Can Georgia Tech Outrun Oklahoma State?

[Dirty]

At issue in Milwaukee: Does Tech have another run in it?

7:17 pm March 18, 2010, by Mark Bradley
Here we see an example of Georgia Tech's defense not working so well. (AP photo)

Milwaukee — There are two ways this can work: Georgia Tech can take its run to the ACC finals and let that stand as a season-saver, or it can fashion an even stronger run and make us remember this team not as the bunch that went 7-9 in ACC regular-season play but as one of the most memorable in Institute annals. Given your druthers, you’d obviously choose the latter. But it doesn’t always work that way.
In 2000 Arkansas won four games in four days to win the SEC tournament (Joe Johnson was among those Hogs); it lost its first NCAA tournament game. In 2006 Syracuse won four games in four days and won the Big East; it lost its first NCAA game. In 2008 the Georgia Bulldogs won four games in four days and won the SEC on Tech’s floor; it lost its first NCAA game.
Tech won three games in Greensboro and nearly a fourth. But sometimes the worst thing you can do when you’re playing well is to stop playing for a few days. Tech authored its best basketball of the season in Greensboro — granted, there were snippets of inelegance tossed in — and now the question becomes: Was that it? Was the good stuff left in North Carolina?
To the surprise of no one, the Jackets don’t think it was. “We’ve got a lot more to accomplish and a lot more in us,” D’Andre Bell said Thursday. “What we did [in the ACC tournament] was definitely a blessing, but we’ve got a lot more in the tank.”
The Jackets will face a team unlike themselves in their NCAA opener, which is the way of most 7-versus-10 games. Neither side enters off a dominating season, but each does something well enough to make it dangerous. The Jackets pound the ball inside. The Oklahoma State Cowboys rain treys from everywhere; they’ve taken 205 more three-pointers than has Tech.
And that’s why 7-10 games are the toughest to handicap. How do you know how you’ll do against a team unlike any you’ve seen?
In such a setting, a team usually banks on its defense. Here was Tech’s Gani Lawal: “Our effort [in Greensboro] was great and our defense was great. If we defend well, we’ll be in every game with a chance to win in the last five minutes. And that’s all you can ask.”
Tech’s defense was rather good all season, with one blip: Opponents made 37.9 percent of their shots against Tech, which ranked second-lowest in the ACC, but the Jackets’ three-point defense was only seventh-best in the league. And in the final two regular-season games (both losses), Clemson and Virginia Tech — teams not known for long-range artistry — made 21 of 44 treys.
But that was then. Georgia Tech is playing better now. It has a focus and a framework that went missing in January and February. It knows now that Derrick Favors is its best player and must be fed. It knows that its next loss will be its last.
The guess is that Tech’s strength will override the Cowboys’ forte. The guess is that the run that commenced in North Carolina will pick up again by the shores of Lake Michigan. The guess is that size — and defense — will prevail, and then we’ll see on Sunday just how far this team has really come. The best team in the Big Ten figures to be waiting in a city amid Big Ten country.
Two weeks ago, we weren’t sure if these Jackets could beat a bad North Carolina team just to reach the Big Dance. But things changed in Greensboro, and what held true before isn’t necessarily so anymore. Get past Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech will have a shot to rebrand itself against Ohio State. Get past Oklahoma State and an even more stirring surge could be at hand.


At issue in Milwaukee: Do Tech have another run in it? | Mark Bradley

[66Days]

Whats your opinion? Tech away from home has been a no no for me all year. They did have a good showing in the acc tourny though, and im not all that convinced that ok state is actually that good. i was leaning tech and over in this one

[Dirty]

I believe the Big 12 is overrated and GT is a pretty good team.. with Both teams on a Neutral floor I will take the more athletic team from the better Conference.....I believe that to be Ga Tech.. Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal and D'Andre Bell are playing as good as anyone... Tech will Dominate the Boards and play good defense... they were one of the best in the Nation on Defense .. if Okie State is not hitting their 3's they will get ran out of the Gym.. Very few teams out-rebounded Tech this year and they will try to dominate the pace and pound it inside to open up Lawal and others on the Perimeter and they will most likely do so... Tech's biggest Achilles heel is turnovers... They won in the ACC Semis against NCState with over 20 Turnovers but they will have to take care of the ball tomorrow night and I believe they will... Tech's Problem all year has been closing out games... they lost 5 games this year with a 10 point lead with 10 minutes or so left in the 2nd half.... they get complacent because they are the youngest team in the ACC... If they are leading big at the half it may be wise to play against them... but they also have a penchant for coming back when down big at the half as well... As a Tech Fan/Follower it is going to be interesting to see how they come out with all their youth

[Dirty]

Cowboys focused on stopping Tech's big men



Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors slaps the ball away as North Carolina State’s Tracy Smith falls away during the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament March 13 in Greensboro, N.C.
The Associated Press

1 of 1 View Larger






By Nancy Armour
The Associated Press
POSTED March 18, 2010 9:57 p.m.

MILWAUKEE — Put Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech together, and you’d pretty much have the perfect team.

Oklahoma State’s James Anderson and Obi Muonelo are one of the best guard combos in the country, guys who can — and do — score from just about anywhere on the floor. Georgia Tech counters inside with freshman phenom Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, bruisers who can outmuscle anyone who gets in their way.

Something — somebody — is going to have to give tonight, when the seventh-seeded Cowboys (22-10) and 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-12) meet in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“We’re not the biggest team in the world,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said Thursday. “But our guys have figured out how to compete. We’ve played against some big teams. Kansas was big, Texas was big and Baylor’s big. You go down the line, there’s some big teams in the Big 12.

“We just hope maybe on the other side, because we do play a little bit of an unconventional lineup, maybe it can affect the other team a little bit.”

Only one of Oklahoma State’s starters — Matt Pilgrim — is taller than 6-foot-6, and Keiton Page is just 5-9. Compare that to the Yellow Jackets, who bring Favors (6-10, 246 pounds) and Lawal (6-9, 234), and whose shortest starter is 6-5.

Don’t think the Cowboys aren’t aware of their shortcomings.

Pilgrim has been hearing about Favors every since the pairings were announced Sunday night. The ACC freshman of the year leads the nation with 61.2 percent shooting and has scored in double figures the last nine games, when he’s averaged close to a double-double. Favors has 24 blocks in that span, too.

Just as big is what Favors hasn’t done. After struggling much of the season with early foul trouble, he entered the second half with one foul or less in the last five ACC games.

“I’ve said it all season, if he’s on the floor he’s going to dominate,” said Lawal, no slouch himself with 13.1 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. “As you saw in the (ACC) championship game, that’s the types of things he can do night in, night out — blocking shots, rebounding, finishing strong, putbacks, everything. It definitely makes life a lot easier having him on the floor than him sitting on the bench.”

While Favors is a special player — he’s expected to be a lottery pick in this June’s NBA draft — the Cowboys have proven they’re quite capable of handling the big boys. They handed Kansas one of its two losses this year, and also beat Kansas State and Baylor.

In last year’s Big 12 championship game, the Cowboys held Blake Griffin to 17 points in a one-point victory.

“No, I’m going to shy away from it,” Pilgrim said, smirking, when asked if he’s looking forward to guarding Favors. “I know they’re big, they’re strong. But we’re strong, too. We’ve got Marshall (Moses) and me, and Obi ain’t no little guy, either. We lift weights, too.”

Oklahoma State also has the ultimate security blanket: Anderson.

Anderson is the nation’s third-leading scorer with 22.6 points per game, and you have to go back to last season (Feb. 4, 2009, to be exact) for the last time he failed to reach double figures. He’s shooting 46 percent, including 35 percent from 3-point range, and except for two games down the stretch, has kept a lid on his turnovers.

“There’s nothing he can’t do,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. “He shoots the 3, he’s good with the dribble, he’s great from the foul line. The only thing I haven’t seen him do consistently is post up. I’m sure if he needed to, he could do that, too.”

If that’s not enough for Georgia Tech to handle, Anderson isn’t very happy with the way he played in last weekend’s Big 12 tournament.

Though he scored 27 points in the quarterfinal loss to Kansas State, he shot less than 40 percent. In the opening win against Oklahoma, he had just 11 points, only the fifth time this season he failed to score 15 or more points.

“We’re just trying to look forward and prepare for the game tomorrow and just come out and play like we normally do,” Anderson said, “together as a team and hit them first before they hit us.”

Which will likely mean trying to take advantage of the Yellow Jackets from long range.

Anderson, Muonelo and Page have combined for 223 3-pointers this season, and all are shooting 35 percent or better from beyond the arc. Ray Penn has kicked in another 23 treys.

“They’re very unique. I’ve never seen a team really play the type of basketball they play, but it works for them,” D’Andre Bell said. “The type of 3s they take, contested 3s, in-transition 3s — whether a hand is in their face or not, it goes in for them.”

Inside or outside, take your pick.

“Just play the game,” Hewitt said. “We’ll find out.”



gainesvilletimes.com - Cowboys focused on stopping Tech's big men