Georgia Tech had been playing some its best basketball of the season, then the Yellow Jackets turned in a clunker Tuesday at Syracuse in a 62-55 loss.
That result halted a three-game win streak for Tech, a stretch that saw Damon Stoudamire’s team score 87.7 points per game and shoot 56.3% from the field. But against the Orange, the Jackets missed 42 shots, 17 3-pointers and eight free throws.
“The biggest thing right now is just staying the course, staying together,” Stoudamire said Friday. “I personally, actually, like the road. I think the road prepares you. It brings everybody together. We all had a bad taste in our mouth after the last game so. We wanna prepare for this next game.”
Tuesday’s loss dropped Tech back to .500 overall (8-8) and 2-3 in ACC action. The Jackets actually started worse (1-4) in league play in Stoudamire’s first season in what became a 7-13 mark by season’s end.
To avoid its fourth ACC loss of this season, Tech will need a much better showing at 4 p.m. Saturday at SMU, the start of a seven-game stretch that includes the matchup with the Mustangs, two against Clemson (12-4, 4-1 ACC) and one each against Florida State (11-4, 2-2 ACC) and Louisville (11-5, 4-1 ACC).
The Jackets virtually have been eliminated from any sort of NCAA Tournament at-large consideration, so the next two months will be all about jockeying for position in the standings ahead of the ACC tournament in March.
“It’s crazy to look at it because last year at this time I think our record was a little bit better, but I think it was in reverse. We came out of break, and I think we lost maybe three out of our first four games. This time we’ve won three out of our four games,” Stoudamire said. “I just feel a little better about where we are moving forward. We’re gonna be able to be in games, it’s just a matter of us finishing games.”
SMU ran into the buzz saw that was Duke and North Carolina this past week, losing at home to the No. 4 Blue Devils 89-62 on Saturday and then 82-67 at UNC on Tuesday. Coach Andy Enfield’s team was 11-2 before those results and had beaten Virginia and Boston College in ACC play.
Boopie Miller, a junior guard and Wake Forest transfer, leads four Mustangs averaging double figures in scoring. Forward Matt Cross, who has played at Miami, Louisville and Massachusetts, is bringing in 8.4 rebounds per contest to go with his 10.9 points per game.
SMU is the ACC’s best team in free-throw attempts, free throws made per game, rebounding margin and offensive rebounds per game. The Mustangs are scoring 84.1 points per contest and shooting 37.1% from distance.
“SMU is a great challenge. They had a great nonconference,” Stoudamire said. “From an offensive standpoint, SMU does pose a lot of challenges. They have guys that we’ve seen before, two of their more veteran guys, we seen ‘em both last year. Really looking forward to the challenge. We gotta play well on both ends of the floor and I think we’ll respond.”
Tech, which left Atlanta on Thursday and flew to Bryan, Texas, to avoid inclement winter weather, practiced at Texas A&M on Friday. After Saturday’s game, the Jackets return home and next face Clemson at McCamish Pavilion on Tuesday.
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