Thoughts on the Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball Team (and more!)

In no particular order:

  • So how about that Thad Young? On his way to a career high 25 points against UNC on Thursday, he hit 10-18 from the field and 5-6 from beyond the arc. He decided to grab some rebounds (2 offensive, 4 defensive) and two steals while he was it. Easily his most dominant performance of the year, it’s something of a double-edged sword – if he keeps playing like that, it’s increasingly likely that he’ll be one-and-done (although in my opinion this was likely even when he wasn’t do so well).
  • Speaking of dominant performances, as a team this was easily Tech’s best of the year. Good things tend to happen when you’re shooing over 60% from the field in the first half, of course. Tech shot 10-22 from beyond the arc, which Anthony Morrow rediscovering the stroke in the first half that led him to lead the ACC in 3-point percentage last year. (He ended up 4 of 10, though, but still had a season high 18 points). Perhaps more importantly, Javaris Crittenton had a season high 11-assists and low (for him) 5 turnovers. 3 guys had 6 rebounds each, and Ra’sean Dickey actually acted like a center for most of the game.
  • Tech has probably done enough to get into the tournament, but I think everyone would feel better if they beat Boston College today. Winning on Thursday in the ACC tournament would help as well.
  • Thanks to unbalanced schedules and the fact no one can win on the road, mad crazy tiebreakers are coming into effect for the ACC Tournament. Tech, with a victory against Boston College, will be a 6 seed if Duke loses to UNC on Sunday. If Tech loses, they’ll end up at 7-9. It’s easy if Clemson loses @Virginia Tech – Tech would be tied with FSU at 7-9, and Tech’s season sweep of FSU would give them the 7 seed. If Clemson wins, it gets complicated and I don’t remember who wins. The top of the ACC is even more confusing since Virginia managed to lose to Wake Forest yesterday. It’s possible for Virginia, UNC, VT, and Boston College to end up at 11-5. They all get byes, sure, but still. Even if BC loses, (and since they’re playing, I hope they do) they’ll still not have to play on Thursday due to a victory over 10-6 Maryland.
  • Speaking of unbalanced schedules, I’m glad that Virginia Tech and Boston College are competing in the ACC. I really am. But I still think back to the salad days of my youth (read: my freshman year 4 years ago) when the ACC had a full round-robin schedule. You have a pretty good idea where you stand after playing everyone twice, and it was one of the things that made ACC basketball really special. Of course, the ACC is still the best conference, but yeah.
  • What on Earth happened to Conference USA? They had pretty much established themselves as a multi-bid league even after Louisville and Cincinnati left, but Memphis has a ridiculous 5 game lead.
  • On Mid-Majors: it appears the only multi-bid mid-major leagues this year will be the A10 (which, at 14 teams, is a much more egregious violation of good naming than the Big Ten), MVC (though only 2 this time, since Missouri St. and Bradly failed to knock off Southern Illinois and Creighton), and probably the Mountain West. In other words, it’s a good year to be a middling major conference team.
  • Speaking of the Missouri Valley, why on Earth do they have their own TV station? Several of those games have had margins of less than 7, and they have an absolutely packed house of 16,000 in St. Louis in what is probably the most well-attended mid-major tournament. But thanks to their TV channel, I’ve only been able to see the highlights. Not even the title game will be on ESPN. C’mon guys, let the rest of us see what’s up with MVC basketball and perhaps people will understand it better.
  • On the ACC bubble situation: I think FSU and Clemson are pretty screwed unless they make some noise in the ACC Tournament. Hopefully that won’t be at our expense.
  • One last thing: being on the west coast and having a job is going to really hamper my enjoyment of the first 3 rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Thank goodness for March Madness On Demand, which will hopefully not get me fired. Sign up soon to make sure you have access to the “VIP” queue when waiting for games.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. It’s nice to be doing this again. Hopefully I’ll have something positive to post about after the game (3:00 EST, FSN).

Basketball update

GT has looked decidedly less lost lately, winning 5 of the last 6 games. Today we go on the road to UVA, and winning the game would dramatically enhance our NCAA tournament prospects. A loss means we would have to beat UNC AND BC next week at home – which is possible since we play really well at home, but pretty unlikely.

The game today is at 3:30 EST on ABC if anyone actually reads this.

(sigh)

Hey kids.

I’m getting back on my feet here in California. Meanwhile, back on the east coast things haven’t been going terribly peachy for the ole college team.

I was so depressed after our bowl loss I didn’t even post about how Tito, Ehren, and I did on the bowl predictions. I didn’t end terribly well, though. Checking the ESPN league for this site, and Ehren finished first with 349 points, then Tito with 339, and me bringing up DFL with 314 points. Going by straight up winners and losers, Tito and I tied by getting 11 of 32 wrong, while Ehren got 12 wrong. None of us picked Florida to win.

After that, Tech basketball started to look up. Despite losing their best offensive threat in Lewis Clinch, Tech beat Duke and FSU. Then they went on the road to Chapel Hill and things started to go terribly, terribly wrong. Tech seems lost on the court right now, especially our freshman point guard. At 2-6 in the ACC, this season is probably lost, and, well, if we can’t beat Wake Forest, who can we beat? Even if we get our collective shit together, I’d say best-case we finish 7-9 in the ACC.

Expect a Braves preview sometime later this month. Updates will probably be sparse until March, when my second favorite time of the year hits.

The End

Well, the championship game was a disappointment. I lost $15 (I bet one more person than I remembered), and the game wasn’t even close. Ohio State’s 84 yards of total offense made overcoming Florida’s offensive onslaught an impossibility. The Gator defensive line dominated all night long, and Troy Smith never remembered how to throw on the run (I told you they should have given the Heisman to Vince Young). The first quarter loss of Ted Ginn, Jr. didn’t help the Buckeyes, either.

I can’t really say I enjoyed this season of college football as much as 2005. The “Bush Push” USC-Notre Dame game and the “Vince Young vs. USC” national championship will forever be etched in my memory. Still, there were some games I’ll remember in the years to come. To close out the season, here are my five most memorable matchups of the year:

5. Michigan State 41, Northwestern 38. This game was great for its historical significance rather than its importance to the course of the season. Michigan State overcame a record deficit of 35 points to beat the Wildcats, kicking the final field goal with 0:18 left on the game clock. The next weekend the Spartans were dominated by Indiana, but hey, at least they made history!

4. Texas 22, Nebraska 20. This game was played in snow. Sophomore walk-on Ryan Bailey kicked the game-winning field goal for the Longhorns with 0:23 on the clock after Nebraska foolishly fumbled away an upset. Vince Young was walking the sidelines. Those elements make for a pretty awesome game.

3. Auburn 27, Florida 17. A week after falling to Arkansas, the Tigers rebounded with a primetime thriller. Down 11-17 off of a safety and two field goals, Auburn’s defense lifted the team, which never scored an offensive touchdown, over the national-champions-to-be in the second half. Any game where ne’er-do-well Tre’ Smith flips into the end zone for a touchdown (congrats on the Pontiac Game Changing Performance, Tre’) is an instant classic. I still believe God was on our side that night.

2. Florida 17, South Carolina 16. South Carolina sent scares into a lot of SEC opponents this year, but none was as big as their near-upset in Gainesville. Spurrier’s Gamecocks were a field goal away from ruining the Gators’ title game hopes when Jarvis Moss blocked Ryan Succop, who has the funniest name of any kicker in the nation. The block wouldn’t be noteworthy were it not for Moss’ block of an extra point and another blocked field goal in the first half. Steve Spurrier probably threw a visor out of the stadium afterwards.

1. Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42. I missed all but the opening minutes of this one. From what I’ve heard, this one ranks up there with the wild finishes of history. With 1:02 left in the game, Oklahoma returned an interception to go up by a touchdown. With 0:07 left, Boise State scored on a hook-and-ladder play from 35 yards out. After a Sooner touchdown in overtime, Boise State scored and decided to go for two. They brilliantly executed the backyard football-esque Statue of Liberty play to win. To top it all off, Bronco tailback Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend on national television moments after scoring the winning conversion.

To all the people who read this column during the season, thank you. I appreciated all the comments, positive and negative, that many of you posted at the ends of my articles. Have fun waiting for August to arrive!

My Title Game Prediction

Ohio State wins. I have $10 riding on this prediction, so they’d better. I was so busy unpacking my room that I forgot to write a more in-depth analysis, and now I’ve run out of time. Sorry folks. I will write a year-ending article some time after the championship with my list of the season’s best games. Hopefully tonight’s will earn a spot.