Syracuse Basketball: Georgia Tech, playing well, looks like a tourney team

To have any realistic chance of reaching the 2021 Big Dance, Syracuse basketball needs to pile up some victories as the Orange’s 2020-21 regular season wraps up, and the team prepares for the upcoming ACC Tournament.

On Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cuse (13-7, 7-6) will travel to Atlanta for a massive Atlantic Coast Conference showdown with a surging Georgia Tech squad.

Both the Orange and the Yellow Jackets (12-8, 8-6) are hovering in the middle of the ACC standings, and each team would certainly like to improve its positioning as the league’s post-season tournament inches closer to fruition.

Georgia Tech is competing at a really high level these days, and the ‘Cuse will undeniably have its hands full on Saturday, with these two squads scheduled to tip-off at 12 pm from McCamish Pavilion. The ACC Network will provide television coverage.

Through contests on Feb. 24, Syracuse basketball is No. 56 in the NET rankings, while the Yellow Jackets are a solid No. 38. Thus, this ACC clash represents a coveted quadrant-one opportunity for the Orange, and the ‘Cuse is in desperate need of notching its first quad-one achievement of 2020-21 to bolster its March Madness resume.

Additionally, Syracuse basketball is just 2-6 in road affairs so far in the present stanza, and picking up another triumph away from the Hill, and versus a quality foe, would prove huge.

Syracuse basketball will face a Georgia Tech team with multiple exquisite guards.

The Yellow Jackets have captured three in a row. They’ve defeated Pittsburgh at home, and then took out Miami and top-20 Virginia Tech on the road. Their resume also includes successes against Kentucky, North Carolina, Clemson and ACC leader Florida State, a team that some national pundits believe has the talent to make the 2021 Final Four.

As it stands now, both Georgia Tech and the Orange are on the outside looking in regarding the upcoming NCAA Tournament, although it does appear that the Yellow Jackets are closer to the proverbial bubble than the ‘Cuse is.

All-time, Syracuse basketball has a slight series edge over Georgia Tech, at 7-6, according to orangehoops.org. That includes a 79-72 win in Central New York by the ‘Cuse on Feb. 22, 2020.

On Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index said the Yellow Jackets own a 58.2 percent chance to prevail versus the Orange.

From a statistical perspective, the teams are relatively even in a lot of categories, including points scored and points allowed per game, assists, blocks, steals and turnovers committed.

Georgia Tech has the advantage in field-goal shooting percentage and 3-point shooting percentage. Conversely, Syracuse basketball is better in rebounds per contest, as well as free-throw shooting percentage.

The ‘Cuse has to take things one encounter at a time, without question. Simultaneously, Syracuse basketball must go on a victory streak to re-enter the picture for the 2021 Big Dance.