The line opened up at +3 and has moved down to +1.5 with all the public on the side of the home team in Georgia Tech. Look Georgia Tech has proven early they can beat any team in the ACC as they beat both Duke and North Carolina. They are coming off an impressive win over UNC in their last game and I think a young team like Georgia Tech will have a let down against a very good defensive Clemson. Clemson also beat UNC and by a lot more than what Georgia Tech did. Clemson forced the Tar Heels into 25 turnovers and won by nearly 20. The last time Georgia Tech was off a big conference win against Duke they lost straight up to Virginia. Virginia is not nearly as talented as Clemson and is ranked outside the top 100 in the RPI with not much of a schedule. While Clemson is #28 in the RPI and already off to a 3-1 conference start compared to Georgia Techs 2-2.
In conference play Clemson has the offensive advantage and the FT% advantage as well as turnovers. The small advantage going to Georgia Tech is rebounding as they have a +1.3 rebound margin compared to Clemson's -2 rebound margin in conference play. Clemson however enjoys a much stronger advantage in other areas that I believe give them an edge to win this game. They get to the FT line nearly 5 more times than conference opponents due to their guard and phyiscal play compared to Georgia Tech who gets their nearly 7 less times. Clemson should have close to +10 points from the FT line if those trends continue and I do not see why they wouldn't. That's a huge advantage on the road. Clemson also forces 16.2 turnovers while Georgia Tech only forces 12.8. Lastly Clemson has won here before including last years 81-73 victory.
Georgia Tech is not a solid home team as they are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home vs. a team with a winning road record and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 as a home favorite. While Clemson is 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 as dog .5-6.5 and 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 as road dogs between those numbers. I expect a big time game for Clemson to impress their resume.
