NBA Postseason Best Bets (5/17)
Alex Christenson
The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Bets we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player, and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team.
Let’s continue our preview with the ACC. Always competitive each season, the ACC is regularly among the nation’s top conferences with annual Final Four contenders Duke, Virginia and North Carolina. Last season, Miami made their first ever Final Four, guided by the March magic of head coach Jim Larrañaga. There are 15 teams in the ACC, making it the largest of all the power conferences. The critics continue to cite the weakness of the bottom ACC teams, which directly contributes to its sixth overall preseason ranking by KenPom. However, it still holds true that the top teams in the ACC will always have a chance at a Final Four run.
Let’s continue with our betting preview with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
2023-2024 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Conference: ACC
Head Coach: Damon Stoudamire (1st season)
2022-2023 Record: 15-18 (6-14)
ATS: 16-15
O/U: 15-16
Projected Starters: G Amaree Abram; G Lance Terry; G Miles Kelly; F Tyzhaun Claude; C Baye Ndongo
Preview: My projection last season?
The ACC isn’t the right conference for Georgia Tech to compete in college basketball. They pale in comparison to the history of the elite conference schools, and struggle to recruit talent to watch mediocre ACC programs such as NC State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Pastner’s last year in Atlanta.
Exit Josh Pastner, enter Damon Stoudamire. Georgia Tech finished below .500 in ACC play for the fifth time since the 2016-2017 season. The Yellow Jackets are predicted 13th in the ACC, ahead of Louisville and Notre Dame. That may be too generous. Georgia Tech does return four of their top scorers from last season but lacks a true point guard or leading scorer. Stoudamire was the head coach at Pacific for five seasons, and his teams improved defensively each season. Pastner was an underrated tactician, and guided Georgia Tech to six wins in their last eight regular season games after starting 1-12 in conference play. Can Stoudamire, with his NBA lineage, keep this team competitive in his first season as head coach?
Key Player: Miles Kelly
The junior guard and leading scorer is back for Georgia Tech and needs to be the center of this Yellow Jackets offense. Kelly will likely be asked to run the offense, which means he needs to cut down on his turnovers and raise his assist rate. Stoudamire brought in six transfers, trying to rebuild a roster and brand at Georgia Tech, but he will need to lean on Kelly, especially early in the season. Kelly scored 12 or more points in each of his last eight games, including 30 points (7-of-14 from three) at Syracuse.
Projection: Stoudamire will get this team to play hard on defense, which should keep them competitive in games. He left Pacific on his own terms to become an assistant with the Boston Celtics, giving him valuable NBA coaching experience. There is a clear divide in ACC talent after the top four teams, which makes Georgia Tech dangerous against any of the other 10 programs. Georgia Tech did earn a shocking home victory over Miami and beat Florida State in the first round of the ACC Tournament. I believe in Stoudamire, and think he injects life in a program with just two NCAA Tournament appearances since 2010.
How I’m Betting Georgia Tech: This team will be overlooked in many conference matchups, as most will not realize how hot the Yellow Jackets were at the end of the season. There are some nice betting opportunities with Georgia Tech as a sizable underdog early in the season, such as at Cincinnati, at Georgia and Penn State on a neutral court. I project Georgia Tech to trend to the under, as Stoudamire will realize his offense can’t compete with the talent on other ACC teams. Look for the Yellow Jackets as live underdogs in low-scoring games throughout the season.
