SU Travels To Atlanta For Pivotal Georgia Tech Tilt

Here’s your preview as we do for every game, but none perhaps more important than this one tonight against Georgia Tech. Here is everything you need to know.

The Syracuse basketball squad heads south for a critical clash this Sunday evening against Georgia Tech, with both teams squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

The Orange (16-11, 8-6 in ACC play), losers of two tight games in a row to Pittsburgh and No. 8 Louisville, currently sits in seventh place in the conference standings. The Yellow Jackets (15-11, 6-7), meanwhile, are coming off a 70-61 road loss to Miami on Feb. 15. GT presently finds itself in 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Expect a boisterous McCamish Pavilion for this 6:30 pm contest, which will air on ESPNU.

Earlier this week, the university’s official athletic Web site sent out a release saying that, for the third instance in the 2016-17 campaign, Georgia Tech will possess a sellout crowd for the Syracuse match-up. GT is calling this battle a “Whiteout,” encouraging fans to wear white.

Former Georgia Tech stars Kenny Anderson, Brian Oliver and Dennis Scott, who guided the Yellow Jackets to the 1990 Final Four, are getting honored and will sign autographs before the game commences.

For the season, GT is a strong 13-3 at home, including signature victories there over then-No. 6 Florida State, then-No. 9 North Carolina and then-No. 14 Notre Dame. And, as we have thoroughly documented, Syracuse struggles outside of Central New York, sporting a 2-8 mark away from the Carrier Dome.

Other than those previously mentioned triumphs over three ranked ACC foes, the Yellow Jackets’

More from Inside the Loud House

most-impressive win occurred on Dec. 7, when they knocked off VCU by three points on the road. Georgia Tech doesn’t really have any “bad” defeats, save for a close Nov. 18 home setback to Ohio.

To date, GT is 5-10 versus the RPI top 100, according to the CBS Sports Web site, while SU is 7-8. However, I would argue that the Orange has several awful losses, namely to Boston College, Connecticut and St. John’s.

When Syracuse hosted Georgia Tech on Jan. 30, 2016, the Orange squeaked by, 60-57, as freshman Malachi Richardson nailed two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to seal the deal. All-time between these two programs, SU is ahead, 4-3.

The Yellow Jackets are one of the premier defensive outfits in the country, and they will prove a monumental challenge for the ‘Cuse, which is a different – and subpar – squad on the road. GT is not all that terrific on the offensive end, so if SU can lock down in its 2-3 zone and put up a decent scoring number, it has a decent chance to prevail.

Georgia Tech averages 68 points and allows 67. The Yellow Jackets shoot 44 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range and 69 percent from the free-throw line.

Syracuse, on the other hand, generates 77 points but gives up 70. The Orange connects on 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from downtown and 72 percent from the charity stripe.

As for other categories, GT grabs 37 rebounds, doles out 16 assists, collects six blocks and produces six steals. SU, by comparison, nabs 35 boards, dishes 16 dimes, blocks five shots and garners eight thefts. Syracuse takes a little better care of the ball, committing 12 turnovers to 14 for Georgia Tech.

I delved through the most-recent statistics on the official conference Web site, and the data show that the Yellow Jackets are studs on defense but among the worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference on offense. The ‘Cuse is fairly middle-of-the-pack on both ends of the floor. Not superior. Not horrendous.

Four guys on the GT roster are double-figure scorers, paced by freshman Josh Okogie, who gets about 15 points per contest.

Josh Pastner, a walk-on freshman when Arizona captured the 1997 national championship, is in his initial stanza with the Yellow Jackets. It’s an understatement to say that he has done a wonderful job. In the ACC preseason poll, the media picked Georgia Tech to finish 14th out of 15 member schools.

Previously, Pastner served at the helm of Memphis for seven years, leading the Tigers to four Big Dance berths and one NIT selection. Should he get the Yellow Jackets in to the NCAA Tournament, he ought to receive serious consideration for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coach of the Year.

I can’t stress the importance of Sunday night’s affair. A review of about a half-dozen mock brackets sees Syracuse listed as one of the last team’s in. Georgia Tech, for the most part, is slotted as one of the first four out.

Depending on the outcome down in Atlanta, the two programs could very well flip-flop, if the Yellow Jackets emerge victorious. Here’s hoping that they don’t.

Next: Syracuse Football Recruiting Sitdown: Nykeim Johnson

SU’s margin for error is microscopic, and notching a third road win would provide a huge boost as the Orange’s regular season inches toward its conclusion.

Home/Syracuse Basketball