A week ago, after Georgia Tech had fallen to Louisville at home, forward Charles Mitchell and other seniors decided it was time to clear the air.
Prior to a study hall, the five Yellow Jackets seniors held a meeting apart from their teammates and coaches.
“I just feel like we had a lot of things to talk about,” Mitchell said. “We got a lot of things out on the table. I feel like we can still be successful.”
Following the meeting, Tech beat N.C. State on the road to end a seven-game losing streak in ACC road games dating back to last season. In their game Saturday, however, the Yellow Jackets could not replicate the success. Tech lost another game in the final minutes, falling 60-57 at Syracuse, when two turnovers in the final 90 seconds sealed their fate.
Forward Nick Jacobs, who was responsible for one of those turnovers and also missed a makeable layup that would have tied the game with 54 seconds, acknowledged a team flaw that had apparently contributed to the meeting being called.
“We have a tendency to lapse whenever it’s four (minutes) and under, six and under, stuff like that,” he said. “That’s the time we’ve got to come together and finish plays and win the ballgame. We didn’t do that (Saturday).”
Against Duke on Tuesday at McCamish Pavilion, the Jackets will have another opportunity to prove that they’re the improved team that many say they are. That chorus includes Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who on Monday said, “I think they’re very good.” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski noted, “They’ve lost some really tough games, but they’ve been in every game. I think they’ve done a really good job.”
For those appraisals to mean something other than hollow platitudes, the Jackets will need to do more in the final minutes, whether it’s holding onto the ball, making shots, defending without fouling, getting to the free-throw line or making free throws — all facets of the game that have betrayed Tech in starting ACC play at 2-6.
Guard Marcus Georges-Hunt said it is a matter of being mentally strong in the final minutes. As for where the Jackets stood with their mental strength, Georges-Hunt said, “Not where you want to be right now, but it has to get better.”
To their credit, the Jackets fended off late rallies by Virginia and N.C. State for their two league wins. However, those are the only two ACC wins by single-digit margins that the Jackets have had dating back to the 2014-15 season. All six of Tech’s losses in league play this season have been by eight points or fewer. Going back to last season, the Jackets are 5-21 in ACC games. Of the 21 losses, 18 have been by eight points or less.
“It’s a different team, but same events occur,” Georges-Hunt said. “We have to handle it a certain way. Every situation’s not the same. In that particular moment, you have to be able to adjust and figure out what you have to do to end up with a victory.”
An oft-repeated refrain with the Jackets is that they’re not too far away from holding a much better record.
“There’s always a greater frustration level when you’re that close and at the same time, come crunch time on Wednesday (against N.C. State), we executed and did everything that we wanted to do,” coach Brian Gregory said. “So, when you’re good in those games, you’ve got to figure out a way to win half of them, to be honest with you. And last week, we go on the road to N.C. State and to Syracuse and we get a split. You can talk about all that stuff, we’re at the free-throw line (against Syracuse), if we make one more free throw, then we’re in overtime.”
Tech’s perpetual search for one more basket or defensive stop will continue against the Blue Devils, who, for a change, can empathize with the Jackets. Duke is 4-4 in the ACC and three of its losses have been by a combined 11 points. Monday, the Blue Devils fell out of the Associated Press top 25 for the first time in more than eight years.
“It’s one of those situations, they haven’t been able to pull them out,” Gregory said. “But, don’t worry. They’re a top-25 team.”
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