Bradley’s Buzz: Having won once, the Jackets look safe
Here's Derrick Favors, seen wreaking havoc on the hapless Tar Heels. (AP photo)
Greensboro, N.C. — You can go insane trying to process every permutation. If Cincinnati had beaten West Virginia last night, would the Bearcats be in and someone else be out? If Utah State falls in the WAC tournament, which major conference team gets bumped? But here, as of Friday morning, is all you need to know:
Georgia Tech is in the NCAA field.
Jerry Palm of CBSsports.com has the Jackets as a No. 10 seed, and that’s safe ground. Even if Tech loses to Maryland tonight, it won’t be viewed as a bad loss. (Maryland tied for the ACC regular-season crown and has an RPI of 19.) Bracketology 101 has the Jackets among the last four in. (Though as an 11th seed, which seems odd. The final at-large invitees are generally 12th seeds.)
Andy Glockner of SI.com has Tech as a No. 12, but he believes it “probably needs to beat Maryland to hold on to its spot in the bracket.” (Mr. Glockner and I disagree.) But esteemed former colleague Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com has moved the Jackets to the “should be in” classification on his Bubble Watch. Writes Schlabach: “Because of the carnage taking place in other conference tournaments, the Yellow Jackets are suddenly sitting in pretty good shape.”
And what of the famous Joe Lunardi, also of ESPN? He still has the Jackets as a No. 11 seed and puts them third among the 14 bubble teams, of which seven figure to be invited. (Latter link requires registration.)
Bottom line: For a team that trailed by 10 points halfway through a game Thursday night that would have meant NCAA exclusion, Tech is rolling in clover. It has 20 victories (19 over Division I opponents). It has an RPI of 40 and its strength of schedule is 20. That’s enough to get in, I maintain. And I’m never ever wrong, as we know.
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127 comments Add your comment
bobby brown
March 12th, 2010
3:08 pm
If we make the Dance, get ready for another year of Hewitt ball. His joke of a contract says you have to give him 30 days notice before April 14th! Or you owe him the full six yr buyout instead of 5 yrs. Tech can not afford to pay that much less the 5 yrs. This stinks. I want Tech to do well but come on. Tech needed to lose last night for hime to be gone. Dave Braine should pay the buyout not Tech, got to be some kickbacks going on!
FalconUGAFan
March 12th, 2010
3:17 pm
Ramblinwreck83-You missed my point. Of course we are all over each other’s blogs, but why worry about it? We each have our obnoxious fans. Enjoy your team! BTW… I dare you to find where I have ever ripped your team. I’m always very complimentary of the Jackets.
Tech75
March 12th, 2010
3:18 pm
Someone earlier asked if Hewitt might get a raise (or at least not get bought out) if the Jackets make a run.
What about this: if they make the 8 or the 4, offer a rewritten contract with first-year 15% increase, then 10% each for 3 years; bonus him $250K each year he posts a winning ACC record, but no auto-rollover.
Sluggo
March 12th, 2010
3:19 pm
So you’re saying that a team with a losing conference record is going to get an at-large to the NCAA tournament? Why not reward a mid-major with a winning league record that’s had a great season rather than some middle of the pack ACC team that could not win games on the road?
theTruth
March 12th, 2010
3:34 pm
7-9 Record in the ACC=NIT, book it.
snapshot
March 12th, 2010
4:03 pm
Tech Buzz the reason mutts criticize Tech is because Stupid is as Stupid does. I rest my case!
Matt
March 12th, 2010
4:07 pm
I’m pulling for Miami to win the acc and take tech’s spot. Illinois could do the same in the big 10.
Born2Buzz
March 12th, 2010
4:24 pm
MB, I still think you are wrong here. Beating a weak UNC did nothing for the RPI. That was a non-factor win. But at least it was not a loss. We get a chance to really punch the ticket tonight.
I would love to see us make the dance and have a really strong showing, even if it means Coach Hewitt will stay on board. I think we all agree that his record and his coaching has been poor recently.
This all got me thinking about what has actually gone wrong with Hewitt. He came on the scene 10 years ago to a program that was in a 4 year rut with Coach Cremins (we can discuss what happened with Cremins his last 4 years another time) and I was instantly impressed with his coaching ability. That first year he took a team that had not done anything under Bobby and made it to the NCAA. The team played an aggressive pressure full court style, he played a lot of guys, and they always seemed to get a good shot coming out of time outs. The 2nd year was not as good but he played a lot of young kids and had a nice string of W’s at the end of the season. His 3rd year those kids were sophmores and he had super frosh Bosh. The team was mildly successful and made the quarters of the NIT. Again, the type of play was aggressive pressure full court, lots of subbing and general good play. And then came 2004 and the magical run to the Final 4.
After that magical run we thought we had a great young coach and the sky would be the limit. Braine locked him up with what we all know now is a ridiculous contract. But at the time nobody howled in protest. This guy was the toast of the town. But something went awry from that moment on.
In 2005 we all thought we had a team to make another run at the NCAA title. But we all know what happened. Some blamed injuries. I thought the key was losing the outside shooting of Marvin Lewis and C Moore. But still we made the tourney and things weren’t totally bad. We had some stud recruits coming in and some good young guys.
But here is where it appears Paul lost his way. He seems to have decided that he was a big time coach and we were a big time program and we should do things the way big time programs do them, like Carolina and Duke and Kansas. He went for the big time recruits. He stopped with the full court pressure and went more traditional with his style of play. He stopped thinking like the guy who won at Sienna by building a program and the guy who won in his first 5 years with solid players that would stay in the program for a full 4 years. He recruited McDonalds All Americans and promised them they would be the stars (see Shumpert) and apparently forgot that you need a full team with solid roll players to compete at the highest level.
Now can he re-find his way or has he for lost it for ever. I personally like the guy and hope he can turn it around, but I know that most Tech fans have lost the faith and are ready to move on.
DRad will do the right thing and we will all find out on Monday, March 15th.
Gordon
March 12th, 2010
4:50 pm
Born2Buzz,
I believe it was the top two assistants leaving that did Hewitt in. Keener left after 2004 and Warren left after 2005. As you stated, there was a clear dropoff after 2005, not a slow descent. We are barely over .500 since, and haven’t won an NCAA game having only played in one.
I don’t see how he can return knowing his boss hasn’t publicly supported him, and the majority of fans have turned against him. I think some donors have put together a buyout for about half of the total amount and he will take it. Both he and Tech need to start fresh.
Justin
March 12th, 2010
4:56 pm
Georgia Tech is not in. Because it’s not Sunday afternoon yet, and they don’t have a strong case to be in. They’re not necessarily out if they lose tonight either. They have an “in by default” resume in a down year for bubble teams, so if enough crazy things happen, they’re out. Win tonight, and they are in no matter what happens anywhere else. Tech must see tonight as a must-win game.
Terrapin ale
March 12th, 2010
5:16 pm
Terps 84
Yech 59
No ncaa for yech. Bwahahahaha
Mark Bradley
March 12th, 2010
5:33 pm
Born2buzz, beating Carolina bumped up the RPI a bit — form 43 to 40 — but losing to the Heels would have dropped the RPI under 50. And that would have been Tap City, to invoke the late Mr. McGuire.
Live from Day 2 of the ACC tournament: Fear the Techsters! | Mark Bradley
March 12th, 2010
5:36 pm
[...] half and by 10 at halftime. But I think the Jackets will relax and play tonight. They’re OK, NCAA-wise. (Know who wouldn’t be OK if it hadn’t won in Atlanta seven days ago without its [...]
John
March 12th, 2010
5:50 pm
Actually the win last night did do something. It gave tech 20 wins which most think is a must have to make the tourney.
John
March 12th, 2010
5:51 pm
Mark do you think Illinois is in by beating Wisconsin?
John
March 12th, 2010
5:51 pm
Tech’s win did one thing. It gave them 20 wins which many think is a must have to get in the tourney.
Mark Bradley
March 12th, 2010
6:09 pm
I think the Illini are now in, John.
GTMAN:
March 12th, 2010
6:13 pm
nicz: your are one clueless UGAG fan! Barley beating a weak UNC team. UGA’s schedule is a joke and so is the team. If you think they will win the SEC, go smoke some more ganja, coz ur clueless. Heck, you won’t even make the NIT unless your sorry azz team wins tonight. Your SOS is 90, as well as your SAT score. LMFAO! THWG! GO JACKETS
GTMAN:
March 12th, 2010
6:17 pm
Terrapin ale: You shouldn’t be talking crap, when you roverated team got lucky to beat GT in MD in front of 20,000 MD fans when Tucker hit the lucky azz 3 pointer. By the way, we are in and we will beat your Terps tonight. Bet on it. Hey, put Tucker in again. Vasquez and Hayes are all u got. bring it on! Terps Smerps! Turtles touchin cloth, gotta run.
Paul in RDU
March 12th, 2010
6:17 pm
Mark – Is Pat Riley going to be scouting players tonight? There are a bunch of big men likely to play in the NBA on display – Lawal, Favors, Smith, Alabi and Singleton
Simon Bar Sinister
March 12th, 2010
7:02 pm
D-Rad still needs to stop the automatic renewal of Hewitt’s contract. If he proves himself over the next three years, then they can add on-demand extensions. This automatic thing has to go.
$7 million man
March 12th, 2010
7:11 pm
Has DRad raised the cash he needs yet for the buyout? Hopefully he gets it soon, before another year of rollover causes tech to owe more millions for this moron.
Jacket13
March 12th, 2010
7:22 pm
GTech needs to stop making dumb mistakes and they can emerge as a sleeper in the tourney. Freethrows, turnovers, bad passes, head scratchers!!!
Jacket13
March 12th, 2010
7:30 pm
Thats exactly what I mean, the guy clanks three freethrows
Jacket13
March 12th, 2010
7:37 pm
I have to admit, when i saw Favours the first month of the season I was like what a joke. but the last month of the season he has been unstoppable!
snapshot
March 12th, 2010
9:32 pm
a win is a win and several on here said Tech would not win.
Reality Tech
March 12th, 2010
9:34 pm
Tech’s in the semifinals, will go the NCAAs, but somehow geogia will claim “they had a better season” even though they will not even make the lowly NIT!!! Amazingly funny!!