Georgia Tech looks for deep run in ACC tourney
Georgia Tech’s road to the NCAA Tournament hit a big-time detour during the weekend. But, while the new path isn’t easy, the Yellow Jackets could have been dealt a much worse hand.
Georgia Tech was spanked 90-61 by Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. That gave the Yellow Jackets an 8-10 conference record and pushed them down to the No. 11 seed in the ACC Tournament. If they’re still hanging on the bubble, it’s by the smallest of margin.
That means the Yellow Jackets will need to do some damage in the ACC Tournament. Getting to the semifinals might do it. That would require three wins. That’s improbable, but not impossible, given their path to the semifinals.
Georgia Tech (17-14) opens the tournament against Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. A win would match Georgia Tech against Virginia at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. A win there would pit Georgia Tech against Notre Dame at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets have beaten Pittsburgh, split with Notre Dame and lost to Virginia this season.
The Yellow Jackets need to win as many as they can to keep hope alive. A first-round loss would send the Yellow Jackets to the NIT.
“We’ve got to get ready for Pitt,” Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said. “We’ve got to find a way to get a win on Tuesday.”
Georgia Tech beat Pitt 61-52 last week in the final regular-season game at McCamish Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets got 20 points from Ben Lammers and 14 points from Josh Okogie and outscored the Panthers 10-2 down the stretch.
While Pittsburgh (15-16, 4-14) has struggled under first-year coach Kevin Stallings, the Panthers have two of the conference’s top scorers in Michael Young (19.9 points per game) and Jamel Artis (18.4 points). Young scored 16 and Artis scored 12 in the first meeting with the Yellow Jackets. The Panthers have lost four straight, including 67-42 on Saturday at Virginia.
Stallings benched both Young and Artis from the starting lineup Saturday because they were 10 minutes late. Stallings, who has been frustrated at times by the lack of maturity shown by some of the players, said the move was a step toward changing the culture and having responsibility and accountability. Stallings kicked freshman Justice Kithcart off the team last week for his poor conduct.
“It was not the first time this has happened,” Stalllings said. “I have no way of knowing and honestly do not care, but my job is to uphold the integrity of the team and do things right by them.”
ACC Tournament schedule
Tuesday
First round
Noon – No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 13 NC State (ESPN2/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 15 Boston College (ESPN2/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. No. 14 Pitt (ESPNU/ACC Network)
Wednesday
Second round
Noon – No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 Miami (ESPN/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 5 Duke vs. Tuesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. Tuesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – No. 6 Virginia vs. Tuesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network)
Thursday
Quarterfinals
Noon – No. 1 North Carolina vs. Wednesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
2 p.m. – No. 4 Louisville vs. Wednesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 2 Florida State vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)
Friday
Semifinals
7 p.m. – Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network)
9 p.m. – Thursday evening winners (ESPN or ESPN2/ACC Network)
Saturday
Championship
9 p.m. – Friday evening winners (ESPN/ACC Network)
This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech looks for deep run in ACC tourney."