Georgia Tech takes on Arkansas in Brooklyn
ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech will try to bounce back after a disappointing loss when it makes its first road trip of the season and steps up its level of competition at the NIT Season Tipoff at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Yellow Jackets open the event against Arkansas at 2 p.m. on Thursday. They will play either Stanford or Villanova in the second round.
Georgia Tech hasn't played Arkansas since 1984 at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. The Yellow Jackets last played Villanova in 1991 as part of the ACC-Big East Challenge and last met Stanford in 2000.
The Yellow Jackets have opened the season 3-1 for the fifth straight year. But the optimistic start was dampened a bit by Sunday's 69-68 overtime loss to ETSU.
"We've got to bounce back and tighten up what we're all about heading into New York," head coach Brian Gregory.
The Yellow Jackets have won two blowouts (Cornell and Green Bay), won a close game against Tennessee and failed to close the deal against East Tennessee.
"When you let the game get into the last minute, anything can happen and that's exactly what you say," Gregory said. "There are good players everywhere."
Gregory wants to see his team get more aggressive when it comes to taking the ball to the basket.
"We can make excuses about the new rules and all that stuff, when then we better start taking advantage of it, too, and we better start driving," Gregory said. "I though Marcus (Georges-Hunt) did a better job in the second half."
Despite the disappointing loss, the Yellow Jackets have a number of bright spots early in the season.
Georges-Hunt is averaging 16.8 points and continues to play exemplary defense. He is unquestionably the team's leader on the floor.
Charles Mitchell has posted a double-double in each game. The senior averages 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds and has turned the ball over fewer times when receiving it in the low post.
Nick Jacobs, a senior playing his first season at Georgia Tech, is averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds. He's shown a nice touch around the rim and has flashed a nice hook shot. But Jacobs disappeared on Sunday in the second half, and that can't happen.
The first opponent in New York will be Arkansas (2-1), which has one of the best 3-point shooting combinations in the SEC. This will the first game away from home for the Razorbacks this season.
Dusty Hannahs is a junior transfer from Texas Tech, where he averaged 7.7 points and led the team in 3-pointers as a sophomore. Hannahs is averaging 19.3 points and has made an impressive 68.7 percent of his 3-pointers (11-for-18).
Athlon Bell, a 6-3 senior, has led the Razorbacks in 3-point shooting the past three years and is making 34.2 percent. Bell averages 16.3 points.
The Hogs have a lengthy presence inside in 6-10 junior Moses Kinglsey, who averages 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jimmy Whitt averages 10.7 points, giving Arkansas four players in double figures.
This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech takes on Arkansas in Brooklyn ."