** This Panther win today wasn’t exactly perfect. But it was actually kinda perfect.
** Today the Panthers needed precisely this type of win to rekindle the notion that they are indeed a solid squad, and a true NCAA Tournament contender. An 11 point ACC road win certainly fits the bill.
** Additionally, it was the Panthers first win ever in Atlanta, which seems a little tough to believe until one recalls that we haven’t actually sported a winning record in this league since the first year we arrived.
** I think I’d be more inclined to call this a perfect Panther victory had we not turned the ball over. But instead we fans had to endure three such mishaps for the entire duration.
** Think about that though. The Panthers turned the ball over just three times. Of course that ties the Panther record. And with the way the Panthers typically move the ball with the dribble, it’s actually pretty difficult to believe.
** During any basketball game, since no team is perfect, there are the things they need to do really well to make up for the things they don’t. And for the second straight game, our Panthers were not very good on the defensive glass.
** Largely because of Tech’s offensive rebounds, they were able to shoot 10 more field goals than the Panthers. Along the same lines, the Yellow Fellows doubled up the Panthers from beyond the arc. More often than not, these are numbers that add up to a loss instead of double digit conference road win.
** Yet, the field goal differential was offset because the Panthers made 17 more free throws than their foes who made, well, none. And the Panthers weren’t perfect from the foul line. But gosh, 85% is pretty close to that.
** Still, I can’t recall a game when a team recorded nary a free throw. That’s probably the more remarkable number than the Panthers' three turnovers.
** And this number is a strong testimonial to the notion that the Panthers played almost perfect interior defense. This was likely the best defensive game the Fede has played as a Panther. It’s worth noting that Georgia Tech doesn’t pose much of a thread in the paint. Still to man, the Panthers did near perfect job of keeping their man in front of them.
** Along the same lines, perhaps as many as four or even five of Tech’s threes were a result of offensive chaos or off of scrambles from offensive rebounds.
** One number which still has me a bit perplexed however is the paltry sum of just five assists for the good guys. I suspect this could have a little to do with an overly stingy statistician. But we should also recognize that only five assists is largely indicative of our style of play which looks to break down defenders off the dribble, or sometimes relies a little too much on straight up jump shots. This concerns me some, but it also didn’t appear that Tech offense moved the ball that much better than we did, and they were credited with 15.
** Fortunately, Nike Sabande hit his share of straight up jump shots. It’s great to see him coming on the way he has of late. He’s averaging 11.7 ppg over his last four while shooting 44.4% from three over the same stretch.
** Nike’s an easy guy to root for because he plays with all of his energy and emotions on his sleeve and his shorts. And he’s been through a lot during his days as a College Basketball player, but he’s stuck around for a long time when he really didn’t have to.
** It certainly would be a nice thing to be able to reward Nike at the end of his career with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The same can certainly be said as well for Blake, Jarmarius and Nelly who have been through their own career journeys too.
** From this point on, the Panthers definitely don’t need to be perfect to make the NCAA Tournament. Going 8-5 the rest of the way will probably be good enough to do the trick. And more less-than-perfect performances like we got today should be good enough to get us there.
** And at the moment, we sit behind the perfect Clemson Tigers tied for second place in the ACC. It's a pretty nice place to be, and without a doubt, a much better place than we've been for quite a long, long time.
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