Georgia Tech has lost six out of seven games and five straight games. They were outscored 74.4-63.2 in those five losses. They lost 102-77 to Virginia Tech in their last game. Only two of those five were road games. Three of the losses were at home. On top of that Brian Oliver, who was averaging 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, is out with an injury.
So, do the Mocs have a chance in this game? You have to admit, if ever there was a good time to play an ACC team on the road, this is it for the Mocs.
Of course, that assumes a handful of things:
1) The flu bug that decimated the Mocs over the weekend is now over. The Mocs will be one hundred percent healthy and ready to play.
2) The Mocs will show up and play to win the game, unlike they have sometimes done out of conference games right in the heart of the conference schedule (see Creighton).
The Mocs will play just one game over nine days and this is it. This shapes up as a game the Mocs can win if they get things to break right.
Iman Shumpert is 6-5 and weighs 212 pounds and is a guard. Shumpert is the team's leading scorer, rebounder, leader in assists, and steals. Shumpert is scoring 17.4 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 2.8 steals per game. However, he takes a lot of shots (14 a game) and threes (5 a game) and does not shoot great. He is making just 28% of his threes, and just over 40% from the floor. He did make 6 of 13 from three against Virginia Tech in his last game, but that was the first time this year he had made more than two.
Glen Rice Jr. is the second leading scorer. He is averaging 13.5 points per game, but shoots just 31.5% from three point range and 42% from the floor. He's another bigger guard, though at 6-5. That could present some match-up problems eventually to the Mocs, who can't quite match-up in height to the Yellow Jackets.
Daniel Miller is a critical inside presence. He is 6-11 and a freshman. He averages 4.8 rebounds per game, and shoots 49.5 percent from the floor. But the Yellow Jackets forget about him sometimes. In two of his last four games, he did not score, and scored just a combined twelve in the other two games. He also corralled just eleven rebounds in those four games. That's in nearly 26 minutes per game in those games. So he seems to disappear, which is unacceptable for a 6-11 player.
Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 78-58 back on January 16 in what is probably their best performance of the year. They forced 18 turnovers, and held North Carolina to 27.2% shooting from the floor. Only two players scored in double figures for the Yellow Jackets- Shumpert scored 30 and Rice scored 24.
Georgia Tech did lose to Kennesaw State at Kennesaw State two days before the Mocs went into the same arena and won. So there is some precedence here.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. The Mocs have done a pretty good job rebounding, even against big conference teams this year. They have to rebound well in order to have any shot at all of winning this game.
--Daniel Miller vs. DeAntre Jefferson, Jeremy Saffore. Miller is the type of guy who could produce big problems for the Mocs to guard. With the way the Mocs bigs tend to get into foul trouble, the Yellow Jackets should try to pound it in to Miller. If they do that, the Mocs need to have an answer. Not sure if they can find one or not.
--Shot selection. Omar Wattad and Ricky Taylor can shoot with Rice and Shumpert. No question that they can score with those two. But they need to let the game come to them and not force up bad shots. Georgia Tech is the 303rd ranked team in the country in field goal shooting. They could use some better shots too.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Yes! Beat an ACC team!
--Jump.
--Laugh.
--Remember that it is an out of conference game, and really doesn't matter nearly as much as the SoCon games coming up next week.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Be frustrated.
--Throw something.
--Be mad about the four game losing streak.
--Wonder if the Mocs can still win the SoCon North.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and remember that tomorrow is another day.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad will play their best game in several weeks as they get back to full strength after the flu bug.
--Daniel Miller will record a double-double.
--Glen Rice Jr. will make more three pointers than is typical.
--Georgia Tech 78, Mocs 67. My heart tells me the Mocs win this one. My gut tells me the Mocs find a way to pull this one out. My head tells me that Georgia Tech is an ACC team that has lost five straight games and is looking for a team to take their frustration out on. They are just a little too athletic. If Jefferson, Early, Burroughs, and Saffore outplay the Yellow Jackets bigs, I'll take my chances. If Wattad can score 30, then the Mocs could also pull it off. The Mocs will have a really bad eight minute stretch where they are outscored by 20, but will play well the rest of the way.
GO MOCS!
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