Georgia Tech has golden opportunity to climb standings starting Saturday against Cal

“I’ll worry about that when I need to worry about that. Right now I’m still concentrating on just keeping our guys in the moment and staying prepared and worrying about Cal only.”

Stoudamire’s team topped Stanford on Wednesday at McCamish Pavilion, a game in which the Jackets dominated at times before getting away with some sloppy play in the second half. The victory was Tech’s fourth in six games and another triumph in which Stoudamire had to use a limited lineup.

Freshman guard Jaeden Mustaf returned to play 20 minutes, and he scored seven points. Guards Javian McCollum (head) and Lance Terry (hand/wrist), however, did not suit up.

Stoudamire said Friday that Terry’s status is questionable for Saturday and that McCollum will continue to be out. Forward Luke O’Brien and guard Kowacie Reeves both will continue to be sideline with injury.

“Now it’s not a matter of how many players we got, it’s a matter of how mentally and physically prepared you’re gonna be in those situations,” the second-year coach said. “They’ve done a great job, collectively as a group, and proud of ‘em. But we gotta keep going. There’s no time to pat yourself on the back or be complacent about what we’re doing. You get greedy.

“For me it’s a matter of getting greedy. When you win one, now you try to think about winning the next. They’re actually doing a great job of that as well. They’re a connected group and that’s what I like.”

Cal comes to Atlanta via Durham, North Carolina, where it lost 78-57 to No. 3 Duke on Wednesday. The Golden Bears (12-13, 5-9 ACC) have won only once outside of California this season, beating North Carolina State in January.

Led this season by sophomore guard and Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic who scores 17.5 points per contest, Cal is the ACC’s worst team in assist-to-turnover ratio and shooting percentage and next-to-last in 3-point shooting, 3-point defense and shooting defense.

Tech has faced Cal only three times, losing twice in December of 1950 and once in 2012 (all played in California). Getting its first win against the pride of Berkeley is pivotal if the Jackets want to head toward the top half of the ACC table.

“I’ve always been that type of person to look at where we could end up (in the standings),” Mustaf said. “I’m definitely looking at it, but not too focused on it. Just want to keep to keep focusing on each game and winning each game. We’ve all just came together, just one big family, knowing we gotta play together. Everybody gonna play hard, play for each other and the results have been good.”