Georgia Tech is in an unlikely spot entering Wednesday night’s matchup with Syracuse at McCamish Pavilion. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Yellow Jackets were 36 spots higher than the Orange in ESPN’s RPI rankings, at No. 29 compared with the Orange’s tie for 65th.
In the considerable shadow of the Tech football team, the Jackets put together a commendable first two months of the season and nearly upset then-No. 14 Notre Dame on the road Saturday in their ACC opener. On Wednesday, Tech will have another opportunity to prove itself against a brand-name opponent.
“Over these 18 (ACC) games, you have 18 different tests,” coach Brian Gregory said. “We passed a lot of that test on Saturday, but we didn’t get the grade we wanted to get at the end. Now the next step is to get the grade, too.”
Syracuse will measure the Jackets in at least two significant ways. First, Tech will undergo perhaps its most rigorous examination of its strength as a rebounding team. Entering Tuesday’s games, Tech ranked No. 4 in the country in rebounding percentage (58.1 percent), according to teamrankings.com. Forward Charles Mitchell ranks 10th in the ACC in rebounding at 7.8 per game and first in offensive rebounds at 4.0 per game. The Jackets stayed in the game Saturday against the Irish by outrebounding them 46-31, which helped provide 13 more shots than Notre Dame (73-60)
Syracuse, though, was No. 33 in rebounding percentage (54.4 percent) and has the ACC’s No. 4 rebounder in Rakeem Christmas (8.9 rebounds per game), who also ranks No. 2 in scoring at 17.3 points per game.
“They’re a tremendous offensive rebounding team, and so you have to do a really good job on the glass,” Gregory said.
The rebounding will factor in another way, as the Jackets will have to labor against the Orange’s renown zone defense. As zones typically place more pressure on perimeter shooting, a bit of a Tech weakness, they have been nettlesome for the Jackets. Tech will be challenged to play efficiently, not just from a shooting standpoint but also in how it runs the offense, passes and rebounds.
Point guards Travis Jorgenson and Josh Heath will face Syracuse for the first time, and will be tasked with finding or attacking gaps in the zone to deliver the ball to big men Demarco Cox, Robert Sampson and Mitchell.
“It’s tough,” Jorgenson said. “I think it’s on all the guards to get it to the middle at the free-throw line or below the defense on the short corner, and from there, try to break the defense down and find the open man. So that’s going to be a big key.”
But, should the Jackets rise to the challenge, it will be significant evidence that the Jackets, who were 6-12 in the ACC last year for the second season in a row, have the makings of a team that can compete for a postseason bid. A win over Syracuse, among other things, would arguably be Tech’s biggest home win under Gregory. It also would be Tech’s second consecutive win over the Orange, following its upset last March at the Carrier Dome.
“Just watching them play on tape the other day at Notre Dame and the highlights, they look like a better team than they were last year,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “That’s hard to do when you change over so many guys, but they certainly look better.”
Syracuse’s arrival is no small occasion for Tech. It will be the first visit to Tech’s campus for the Orange and Boeheim, ranked No. 2 all-time in coaching wins. The athletic department has planned a white-out for the game. Jorgenson pronounced it “pretty cool” to face the famed Orange.
“It’s great for the league,” Gregory said. “This is what the ACC’s all about.”
