AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 17
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Just when you thought Tech = flat-lining
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No room in my room for griping about North Carolina getting 26 free throws last night. Maybe a little room to fuss about Tech taking just 10.
The Jackets were physical, and needed to play that way. Overall, I thought the officials let ‘em play. Tech entered with an average of 22.7 fouls committed per game, ranking 319 out of 328 in the nation. That is to say they commit more fouls on average than all but nine teams. So, no real shock there. They were called for 18 last night even though they were very physical. UNC was called for 14, but far fewer that created shooting opportunities.
Peacock said he was fouled on his next to last shot. I didn’t see it that way, at least not definitively, but the two calls I thought Tech definitely got pickled on were with with 1:57 left, when Clinch’s 3-pointer air-balled, and after Morrow’s last shot.
Peacock was reaching out to grab the Clinch miss before it landed out of bounds, but UNC’s Marcus Ginyard bumped him out. That looked clear to me. No call.
And after Morrow’s shot in the final 30 seconds, Peacock — he was in the middle of everything last night — and Green went up for the rebound. Foul called against Peacock. I was a long way away, but that looked like a dual possession to me, or a play that officials should’ve let play out another second or so to see if the ball ended up in the hands of either/or.
Instead, Green makes a free throw that proves to be the game winner.
And that was that.
Tech got major production from paint players, and that’s not just because Lawal, Smith, Peacock were jacked up and attentive. That was largely because the perimeter players did a much better than usual job of getting the ball inside when teammates were in scoring position, or in positions where they could create their own scoring opps.
Causey had some serious moments. Moe Miller even more.
Tech has 14 games left. I think the Jackets can go 9-5 if two things happen with consistency: Those two PGs continue to play as they did last night, and have for the most part over the past five games or so (despite notable lapses by each in some of those games), and if the Jackets keep not just their passion up, but their attention to detail remains high.
Just 12 turnovers last night, against a super-athletic team like that? If Tech had been similarly protective of the ball all season, the Jackets would be about 11-5 now. A couple open-court turnovers hurt. I remember one cross-court pass by Peacock that was terrible in the second half; it was picked off and dunked.
But overall, there was a great deal to be encouraged by last night. Like Hewitt said, though, it’s for naught if the Jackets don’t play with the same verve Saturday against Virginia Tech. The Jackets have zero room for complacency.
P.S. Hansbrough is a monster, and I love watching him play. But I’d hate to play against him not only because he plays so hard, but because he gets so many calls. He earns most, but not all. No way. I’d say up to one-third of his free throws come on plays where he initiates contact beyond what should be an allowable threshold. Still, for Tech to only be called for 18 fouls last night given how hard the Jackets complained, tough to complain overall on that front. My two cents.
