Georgia Tech 62, Mocs 53

This was an utterly frustrating game, which is odd, since the Mocs lost to an ACC team on the road by nine points, and never trailed by more than eleven.

But the frustrating thing is that listening to the game gave the feel that the Mocs would in fact be the better team on a neutral court on an average night. Ricky Taylor made just 5 of 16 from the floor. Keegan Bell had four turnovers and just two assists and just two points. The Mocs made just 5 of 27 from three point range. Chris Early had three points, went 0 for 4 from the free throw line, though he did have eight rebounds.

That is all way below what we should expect from the Mocs at this point. Twenty turnovers will do you in as well. Plus, when you make 6 of 11 free throws, while your opponent makes 17 of 27 from the line, then you aren't going to do that well either.

The Mocs did outrebound Georgia Tech 35-31, and seem to have corrected that problem that plagued them two weeks ago. They have gotten back to rebounding the basketball, and are looking better and better on that front. That is important, because that is what the Mocs do well. They have to rebound to have a chance.

They also managed to hold the Yellow Jackets to 40% shooting and 22.7% shooting from three point range. But as I said in the preview, the Jackets are not a great shooting team, and they are not a big team, so the Mocs should have been able to rebound with them, and should have been able to hold Georgia Tech down shooting-wise.

But there were too many turnovers. And Bell, Taylor, and Early all did not play well. When three of your five best players don't play well, you aren't going to win very often.

DeAntre Jefferson showed he belonged with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Omar Wattad scored 18 points with six rebounds and three steals. Glen Rice Jr. and Iman Shumpert combined for 46 for Georgia Tech.

None of it matters now. The Mocs have lost four straight, even though they played much better on this road trip, especially considering all the flu-related problems the Mocs had. Beat Furman, Wofford, and Samford, and the Mocs will be the North Division champs, and will be considered one of the favorites heading into the SoCon Tournament. That's where the focus has to be.

GO MOCS!