Wake vs Georgia Tech Matchups

Backcourt: Teague/LD vs. Clinch/Shumpert: Teague almost single handedly takes this positional matchup. Clinch ends up being mostly a chucker, taking 7.2 threes per game, making only 2.2, and Shumpert averages 4.1 turnovers a game.

Frontcourt: Johnson/Aminu/McFarland vs. Peacock/Lawal/Aminu: Overall Georgia Tech boasts a very solid frontline, but competing with a Johnson/Aminu combo is really hard to do. Very close but this one also has to go to the Deacs.

3 PT Shooting: Teague's 54% masks the overall teams poor ability to shoot threes. This ends up being a much bigger part of Tech's game and gives them the category overall.

Free Throws: Neither team is all that great but GT is bottom 10 in the nation for free throw %, making less than 60% of their attempts.

Rebounding: Wake lost the rebounding battle to an undersized Duke, while rebounding is one of Georgia Tech's most consistent categories. Lawal is averaging 10.4, Aminu is at 8.6.

Defense: Georgia Tech actually has a pretty solid defense but defense is one of the reasons Wake is one of the elite teams in the country. According to KenPom Wake Forest is 4th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficency (Georgia Tech is at a very good 37th in the nation).

Depth: Smith/Hale/Weaver vs. Miller/Storrs/Forman: The Deacs are deep with plentiful size on the bench after those three, although Dino has been limiting the overall role of the bench players. Their bench is decent, Miller comes off the bench in a role similar to Ish Smith, Storrs is a very good 3 point threat off the bench at 41.8%, Forman is a defensive stopper in the mold of ex-Jacket Mario West. As a whole the bench still goes to the Deacons though.

Coach: Gaudio vs. Hewitt: Hewitt can sure recruit and that is how he is keeping his job at the moment. The Jackets are losing more games than their talent should let them. Gaudio has picked up the head coaching gig very quickly and is doing a very good job in his second year in control at Wake. This category in our opinion is going to the better in game coach (the game isn't played with the incoming talent but who the teams already have) and that has to go to Gaudio this season.

Intangibles: The home court and the fact that the Deacons have had a let down against a non-ranked opponent is leading us to a Jacket nod in this category. What remains to be seen is how the Deacons will play without having to get up for a huge opponent, while Georgia Tech will be gunning to take down one of the nation's top teams.

Overall: This game is a matchup between a top 5 team and the bottom team in the ACC and should be handled by the Deacs. But the Yellow Jackets will no doubt be looking for a bit time win to salvage the season before it gets too late. The crowd should be ready off the tip and the game could be tight if the Jackets keep it close for the first half.