Damon Stoudamire’s Yellow Jackets can beat good teams. They ended No. 19 Louisville’s 10-game winning streak a month ago. They won at No. 13 Clemson three days later. Georgia Tech won at Pittsburgh on Tuesday for its third Quad 1 victory of the season.
The problem for the Jackets has been winning consistently against lesser competition. That’s why it was a good sign that they handled N.C. State at McCamish Pavilion on Saturday. The Wolfpack came to town with zero wins in nine league road games. They left with a losing margin that’s tied for their largest of the season.
“We were ‘supposed’ to win this game, that’s what you say,” Stoudamire said. “But the way we’ve responded after winning big games, it hasn’t always been there.”
Tech’ s 87-62 victory was its sixth in the past eight games, including two against ranked teams. The Jackets (15-14, 9-9 ACC) have pulled that off despite a long injury list filled with rotation players. Young players have played a big part in the surge. More good recruits are on the way.
The Jackets have work to do to recapture their glory days or even make it back to the NCAA tournament. But Stoudamire is building a bridge for them to get there.
“We started slow (this season) but, as you can see, we are starting to grow every game,” Tech sophomore forward Baye Ndongo said.
The victory over N.C. State (11-18, 4-14) is more evidence of that growth. Finally, the Jackets avoided a bad loss after a good win.
The Jackets lost by 14 points at struggling Virginia after beating Louisville and Clemson. Tech recovered with back-to-back victories against Stanford and California before losing at Boston College, which is near the bottom of the league standings. It didn’t take long for the Jacket to show they wouldn’t deliver another dud after beating Pitt.
Tech took the lead against N.C. State with 3:47 until halftime and never gave it back. The Jackets were ahead 41-30 at the break. The margin never dipped below 10 points in the second half. Tech was just too much for the Wolfpack, who especially couldn’t handle Ndongo.
Ndongo finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds. He’s just the second player in program history to reach both marks in the same game. The other one, Moses Wright, had 31 points and 19 rebounds in four overtimes during a loss to Georgia State to open the 2021-22 season. In his past nine games, Ndongo has averaged 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks
Said Stoudamire: “Everything about Baye looks better. His energy. His body. With young players, you have to come back and work on your game because you go to the top of the scouting report.”
Ndongo’s improvement has helped Tech stay afloat through the injuries. The bigger reason the Jackets are surging late in the season is that they’ve become a respectable defensive team. Most Power 5 opponents had little trouble scoring against Tech through January. That’s changed over the past two months.
Louisville, Clemson, Stanford, Pittsburgh and N.C. State had some of their least efficient scoring games of the season vs. Tech.
“One thing I decided to do, I just said we wasn’t going to play on our heels anymore defensively,” Stoudamire said. “That’s why you see us trapping the post and doing different things. I think the guys bought into that.”
The Jackets are getting better. They won’t be part of the Big Dance this year. They are in position to avoid playing on the first day of the conference tournament for the first time since 2021. As things stand now, Tech is the No. 8 seed with an opening game against the No. 9 seed on March 12.
Yes, the ACC might be weaker than it’s ever been. Then again, Stoudamire is still building his program. The injuries have made that tougher. Tech has played with just eight scholarship players over the past six games. The three seniors on the injured list include guard Javian McCollum, who ranks third on the team in scoring and second in assists.
The Jackets have tallied victories against two of the top teams in the league despite the injuries. Two freshmen and two sophomores are among their top seven in minutes played. Center Mouhamed Sylla, a top-100 recruit, is committed to play for the Jackets for next season. He could eventually be part of a strong frontline with Ndongo.
“I don’t have much to share but I will say this: Ndongo is good,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.
Stoudamire will have to keep his good players on The Flats. That should be an easier task with the recent success. The key players with eligibility remaining can come back and be part of what promises to be Tech’s best team since the 2021 ACC tournament champion. This year’s team can finish with a winning conference record for the first time since that one.
The Jackets have proven they can beat the ACC’s best teams. They showed on Saturday that they can follow up by beating the lesser foes.
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