matchup, and despite a quick return, he looked out of tune in this game. Out of the timeout, the Jackets played with renewed energy. Claude kept the possession alive with a huge offensive rebound, which set senior guard Kyle Sturdivant up to knock down the jumper. 

NC State’s interior defense continued to look susceptible, regularly sending Jackets to the free throw line. Kelly tied the game up on a mid range jumper in the face of Wolfpack senior forward Casey Morsell. 

Although NC State answered to make it 33-31,  the ball found Kelly again with barely a minute in the quarter, and he hit a beautiful three-pointer to make it 34-33. 

Sturdivant then drove in for the floater and gave the Jackets the lead heading into halftime. 

Outside of ghastly 27.3% shooting from three-point range on 11 shots and turnovers, Tech played a solid first half. 

Tech’s defense held up — the Wolfpack shot a miserable 30% from the field and 27.8% from three-point range on 18 attempts. 

Reeves opened the second half up with a three-pointer off the assist from George before Horne answered back with a three-pointer of his own. Tech expanded the lead to 44-40 before the Wolfpack started to come back into the game. 

O’Connell came alive as a facilitator for NC State, finding Horne and Morsell for buckets that gave the Wolfpack a 46-44 lead. A three-pointer by Kelly broke a 0-5 streak from the Jackets’ offense, but NC State ballooned their lead to 12 after yet another cold streak from Tech. The Jackets started to pile up misses from three, which killed their offensive momentum and allowed NC State to take control of the game. 

Tech’s defense started to tire, letting junior guard Jayden Taylor take over in the late game. In addition to an insane one-handed rebound early in the game, Taylor put pressure on the Jackets at all three levels. His thunderous dunk with nine minutes left sealed a 62-48 lead for NC State. 

Although plenty of time remained in the game, the Jackets could not get enough stops on the defensive end. Reeves began to find his shot from three-point range, hitting two threes down the stretch, and George hit a big three to cut the lead to six with two minutes left. 

Unfortunately, the Jacket’s defense continuously fouled Horne, who converted his free throw attempts to maintain the lead. A late three by Kelly and a pair of free throws from Sturdivant cut the NC State lead to five with 17 seconds. 

However, Horne immediately drew a pair of fouls on Gapare and sealed the game with his 10th and 11th free throws. At the final buzzer, the score was 82-76, ending with the Wolfpack victory. 

Dropping this game after the UNC win is disappointing, but there are still positives to take away. Even if Ndongo did not look entirely healthy, his presence in the lineup was encouraging. Kelly and George led the team in points with 20 and 18 respectively, while Kelly added 10 rebounds for the double-double. 

The team also improved their shooting from three-point range between the first and second half rather than shooting themselves entirely out of the game. 

After playing Wake Forest at McCamish on Tuesday, the Jackets will travel to the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY. to play the Louisville Cardinals in an ACC road matchup. 

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For four NFL teams, championship weekend has a way of upending expectations. It proved no different in 2023. 

In one of the AFC’s premier quarterback battles, the Baltimore Ravens, helmed by MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson, faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. 

After the Ravens offense stalled out on their opening drive, Kansas City drove down the field and scored on their first possession. Mahomes placed the ball perfectly for tight end Travis Kelce to make the incredible touchdown catch in the end zone. 

The Ravens had magic of their own. Ducking under a Chiefs defender and escaping a collapsing pocket, Jackson launched a deep shot to rookie receiver Zay Flowers for the score to put the game at 7-7. The Chiefs took the lead back on a two-yard touchdown run from Pacheco. Interestingly, the Chiefs’ offense grinded out yards through a strong running game and Mahomes dicing teams up behind protection. He did exactly that, completing 11 straight passes without a single misfire. 

The other part of the Chiefs’ formula for winning is their relentless defense, giving Mahomes the ball back after edge rusher Charles Omenihu forced a strip sack on Jackson. Still, Baltimore’s defensive line stonewalled Pacheco on a fourth-down attempt. From then on, the game turned into a defensive battle. While Jackson caught one of his tipped passes and ran for the first down, the Ravens’ offense still looked off. Conversely, their defense kept them in the game even though Kansas City took a 10-point lead into half. 

Baltimore’s defense shut out the Chiefs offense. However, their own offense looked listless. Flowers had a huge 54 yard catch to set up a scoring opportunity for Baltimore, but the young receiver fumbled in the end zone. Jackson also looked off throughout the second half as the Chiefs defense buckled down — they forced Jackson into a misguided throw to triple coverage that essentially sealed the game in KC’s favor. 

Although Baltimore added a field goal late, Kansas City ran out the clock to clinch the 17-10 win and their second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl. 

In the NFC, the conference’s #1 seed in the San Francisco 49ers welcomed the Detroit Lions to their home stadium in a narrative-filled game. The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Niners second-year quarterback Brock Purdy was looking to make history as the first final pick in NFL history to start in the Super Bowl. 

Detroit got off to a roaring 14-0 lead in the first quarter behind a bruising run game. Second-year reciever Jameson Williams and running back David Montgomery both ran for touchdowns. A touchdown run by star Niners running back Christian McCaffrey gave San Francisco some breathing room, but former Jacket and Detroit rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs answered with a 15-yard end zone scamper through multiple missed tackles. Lions kicker Michael Badgley tacked on a 21-yard field goal to make the score 24-7 going into halftime. 

Immediately after half, Purdy found reciever Deebo Samuel over the middle for a big 26-yard gain to put the Niners in Lions territory. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings salvaged a Purdy throwaway with a great catch before Niners rookie kicker Jake Moody made a 43-yard field goal. 

From then on, Detroit collapsed. Lions head coach Dan Campbell tried a fourth-down conversion, but Goff could not connect with receiver Josh Reynolds. Purdy then hit a critical deep shot to Aiyuk to set the Niners up at Detroit’s four-yard line. Aiyuk got past the Lions secondary and scored to make it a one-possession game at 24-17. A Gibbs fumble gave the Niners the ball at the Detroit 25-yard line, where a clutch Purdy scramble and McCaffrey end zone plunge tied the game up at 24 apiece. In 12 minutes of game time, the Niners erased a 17-point deficit and made sure the Detroit offense felt it on the next drive. 

San Francisco forced a three-and-out before Purdy found tight end George Kittle to pick up 28-yards and extended the drive into field-goal range with another scramble. Moody buried the field goal to give the Niners a 27-24 lead with nine minutes remaining. A big Williams catch for 22-yards and Montgomery run for another 16 set Detroit up on the Niners’ 30-yard line and facing another fourth down conversion. 

Yet again, Campbell passed up the field goal. Goff’s pass to star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown fell short along with  Detroit’s hopes. Purdy tormented the Lions defense on the ground with his scrambles before Niners running back Elijah Mitchell plunged in for the final score. Despite a late Goff touchdown drive, San Franscisco completed the 34-31 comeback to advance to the Super Bowl. 

Super Bowl LVIII is now confirmed as a 2019 rematch of Chiefs-Niners. History is on the line — the Chiefs could win consecutive Super Bowls while San Francisco could snap a 28-year long championship drought and clinch the franchise’s sixth ring.

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Every statistic and objective evaluation of Tuesday’s matchup against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels indicated the Tar Heels would crush the Jackets under their heel. 

The No. 3-ranked Tar Heels lead the ACC with a 17-3 record and the conference’s best scoring offense at 83.1 points per game. They rank fourth in defensive efficiency and concede a mere 29.2% from three-point range. Senior guard RJ Davis leads the ACC in scoring with 21.2 points per game, while big man Armando Bacot enforces UNC’s defensive intensity with a career-high 2.0 blocks per game. Yet, on a Tuesday night in Atlanta under the bright lights of McCamish Pavilion, this 9-11 Jackets team emerged from the depths of the ACC and trapped the Tar Heels.  

From tip-off, junior guard Miles Kelly looked ready for the challenge. He scored all of Tech’s first four points, drawing the foul on Bacot and sinking his first jump shot. Fellow junior guard Kowacie Reeves got going with a jumper of his own before Kelly hit a step-back three over junior Tar Heels forward Harrison Ingram. In less than two minutes of gameplay, the Jackets showed they were going to give the Tar Heels everything they had to offer.

After Tech got out to an 11-8 lead, the duo of Davis and Bacot spurred a 12-0 run for UNC. Luckily for the Jackets, senior guard Kyle Sturdivant broke up the run with a close-range jumper to make it 20-13. Although Ingram got his revenge with a massive dunk over Sturdivant, the Tech veteran found freshman forward Baye Ndongo in the corner, who drove in for a dunk of his own. Unfortunately, Ndongo left on the subsequent play with a head injury and did not return to the game. Sturdivant then hit a big three to shrink the lead to five, but the Tar Heels went on another 10-2 run to make it 33-22. With seven minutes left in the half, the game easily could have gotten away from the Jackets before half.

Fortunately, freshman guard Naithan George steadied the team. His 5.1 assists per game rank second in the ACC, and he played the facilitator role perfectly. After Kelly hit a turn-around three, George drove on UNC freshman guard Elliot Cadeau before whipping it to senior forward Tyzhaun Claude for the easy score. 

On the next possession, he sent Cadeau stumbling before hitting the pull-up midrange jumper. Kelly then hit another three off of a George assist to get the lead down to four. 

Tech then got a stop on the defensive end before George made his biggest assist of the half. He got it to freshman forward Ibrahima Sacko in the corner, and Sacko swished the corner three to draw the lead within one. The Jackets tied it up on George’s last-second layup to enter the half break tied at 37-37. 

Tech’s defense tightened up in the last five minutes by not allowing a single UNC bucket. The combination of their defense, Kelly’s sensational shooting half and George’s playmaking made the first half some of the most impressive basketball Tech has played all season. Even though the team’s shooting from the field was a subpar 42.4% on 33 attempts, they hit on five of their thirteen three-point attempts for a respectable 38.5% from three-point range. 

Neither team really pulled away at the start of the second half. Although senior forward Ebenezer Dowuona blocked an Ingram layup attempt, Tech and UNC essentially traded buckets for the first five minutes of the second half. 

Interestingly, Sturdivant took on more of a facilitator role in the second half. He hit sophomore forward Tafara Gapare and Claude for consecutive layups while moving effectively off-ball. The senior guard cut the lead to one by getting open in the corner, receiving a pass from Kelly and burying the tough corner three. 

From there, the Jackets started to get hot. Junior guard Deebo Coleman hit the pull-up three to give the Jackets a 54-52 lead while Claude punished the Tar Heels in the paint. Whether working off of Sturdivant or George, the veteran forward had his way inside and bodied Bacot for a layup to cap off a 14-point run for the Jackets. Tech’s defense did not look as sharp for much of the second half, which showed as the Tar Heels got several shots to fall inside. Now up by a razor-thin margin at 69-68, the Jackets needed a big shot to regain momentum.

Sturdivant delivered. He got around Davis, stopped on a dime and launched a deep three straight through the net to make it 72-68 in Tech’s favor. Still, UNC refused to relent. Ingram hit the open three with under two minutes to go. The crowd held its breath after sophomore guard Seth Trimble poked the ball away from Sturdivant on Tech’s next possession, but Ingram missed his second big three-point attempt, and the score held at 71-72, Tech. 

Now with under a minute left, George took an ill-advised three point jumper that missed, and the ball ended up in RJ Davis’s hands. Davis took the ball on a fast-break and got the transition layup UNC desperately needed, stopping the hearts of the frantic McCamish crowd. 

A UNC victory seemed all but assured — if not for George. The young, 6‘3 guard gathered himself at the top of the arc and sized up the 6‘11 Bacot. In the game’s pivotal moment, George called his number. He crossed the ball over and forced Bacot to give up inside leverage and a clear path to the basket. 

From there, the Tech point guard tore through the paint, rose into the air with Bacot right behind him and banked the game-winning layup off the glass with his left hand. 

McCamish exploded in excitement, but Davis grabbed the ball from Bacot at the top of the key. He drove into the chest of Dowuona and threw a shot that fell short of the basket and sealed the Tech victory, 74-73. 

There was a lot of criticism surrounding the lack of a defensive foul on Dowuona, but the game had no business being this close. 

Tech’s bench scored 39 points to UNC’s 14 while making 15 of their 17 free throws. The Jackets’ defense held UNC to a miserable 36.4% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. Missing eight of their 17 free throws and leaning entirely on Davis for offensive production sealed the Tar Heels’ fate long before the clock hit triple zeroes. 

It is difficult to overstate what a win like this means. This is the Jackets’ third win over a top-25 win and first Jackets win over a team ranked in the top three since 2005. Rookie head coach Damon Stoudamire has already eked wins over both Duke and North Carolina. Getting this win without Ndongo, the team’s best player, speaks to the tremendous fortitude of this young team. 

Even though they lack consistency, the team proved their ceiling is among the best in the conference. Tech heads on the road to take on the NC State Wolfpack at PNC Arena on Saturday, Sept 3. 

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Jackets stun Clemson, fall to UVA

Reeling from a disappointing loss to the Duke Blue Devils, the Jackets needed to rebound quickly before their road trip to Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C., to face the Clemson Tigers. They rebounded with what can only be described as the Naithan George game.

Last season, the Tigers finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Although they ended the 2022-23 season in a slump, their 13-5 record is belied by a solid 7-2 record at home that indicates their home court advantage. 

The first half showed the Jackets came ready. They attempted 20 threes in the first half — the same amount as they did in the entirety of the Duke game — and hit a respectable seven of their attempts. After freshman forward Baye Ndongo got the Jackets on the board with a free throw, Clemson went on a 7-0 run before junior guard Kowacie Reeves hit a three-pointer to make it 7-4, Clemson. 

From then on, the Jackets continued to stymie Clemson’s runs but struggled to penetrate the paint for most of the half. Although Tech shot poorly from the field, going 11-31 for a combined 36% as a team, they played great perimeter defense, and Clemson shot an awful 22% from three-point range in the half. 

Unfortunately, the Tigers also had a 41% percentage from the field, buoyed by a stellar 13-point, nine-rebound half from Clemson senior center PJ Hall. Freshman guard Naithan George led the Jackets in scoring with led the Jackets in scoring with eight points and two assists. His play and poor interior defense from Clemson late in the half allowed the Jackets to take a 30-32 deficit into halftime.

If the beginning of the first half was a positive sign for Tech, the start of the second half was more worrying. After junior guard Miles Kelly hit a jumper to even the score at 32, the Clemson duo of Hall and senior guard Chase Hunter gave the Tigers a 44-36 lead with fifteen minutes left. Although the Jackets did not quit and even took the lead on a few occasions, they seemed bothered by the Tigers’ size. They struggled on the boards, finishing the game with 33 rebounds to Clemson’s 45. With the game winding down to a 68-59 Clemson lead at the 1:43 mark, it seemed like a sure loss for the Jackets.

However, senior guard Kyle Sturdivant hit all three of his free throws to cut the lead to six. After a Tech timeout, George drew the defender to the corner before dishing the ball out to Reeves for a massive three-pointer. Down three with only 52 seconds left, Clemson hit two free throws to make it a five-point game. 

Now with 22 seconds left, Naithan George stepped up and delivered. The true freshman guard swished a three in his defender’s face before resetting the ball on the next possession, hesitating and nailing the three-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Tech survived the first overtime period by hitting their free throws and doing just enough to hang with Clemson. Ndongo and senior forward Tyzhaun Claude made all their free throws down the stretch. Otherwise, the Jackets’ offense was listless in the first OT period — they missed all three attempts from deep and hit only four of their ten attempts from the field. 

Clemson tied it up at 82-all with 23 seconds left in the period, so the game would be decided in a second overtime period. Tech needed to step it up in the final frame.

Fortunately, they did exactly that by going four of five from the field and three of four from the charity stripe. Miles Kelly started the quarter aggressively, converting his layups and getting rewarded with free throws. Kelly put the Jackets up 87-86 before George came alive in the clutch once again. 

With under 90 seconds to go, George buried the fadeaway jumper to extend the lead to three. He then nailed the three-pointer over his defender to put Tech up 92-88. Sturdivant scored on a free throw to make it 93-90 before Clemson’s PJ Hall missed the game-winner to seal the Tech victory. George’s career night— 20 pts, six assists — was highlighted by 19 pts from Sturdivant, an efficient 15 from Reeves and a Baye Ndongo double-double with 11 pts and 10 rebounds. In short, it was one of the team’s best wins of the year.

Returning home to McCamish Pavilion after the big win, the Jackets needed to continue their performance against a strong University of Virginia Cavaliers team. The Cavaliers have  the second-best scoring defense in the nation, but Tech actually shot a fantastic 41.67% from three-point range and got 11 points from their bench. 

They built  a 22-11 lead on a George jumper, but Virginia cut the deficit to three after some poor defense from Tech. Cavaliers sophomore guard Isaac McKneely hit the tying three to make it 29 apiece before UVA hit their next two jumpers to take a four-point lead into halftime. Although they did not end the half well, this was still a winnable game for the Jackets.

Simply put, the team faltered in the second half. Virginia outclassed Tech  in points off turnovers, points in the paint and second-chance points. All of those indicate the Jackets’ play became sloppy and undisciplined. 

The Cavaliers expanded the lead to 38-29 and maintained a commanding lead for the rest of the game. Tech made it interesting with a late pair of George free throws and a Ndongo jumper to cut the lead to six, but the Jackets’ defense could not keep up with the Virginia offense. The Cavs shot a blistering 43% from three in the second half and 50% from the field to close the Jackets out, 75-66.

While the loss to Virginia was disappointing, the team deserves major credit for battling through a Clemson game they easily could have dropped. 

The Jackets are still a young team, and games like Clemson will play a critical role in building team culture.

The Jackets play the Panthers at McCamish on Tuesday, Jan. 23, before heading to Blacksburg to play the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, Jan. 27.

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Coming off a first-round exit in the 2023 playoffs against the Boston Celtics, the Atlanta Hawks seemed destined to make another playoff push in 2024. Under first-year head coach Quin Snyder, they pushed the Eastern Conference’s #2 seed to six games where the last three games of the series were decided by a margin of under ten points. All-Star point guard Trae Young averaged a solid 29 points and 10 assists on 40% shooting from the field while All-Star shooting guard Dejounte Murray averaged 23 and six assists on 45% shooting from the field. However, the backcourt duo could not get their shots to fall in the second half of Game 6. 

Going into Snyder’s second season, the Hawks front office traded away longtime power forward John Collins to the Utah Jazz for forward Rudy Gay and a second-round pick in a move designed to create more financial flexibility. Atlanta then added guard Kobe Bufkin in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Trading Collins also opened up minutes for third-year small forward Jalen Johnson. The combination of Johnson, forward Saddiq Bey and stretch forward DeAndre Hunter figured to give the Hawks plenty of options in the frontcourt. Behind Young and Murray, second-year guard AJ Griffin and veteran sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdonavic profiled as excellent bench shooters to provide an offensive spark. Atlanta’s center duo of Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela offered different skill sets — Capela’s size and physicality helped him collect the fifth-most rebounds in the NBA last year while Okongwu’s defense and offensive flashes made him a helpful rotation piece. All told, the combination of lineup depth and complementary skills made a playoff berth seem like a foregone conclusion for the 2024 squad. 

Unfortunately, the Hawks have not lived up to that billing. At the time of writing, their record of 16-23 is good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference. On the season, they rank eighth in offensive rating but last in defensive rating. Young’s 26 points and 10 assists lead the team in both categories while Capela’s 11 total rebounds leads the team in said category. 

Amidst the disappointment of the season, there are certainly positives. Jalen Johnson has developed into the team’s best defender. His 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists are all career-highs, on an impressive 57% from the field and scorching 40% from three-point range. During his month-long absence, the Hawks’ defense fell apart to the tune of a putrid 124.3 defensive rating. Bogdan Bogdanovic has also been phenomenal from three-point range, shooting 37% on over eight attempts per game. His high-volume shooting and defensive competitiveness has made him into an indispensable part of Atlanta’s rotation. 

After dropping their first two games against the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks, they went on a four-game win streak before alternating between one to two game runs of losing or winning for much of late October and November. Young got off to a slow start, going eight for 35 across his first two games. He began to round into form before Johnson left the lineup with a wrist injury. The Hawks then opened December with a four-game losing streak before returning to their inconsistent ways for most of the month. In 2024, they look largely the same: a talented roster that struggles to gel together. 

Part of the Hawks’ inconsistency can be attributed to a lack of synergy between Young and Murray. When Atlanta traded for Murray, his perimeter defense, which earned him an All-Defensive Second Team player nod, was supposed to compensate for Young’s deficiencies on that end. Instead, Murray’s defensive rating has reached career-worst numbers of 116 and 121 respectively in his two seasons as a Hawk. Outside of Jalen Johnson, Atlanta lacks a consistent perimeter defender. As a result, the Hawks yield the second-worst three point percentage in basketball. While the defense looks better when Johnson and Okongwu are subbed in, Okongwu is essentially defended as a non-shooter from three-point range. This causes a reduction in the offensive spacing. 

Young’s ball-dominant style — he has the third-most possessions this season — has also turned the offense into Murray and Young taking turns with the ball. This has caused Murray’s name to feature in trade discussions as a candidate to be moved elsewhere before the trade deadline on Feb. 8. 

A Murray trade would confirm that the Hawks view the 2023-2024 season as unsalvageable. It would be prudent to evaluate the roster and decide to either buy or sell assets at the trade deadline. Murray, Bogdanovic and Capela could all interest contending teams. However, it is clear that the status quo cannot continue for the Hawks if they want to make a playoff run in 2024 and beyond.

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If the 2023-24 season could be condensed into a single theme for both men’s and women’s basketball, it would be rebounding.

The men’s team conceded the most rebounds in the ACC last season while the women’s team was in the bottom five of rebounds per game; however, both teams are also looking to get back on track after finishing near the bottom of the conference. For the women’s squad, head coach Nell Fortner and her players are looking to return to the NCAA tournament. The men’s team, led by first year head coach Damon Stoudamire, has more nebulous ambitions as they search for their identity under Stoudamire’s new leadership. On Monday, Nov. 6, Jackets fans got their first look at Fortner’s and Stoudamire’s initial implementations of their vision for the year — and they did not disappoint the Jacket fans.

The female Jackets got the season started with an 11 a.m. morning matchup with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at home in McCamish. On the Jacket’s first offensive sequence of the game, sophomore guard Kara Dunn cut into the paint and scored on an easy layup. They scored on all of their first three offensive possessions, primarily through finding the open shooter and converting from the three-point arc. The Jackets held up well on the defensive end — they raced out to an 8-0 lead due to Coastal Carolina settling for bad shots after failing to find a defensive hole. Sophomore guard Inés Noguero had a particularly nice close-out on an open three that sent the ball into the rafters. The Jackets extended their lead to 17-5 before the Chanticleers started to come back.

They made it 20-15 before the Jackets started to pull away yet again and by the end of the second quarter, it was 42-24. Sophomore guards Tonie Morgan and Kayla Blackshear both picked up from their impressive 2022 showings, hitting double-digit points on over 40% shooting by the end of the first half. Furthermore, the ball movement on display was especially notable. The Jackets’ offense did an excellent job of making the extra pass to the open shooter, shooting at an efficient 50% clip in the first half.

They got even better in the second half. The Jackets’ shot almost 55% from the field and out-scored Coastal in the half, 41-29. A significant portion of that scoring came from the shooting of freshman guard Rusne Augustinaite, who proved to be a lethal threat from three-point range. Early in the third quarter, she had a really nice off-ball possession where she cleared enough space for Morgan to drive into the paint, waited until the defense closed in on Morgan and then moved to the corner before Morgan found her on the assist for a wide-open corner three. Even though she is a freshman, Augustinaite hit four threes in her first appearance as a Jacket and played 32 minutes, the second highest on the team. Her fit perfectly complemented Blackshear and Morgan — Blackshear finished with a game-high 24 points on 75% shooting while Morgan dropped 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The poor shooting numbers from 2022 — the Jackets were last in the ACC in field-goal percentage — looked like a distant memory as the Jackets cruised to a dominant 83-53 win over Coastal.

In their matchup against the local Georgia Southern Eagles, the men’s team looked more uneven. They started the game shooting a paltry 10% from the field and settled for poor looks. Junior guard Miles Kelly hit a midrange floater for the Jackets’ first bucket of the game, but the Eagles held most of the advantage in the first half. The Jackets’ defensive rotations looked sluggish initially, and the point of attack defense did not really hold up. They overcommitted on several Georgia Southern attempts from three-point range, allowing the Eagles to stay patient and wait for a better shot. Throughout the early half, they consistently lagged one or two points behind Georgia Southern but stayed in it due to some timely threes from Kelly, junior guard Kowacie Reeves and senior guard Kyle Sturdivant. Senior forward Tyzhaun Claude, an addition from the transfer portal, also made his presence felt in the first half. He defended the paint well and had a particularly nice sequence towards the end of the half where he used his footwork to essentially step around the Eagles defender and spin inside for the easy lay-up. He also had a powerful dunk towards the end of the half that gave the Jackets a 32-29 lead. The Jackets went into the half holding a narrow lead in spite of some defensive breakdowns and inefficient offensive performance. 

Whatever was said at halftime clearly worked — the Jackets bounced back to convert around 57% of their shots from the field and a staggering 64% from three-point range to bury the Eagles. They took the lead early in the half, 40-38, and never looked back. Even though the Eagles actually came back midway through the second half to trail, 52-50, the offensive talent in the Jackets rotation showed up in the second half. 

As it has for much of his Georgia Tech tenure, Kelly’s touch from three-point range remains his most dangerous skill and he put it on full display in the second half. He converted on four of his six long-range attempts and frustrated the Eagles perimeter defense to no end. Furthermore, he showed off his finishing ability on a particularly tough up-and-under and continuously put pressure on the rim. Reeves, the exciting transfer portal guard from Florida, dropped 15 points largely on the back of his timely three-point shots in the second half. Junior guard Deebo Coleman also got in on the second-half scoring surge — he threw down a monstrous dunk with seven minutes left in the game while also consistently relocating and hitting the open shot. 13 of his 17 points came in the second half, and his presence as an offensive spark plug off the bench will be critical for the Jackets’ seasonal successes.

Sturdivant continued to make the right passes as a surgical playmaker off the bench, leading the team with six assists and directing the offense through efficient sets. In short, this is a Jackets team that can shoot anybody out of the gym and they made it abundantly clear against the Eagles in their 84-62 win. That comes with a price — the offense currently lacks a second gear to win games where shots from beyond the arc are not falling. However, they seem to have the shotmaking talent throughout the rotation to offset the shooting struggles of any individual slump.

Although neither debut was flawless, both programs should be excited by what they put on film. They recovered from their rough spots, showed repeatable strengths and took care of their business in front of a home crowd. There is not much more that can be requested from a season opener. 

The women’s team takes on the Furman Paladins in McCamish Pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. while the men’s team hosts the Howard Bison in McCamish Pavilion as well on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. hoping to go 2-0.   

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After getting swept by ACC rival Miami, the Jackets slid two spots from the No. 11 ranking to No. 13. Given that Miami’s sweep came after Tech’s two rather uneven performances against a struggling Virginia team and a solid Florida State team that has been fantastic against the ACC with a 9-1 conference record, a cursory glance would suggest the Jackets are working through some consistency issues on the court. 

However, the reality is that two of the three sets in the Miami contest were decided by two points or less. The Jackets just needed to close out their sets better in their Friday, Oct. 20, match against the Duke Blue Devils and Sunday, Oct. 22, match against the North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels. 

Against Duke, junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino started early with timely digs to keep the Jackets’ offense flowing. Even though the first few points were fairly back-and-forth, the Jackets settled in and started going on a run. Duke had trouble returning shots from senior outside hitter Tamara Otene, whose power has been apparent this year. Her aggressive serve and tenacity while returning Duke shots proved critical in the Jackets running out to a 14-5 lead early in the first set. After breaking a 3-0 run by the Jackets on a really long point, the Blue Devils looked to build momentum before sophomore middle blocker/right-side hitter Anna Boezi stifled their efforts with a powerful shot over the middle that got O’Keefe on its feet. From there, the Jackets cruised en route to a emphatic 25-10 first-set win.

The second set was much more of an even affair. Although they conceded 23 points, the Jackets defense really came to play with several fantastic digs from not only senior libero Paola Pimentel, but also Otene and senior setter Bella D’Amico. However, the Duke defense also excelled — the set had 11 tie scores and seven lead changes largely because both sides played great defense and team offense. Bertolino and Otene each had big shots that put the Jackets up 20-19, but the Blue Devils were able to storm back and make it 24-22. Boezi came through once again with a shot up the middle to make it 24-23, but a service error gave Duke the set victory. 

Fortunately, the third set was a repeat of the first — all Jackets. The Blue Devils had no real answer for the power the Jackets’ hitters were able to generate on their shots. Freshman outside hitter Larissa Mendes excelled in this set with multiple well-placed shots to the Blue Devils’ backline and punishing serve. She recorded two aces on her serves throughout the match and pushed the defense from the start of the point. In short, the Jackets had no problem dispatching a suddenly vulnerable Blue Devils defense, clinching the setup 25-15 on a beautiful block from Boezi. Even though the Jackets played rather sloppy in the fourth and final set, they pulled it together in the last five points. Duke held a 23-20 lead before the Jackets scored three quick points to tie it up before a huge Bertolino slam to the left to set up a match point. Mendes then hit the dagger — a beautifully placed shot to the middle of the Duke defense clinched the match victory for the Jackets amidst cheers from a raucous O’Keefe crowd. 

Returning to O’Keefe to square off against the UNC Tar Heels, the Jackets looked as if they were going to capture a sweep. Their first set and second set were both one-sided affairs — Otene and Bertolino’s power proved to be too much for the UNC defense to handle while the Jackets defense continued to fly around the court. Again, Mendes had another kill shot to punctuate the first-set victory. Otene’s defense popped almost as much as her hitting in the second set, and the combination of her and Boezi stifled any momentum the Tar Heels attempted to muster. Junior middle blocker DeAndre Pierce would expertly-place a shot to the front left corner to give the Jackets the point victory, and they never looked back. Short of a powerful kill from UNC outside hitter Emani’ Foster, the Tar Heels offered very little resistance, and Bertolino put the Jackets up 2-0 on a deceptive shot where she faked a powerful attack before almost gently nudging it over the net to the side.

The third set could have been another Jackets victory as well, but they squandered it on the last five points. They allowed the Tar Heels to consistently chip away at their four to five point lead before UNC tied it up, 22-22. However, middle blocker Sadie Swift delivered a tough kill that senior libero Paola Pimentel was not able to get under to make it 23-22 in favor of UNC. Although Bertolino threw down a powerful shot and a huge block to get the Jackets all tied up at 24, the ball deflected off the hands of the Tech defense and  out to give UNC the set victory. 

In their fourth and final set of the weekend, the Jackets came out even more aggressive on offense. Pierce’s performance carried over from the second set — she had several great shots to propel the offense forward and the Jackets captured a 13-9 lead before getting out to a 21-14 lead on the shots of Otene and Bertolino with assists from Pimentel. Up 24-17 at match point, the Tar Heels largely summed up the theme of this match by failing to return a powerful Otene hit and the Jackets captured their second straight match victory of the weekend.

For their weekend effort, Bertolino and Pimentel were named as the ACC’s offensive and defensive players of the week. Their 17-3 opening effort is the best under Head Coach Michelle Collier since 2021. Of note, Bertolino, the ACC leader in aces, is on pace for a 50-ace season, which would be only the fifth such season in this century. Pimentel’s defensive impact is equally impressive — she leads the ACC with 4.47 dig/set average and is critical to the Jackets boasting the second-best dig/set average across Power 5 teams. Having offensive and defensive centerpieces like Bertolino and Pimentel, along with a versatile and powerful roster, makes the Jackets a force to be reckoned with in both the ACC and national competition of collegiate volleyball. 

The Jackets will next travel to take on a pair of ACC foes. First, they go to Boston, Massachussetts, to take on the Boston College Eagles on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m then move to Syracuse, New York, to take on the Syracuse Orange on Oct. 29. The Jackets are seeking another pair of wins. 

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In his comments at ACC Media Day in August of 2023, Brent Key previewed his expectations for the 2023 season, stating he expected the team to “play collectively” and “focus on the details.” He highlighted the need for consistency in the run and pass game and development from the remade receiving and linebacking core.

Seeing as Tech is midway through the season, now is a good time to assess whether they are meeting Key’s expectations yet.

The Jackets currently have a .500 record at 3-3. After narrowly losing their season opener to Louisville 39-34, they rebounded with a dominant 48-13 win against South Carolina State. They looked competitive against Ole Miss before faltering in the second half and losing 48-23 but then captured a great win on the road against Wake Forest: 30-16. Continuing to alternate between winning and losing, they were upset by Bowling Green, 38-27, after being projected as double-digit favorites, and got back to .500 against Miami on a thrilling last-second touchdown — and horrendous decision from Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal to run a final play before the clock ran out.

Offensively, the Jackets have progressed from their second-to-last ACC ranking in 2022. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Haynes King led the ACC in passing yards and passing touchdowns through week six while the Tech offense is ranked seventh in the ACC. On the ground, redshirt sophomore running back Jamal Haynes is ninth in the ACC in rushing yards with 409 and ninth in yards per carry at 5.7. Freshman wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. continues to be an offensive focal point — his 355 yards and five touchdowns are on a record-setting pace. He has claimed the starting role as Tech’s Z receiver, which takes advantage of his impressive acceleration to get open in space. The King-Singleton connection has been especially notable, but redshirt sophomore Malik Rutherford continues to impress as a playmaker from the slot position. Running receiver screens or trick plays with Rutherford has given the offense extra juice. The Tech offensive line also deserves credit for improving from last year – the unit has only yielded seven sacks in six games, which ranks second in the ACC, and is on pace to surpass the 39 sacks let up in 2022. Midseason freshman All-American left tackle Ethan Mackenny, redshirt sophomore left guard Joe Fusile and junior center Weston Franklin have fortified the left side of the Tech offensive line into an especially formidable force capable of protecting King.The consistency Key wants to see out of his offense is still a work in progress. Early in the game, the offense has little issue scoring, but they tend to falter in the second half. In their loss to Ole Miss, the Jackets were down by seven early in the fourth quarter, but could not respond to any of Ole Miss’s three consecutive scores in four minutes. Against Bowling Green, they only controlled the ball for 17 minutes to Bowling Green’s 43. Neither the Ole Miss or Bowling Green defenses are ranked in the top-50 of college football scoring defenses. Yet, against top-50 defenses in Louisville and Wake Forest, as well as a top-10 defense in Miami, the Jackets were able to either manufacture consistent offense or engineer it in the clutch. It is an interesting trend, but one that the Jackets’ offense will need to fix against opposing defenses  in the back half of their schedule.  

On defense, it has been more uneven for the Jackets. The losses of tenured and impactful players like former linebackers Ace Eley and Charlie Thomas and  second-round NFL Draft pick edge rusher Keion White were always going to be difficult to fill. Injuries have also taken a toll — senior defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen tore his ACL in the first game of the year. However, the defense has struggled to stop opposing offenses on the ground and through the air. They have conceded the most rushing yards and total yards in the ACC at 1286 and 2606, the most yards per game at an average of 434.3 yards, second-most yards per play at 6.2 and third-most touchdowns at 20. Interestingly, they have been able to bait opposing quarterbacks into mistakes — their seven interceptions are tied for third in the conference. Still, even though the secondary is opportunistic and there are a few standouts like junior safety LaMiles Brooks, the communication issues and lack of overall effectiveness have been noticeable. 

The mid-season promotion of linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer to defensive coordinator seems to be paying early dividends. In their first game under Sherrer, the Tech defense was able to hold a good Miami offense — ranked seventh nationally in offensive yardage per game — to 20 points. They still conceded over 150 rushing yards and allowed a 100-yard receiver, but they looked competitive and gave the offense enough support to mount their comeback with the timely forced fumble on sophomore Miami running back Donald Chaney Jr.’s unit will be a critical watch in the second half of the season as the Jackets look to improve the consistency of their new-look defensive scheme.

At 3-3, the Jackets are not out of consideration for a bowl game. The matchup with No. 1 Georgia looms large, but they should be expected to compete against a stacked slate of ACC rivals in Boston College, No. 10 UNC, Virginia, Clemson and Syracuse. Although the season has not been entirely smooth, the Jackets have performed well in their conference and seem to be coming together as a team. If the offense can continue to be explosive and the defense tightens things up, there is no reason why Tech cannot pose a threat to any opponents underestimating and underrating them.

The Jackets will take on the Boston College Eagles next at home in Bobby Dodd on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 12:00 pm. 

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