Georgia Tech dances on the edge of the volcano but survives
Tech coach Paul Hewitt at work against North Carolina. His team won. (AP photo)
Greensboro, N.C. – Here it was, a strange and swerving season on the line. To get to the only tournament that matters, Georgia Tech had to outscore the second-worst North Carolina team of the past half-century by 11 points over 20 minutes. And if that sounds odd … well, you haven’t followed Georgia Tech.
Ranked No. 22 in preseason, the Jackets had played their way atop the NCAA tournament bubble by losing their final two regular-season games. Still they found themselves included in most brackets, a development even coach Paul Hewitt found curious. “I’m frankly surprised they still have us in,” he said Tuesday.
Given the Jackets’ first-round ACC tournament opponent, Tech still figured to be OK. It had beaten Carolina twice, and the woeful Heels had completed an awful regular season by losing to Duke 82-50 on Saturday. But then, these being the Jackets, they did what they absolutely could not do: They gave the Heels reason to believe.
From 13-7 ahead, the Jackets allowed Carolina to score the next dozen points and change the game. The Tar Heels’ lead would eventually reach 13, which made no sense. Then again, it made no sense that the ACC’s most gifted assemblage had arrived at this event as the seventh seed, made no sense that Tech was playing for its NCAA life.
The halftime spread was 10 points. Tech had made as many turnovers (nine) in the first half as baskets. It had been outrebounded 26-18 and flat outhustled by a Carolina team that was playing only for Tar Heel pride. You wonder how a team on the bubble could show up and walk through a half like this, but it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve wondered about these Jackets.
It wasn’t as if the Heels shot out the lights. They made 36.1 percent of their first-half shots. They missed layups and even a dunk, but they’d go get the rebound — they had 14 offensive retrieves — and try again. And Tech seemed stumped for an answer.
But that’s the thing about talent, which the Jackets have in abundance. Talent isn’t often stumped for long. And the second half began the urgency — that’s a Thomas Dimitroff word, but it applies in this sport as well — you’d hope to see in a team dancing on the lip of the volcano.
Iman Shumpert, who hadn’t made a basket in the first half, nailed a trey to start the second. Gani Lawal, at whom Tech’s coaches had been yelling to run the floor earlier, ducked inside for two layups. Soon it was tied, and then the Jackets were in front, and then the game settled into a nervous give-and-take.
Derrick Favors scored eight consecutive points, but the Heels keep dreaming up strange baskets. They scored off a blocked dunk. They scored on an inbounds alley-oop with two seconds on the 35-second clock. It was tied inside the final five minutes, and the dynamic was bizarre. The crowd here was pulling hard for the reigning NCAA titlist, which was at a huge manpower imbalance, and the side with better players was trying to rein in its excesses and just eke this one out.
A D’Andre Bell fallaway gave Tech the lead with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, and for nearly three minutes nobody scored. Favors blocked a Tyler Zeller layup that would have equalized, and finally a Lawal hook with 1:41 remaining made it a two-score game. Then came a Bell steal and a free throw and then — and only then — was it over.
Georgia Tech is going to the Big Dance. It did what it had to do after 20 minutes of doing what it shouldn’t have done. Should we have expected anything else?
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111 comments Add your comment
mmgtfan
March 11th, 2010
9:09 pm
First
techgrad03
March 11th, 2010
9:12 pm
second – from Vietnam no less! GO JACKETS!
It's a Ruger, thank you
March 11th, 2010
9:13 pm
second or third or fourth or maybe even fifth
Greg
March 11th, 2010
9:13 pm
Ugly win, hurts us RPI wise, but as much as I can’t stand Paul Hewitt I still cheered for them. Key to beating Maryland: Favors gets more than 10 shots and Shumpert doesn’t do those stupid run up to line and shoot contested three.
edawg
March 11th, 2010
9:14 pm
Second
edawg
March 11th, 2010
9:15 pm
Sixth Seventh Eighth
Russell
March 11th, 2010
9:16 pm
Abundant talent, yes, teamwork, no!
kegiee
March 11th, 2010
9:16 pm
What a Joke… The Nerds will be one in done in the NCAA.. The wizzard of Techwood-Hewitt can try as much as he can but his job is done……. and you know what… he will blame the PRESS and Mark Bradley for his demise……. Tech “earning” a bid to the dance is like me being a hoe’ in
Ho Che Men City Vietnam
Greg
March 11th, 2010
9:16 pm
Paul Hewitt just had the weight of the globe lifted from him. HE’S BACK!!!!!! Next year we will be a new degree of suckiness because our bigs will be gone and Shumpert will be shooting 25 shots a game which will force D Rad to fire Blewitt.
Greg
March 11th, 2010
9:18 pm
Willie Martinez>Hewitt
Rock>Hewitt
Buzzzed
March 11th, 2010
9:18 pm
Mark, UNC’s score off the inbounds play with 2 seconds looked like it was tipped to set up a perfect dunk.
I’m sad to say, but I don’t think Tech can play its ‘A’ game long enough to pull out a win tomorrow…unless favors takes half the shots.
ASHEVILLE DAWG
March 11th, 2010
9:18 pm
Hewitt wins big game! But can he win tomorrow.
Ozzy
March 11th, 2010
9:19 pm
Favor’s was on fire, so I know, let’s have Shumpert jackin 3’s (mostly airballs and bricks) instead of getting the ball inside. I’ve seen all the Shumpert I can take.
We got lucky. Well we got short term lucky, long term I think we just shot ourselves in the foot.
kegiee
March 11th, 2010
9:20 pm
Mark does this take some of the edge off of you knowing that Hewitt won’t be blamming you for the loss if the Jackets had lost tonight??…. You know he feels like you-the PRESS have it out for him…..
GT76
March 11th, 2010
9:20 pm
Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime needs to be said again tomorrow at the start of the game!
I don’t see us beating Maryland but you never know.
Buzzzed
March 11th, 2010
9:22 pm
If D-rad was CPJ, he would can Hewitt even if he makes the NCAA. Actually, he would already have his replacement lined up.
GA PEACH
March 11th, 2010
9:22 pm
Congrats GT!!!! Great talent and the managed to WIN, but the reality is they should have been further along, Favors was open several times but no one got him the ball, and why?? why was Udofia in the game. Didnt Hewitt realize this is NOT practice, this is the ACC Tourney!!!! Well anyway Congrats Favors and Jackets on your Win tonight!!!! Goodbye Hewitt!!!!
GT Insider
March 11th, 2010
9:22 pm
As a GT fan, who cares? Congrats Hewitt, with all this talent I have a feeling Tech wins tomorrow night to completely lock up a bid. Saturday Tech will lose, and on Sunday GT will land an 11 or 12 seed. Wow, I’m impressed!
Give me a break! Hewitt bought himself one more year (like Tech could really buy out his contract anyway) just so we can watch him waste more talent next year.
GT basketball has been all but unwatchable under Hewitt. Period!
Jamaica
March 11th, 2010
9:23 pm
Ugly win, but as Al Davis would say! Just win baby, just win. They will play better and beat maryland.
misterwax
March 11th, 2010
9:26 pm
well, when you shoot 57% free throws and have 14 TOs vs. 11 assists, you are lucky to win….Sadly, Maryland will grind them up tomorrow….bet the mortgage on it.
GA PEACH
March 11th, 2010
9:26 pm
Congrats GT on your win!! The reality is they should have been further along. Favors was on FIRE and was open several times and know one got him the ball. And why?? why was Udofia in the game? Can someone please tell Hewitt this is Not practice, this the ACC Tourney!! Well anyway Congrats Favors and Jackets on your BIG win!!! Goodbye Hewitt!
GT
March 11th, 2010
9:27 pm
Now Maryland, can’t see how Tech wins this one. They came to win one game it is over and they will be as dizzy as piked punch tomorrow night. When you wonder how a talented team can play so bad watch how fast their minds are out the door tomorrow night. Watch the many outside shoots taken from one of the worse foul shooting teams in the country. Watch Favors standing in an empty parking lot below the basket and never getting the ball. Watch Lawal get the ball and get fouled missing a dozen foul shots. Watch this Williams out coach Hewitt, pressure the ball coming in, trying to make the big man foul out early. It like we all know what is going to happen, the old man is coming home with the belt.
Jacket Backer
March 11th, 2010
9:28 pm
well, we have hewitt for one more year……next year will be a disaster and DRad’s decicion will be very easy……maybe the stars will align and they will go on a run this year…..doubtful but possible….can’t pull against them but i sure want hewitt gone soon!!
Go Jackets!
wesleywhatwhat
March 11th, 2010
9:31 pm
i followed shumpert on twitter for a short time. not the sharpest knife in the drawer so maybe he doesn’t KNOW that his job is to get the ball to favors and lawal and peacock?
has hewitt tried mentioning this to shumpert? and benching him if he can’t get his job done?
it seems kinda simple from my house…
MorningJacket
March 11th, 2010
9:31 pm
Fran Fraschilla on ESPN after the game questioned whether Tech is in, claiming the victory over a 16-16 team actually lowered their RPI. I’d feel a lot better with a W over Maryland. (And a win after that.. and a win after that)
A guy can dream, can’t he?
Innocent Bystander
March 11th, 2010
9:33 pm
How could a win hurt our RPI?
GT in CT
March 11th, 2010
9:36 pm
Can we get easy fast-break baskets or just other teams?
Tiger
March 11th, 2010
9:38 pm
You all knew that the Masters is more important than my wife or kids.
wesleywhatwhat
March 11th, 2010
9:38 pm
one win isn’t gonna do it.
get steve alford on the line, stat.
Ozzy
March 11th, 2010
9:38 pm
Maybe Grevais Vasquez will get the flu tonight.
SooooooooPig.!! Go Razorbacks!!
Ozzy
March 11th, 2010
9:40 pm
Maybe Grevais Vasquez will get the flu tonight.
SoooooooooooPig!! Go Razorbacks!!
Nate
March 11th, 2010
9:41 pm
I don’t think they are in. Their rpi will go down with this game. UNC has a rpi in the 80’s. If they get blown out by Maryland, I think they will not make it. Win or lose less than 8 points, then they are probably in. But this team doesn’t deserve a bid. Hewitt has shown he is clueless as a coach. They will not win a game in the tourney playing the way they have this month.
mr subliminal
March 11th, 2010
9:41 pm
let me be direct for once, favors needs the ball more not shumpert and lawal(talking to you paul hewitt)no subliminal messages
Joe
March 11th, 2010
9:41 pm
Tired of all you haters. I went to the VT game and listened to all the ignorance. Appreciate the victory. Its not like any of you losers can play the game. Congrats jackets, that was quite a comeback.
old Tech fan in NC
March 11th, 2010
9:43 pm
I’ve been on the edge of Mount St Helens and it is scary…just like that game tonight.
Congrats Tech. Now make Gary Williams sweat tomorrow!
Keary
March 11th, 2010
9:45 pm
That win doesn’t put anyone in the tournament. And good grief, quit talking about all the talent they have. The 7-9 record indicates how much talent they have; not your idea of what a talented player should look like. You can’t simply deny facts because someone had 5 stars next to their name out of high school.
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 11th, 2010
9:46 pm
one game.
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 11th, 2010
9:47 pm
could have been the worst thing for GT in the long run.
Nate
March 11th, 2010
9:48 pm
Here is why tech’s rpi will go down
What is RPI?
RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index and is used to compare sports teams. While it could be applied to any sport, it is specifically used for college basketball because it helps factor in a strength-of-schedule component in an objective manner among a large number of teams, many of which do not play each other. It takes into account how the team did, how tough its opponents were and how tough of a schedule the opponents played. It is most notably used as one factor in deciding which teams get accepted into the NCAA Tournament.
Calculate Winning Percentage
The team’s winning percentage counts for 25 percent of the RPI. To determine this component, total the number of wins and losses. Multiple the number of home wins by 0.6, home losses by minus 1.4, neutral-site wins by 1, neutral-site losses by minus 1, road wins by 1.4 and road losses by minus 0.6. Then add the numbers.
Calculate Opponents’ Winning Percentage
The total winning percentage of all opponents played by a team counts for 50 percent of the RPI. To determine this component, total the number of wins and losses. Multiple the number of home wins by 0.6, home losses by minus 1.4, neutral-site wins by 1, neutral-site losses by minus 1, road wins by 1.4 and road losses by minus 0.6. Then add the numbers.
Calculate Opponents’ Opponents’ Winning Percentage
The opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage counts for 25 percent of the RPI. To determine this component, total the number of wins and losses for all of the teams that played any team’s opponents. Multiple the number of home wins by 0.6, home losses by minus 1.4, neutral-site wins by 1, neutral-site losses by minus 1, road wins by 1.4 and road losses by minus 0.6. Then add the numbers.
Calculate RPI
Multiply winning percentage by 0.25, opponents’ winning percentage by 0.5 and opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage by 0.25, then add the numbers. This is a team’s RPI.
Ozzy
March 11th, 2010
9:49 pm
You mean the Virginia Tech game when we got beat at home Joe?
Were you at the Florida State game when we got beat at home too?
Did you catch the Georgia game Joe? Did you see the last three minutes of the NC State game?
If you get fired up about lousy basketball, that’s your choice. We want Tech back where it once was, not in the bottom half of the conference.
George P. Burdell
March 11th, 2010
9:49 pm
This was the worst possible outcome. We won, but just did. If we lose, the chances were very good we don’t make the NCAA and DRad has his reason. It just became a little muddier.
I’ll predict right now, we lose both our next ACC tourney game and our NCAA tourney game by over 12 points.
Ron
March 11th, 2010
9:49 pm
Joe and Keary are dunderheads.
GT FAN
March 11th, 2010
9:49 pm
I will say this was a big win. The guards have to play better, need to drive into the lane and look to pass. Sloppy pases to the paint will get us killed in the NCAA.
I hope these guys can pull it together. Love to watch DF and Lawal.
GTMAN:
March 11th, 2010
9:50 pm
Hey UGA Fans: What’s that you were saying about GT not winning tonight? You were wrong again and GT is in, whether they beat MD or not. Have fun watching a real team play in March, instead, your louzy team will be in the weight room trying to pump it up for another loser season next year. Although it wasn’t pretty, they still got it done. THWG! GO JACKETS!
oLD gOLD
March 11th, 2010
9:50 pm
Tech is a ringer,,,,
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 11th, 2010
9:51 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYT59czU2JY&feature=related > Paul Hewitt.
Paul in RDU
March 11th, 2010
9:51 pm
Mark – And you get to blog about GT b’ball all over again tomorrow night at the same time! Right now, nothing about this team surprises me – they could beat MD by 10 or lose by 10. Imagine Gary Williams if his team was like this Tech team – they’d need to have paramedics standing by behind the bench in case he had a heart attack or his head exploded.
GT FAN
March 11th, 2010
9:54 pm
for all you guys bashing GT, Look at Texas #1 team in the nation now ther are not even ranked.
Thirty Points to your Twenty-Four Points
March 11th, 2010
9:55 pm
{{{{{30-24}}}}} Just a reminder!!!!
8-1
60-39-5
We Run This State
todd grantham
March 11th, 2010
9:55 pm
Mark, will Hewitt get extra timeouts in the NCAA tournament?