Georgia Tech suffered an embarrassing road loss against SMU in a game where it felt like they never had a chance after the first five minutes. The Yellow Jackets gave up their second-highest point total this season against the Mustangs in the loss. SMU was reeling after suffering back-to-back losses to Duke and North Carolina, but on Saturday their offense couldn’t be stopped. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Yellow Jackets’ second-consecutive loss. 

1. Same trends for the Yellow Jackets continue– One of those trends for Georgia Tech is shooting the basketball. In the first half, Georgia Tech shot just 7-24 from the field and 1-7 from deep. The Yellow Jackets shot it better in the second half shooting 20-35 from the field and 8-16 from three-point range. Another issue that is becoming more apparent is slow starts. In the past two games, the Yellow Jackets have had a myriad of turnovers. If Georgia Tech wants a chance to become a tournament team, this is an area they will need to clean up as the competition intensifies. 

2. Georgia Tech turnovers draw a hole they can’t get out of- Georgia Tech trailed 50-19 at halftime. SMU had 11 steals off of 14 first-half turnovers converting it into 21 points. Of those 21 points, SMU had 10 transition points. The Mustangs led by as much as 37 points at one point in the 1st half. Georgia Tech finished with a season-high 22 turnovers that SMU converted into 27 points. The sophomore guard led Georgia Tech with seven turnovers in a rough outing for the young player who averaged just 2.2 turnovers per game. This is another area Georgia will have to clean up in order to ensure they don’t build large holes they can’t climb out of going forward. 

3. Road Woes continue for Georgia Tech- Georgia Tech just looks like a completely different team on the road thus far and has struggled mightily. In earlier contests this year against Oklahoma, North Carolina, and even Syracuse the Yellow Jackets showed flashes. Saturday was a completely different story and Georgia Tech didn’t look better until later in the game against SMU. They are now 0-4 on the season on the road. They are also 0-4 against Quad 1 opponents this season, an important metric used when evaluating if a team is worthy of making a tournament. The Yellow Jackets are starting to run out of time and will need to start securing some quality road wins if they want a chance to be in the tournament. 

4. Georgia Tech Struggling On Defense- SMU was red hot from the field including shooting 63% from the field in the first half and 46% from three in the game. The Mustangs shot 50% from the field. SMU had five scorers in double-figures. One of the best scorers was Chuck Harris who had the hot hand in the first half finishing with 11 points. He finished with a game-high 21 points and was 7-11 from the field and shot 66% from three. BJ Edwards added 19 points and six steals, Yohan Traore had 13 points, Kario Oquendo had 12 points, and Matt Cross had 11 points. 

5. Duncan Powell was a Positive- Powell continues to assert himself and had quite a nice homecoming and return to Texas. He played his high school basketball at Desoto (TX). Powell recorded his second double-double of the season posting 13 points and 11 rebounds. He was also 2-4 from three-point range in the game. He scored 10 second-half points.  Powell has been a bright spot for the Yellow Jackets this season off the bench and has been a steady contributor on both ends of the floor. 

6. Georgia Tech gets good production from the Bench- It was an ugly loss but good to see the Yellow Jackets continue to get productive from the second unit. They finished with 35 bench points. Javian McCollum had 20 points off the bench and continues to showcase his dynamic scoring ability. His second-half performance allowed the Yellow Jackets to go on a run late in the game as he finished the second half 5-7 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range and with 15 points. Powell had 13 points and was another productive player off the bench. 

With the loss, Georgia Tech is now 8-9 on the season and sits at 12th in the ACC.

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