Damon Stoudamire doesn’t have any reservations about going on the road as opposed to competing at McCamish Pavilion. The way he sees it, there can be some advantages to playing a game away from home.
“I like the road personally,” he said Monday. “I think you can focus a little bit more, there’s a lot less going on. The distractions are different, and I think you get to bond as a team. In my experiences on the road both as a player and a coach I think you get better as time goes on.
“I think that they cherish those times together, and it’s a time to bring everybody together when you walk in that gym.”
Stoudamire’s Yellow Jackets (2-1) get their first chance to spend some quality time together this week when they travel to Cincinnati on Tuesday ahead of a 7 p.m. Wednesday matchup with the Bearcats. Georgia Tech not only will be looking for its first road win in its first such opportunity, it also will be looking to bounce back from a 74-71 loss to Massachusetts-Lowell on Nov. 14.
The first-year Tech coach Stoudamire referenced that loss, as well as his team’s Nov. 9 win against Howard, as games where he felt his squad failed to extend leads when the Jackets had some momentum and a small advantage. He said he’s been stressing to his team about its response, whether up by a few buckets or down by a handful of points.
That response is magnified on the road, Stoudamire said.
“My message is it’s still one possession, one game at a time, and it’s next-play mentality, whether it’s a turnover or not,” he added. “If it’s a live-ball turnover on the road, it’s gonna kill you. You wanna know why? It ignites the crowd. I’d rather us throw the ball in the 30th row so we can set our defense. Those are things that I look at each and every day.
“As we go on the road, the mentality of if we feel like we gave one up at home (against UMass-Lowell), you gotta find a way to get one back (on the road). It’ll pose a challenge playing against a good Cincinnati team. But we’re gonna go in there all cards on deck and see what happens.”
Cincinnati is 4-0 with wins – all at home – over Illinois-Chicago, Detroit, Eastern Washington and Northern Kentucky. Sophomore guard Dan Skillings (14.5), junior guard Day Day Thomas (14.3) and junior forward Viktor Lakhin (13.8) all average double figures in scoring, and Lakhin is pulling in 9.5 rebounds per contest.
The big news for the Bearcats this week was that Aziz Bandaogo, a seven-foot senior and transfer from Utah Valley, was declared eligible Monday and can play Wednesday. Bandaogo was the 2023 Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the year and averaged 11.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season.
Cincinnati, under the direction of coach Wes Miller, went 23-13 last season and lost in the third round of the NIT.
“I’m not really looking at Cincinnati. I’m really concentrating on my team,” Stoudamire said. “My biggest thing is that the keys to winning, regardless, are limit turnovers and win the rebound battle. If you do those two things, you’ll give yourselves a chance to win every single game.
“For us, it’s just trying to get better every day. That’s all I’m focused on. I think that’s the way I like to prepare, and if you always take that day-to-day approach, I think you get a little more out of your guys as opposed to looking at it at more of a bigger picture this early in the season.”
Ndongo, Terry updates
Tech could continue to be without Lance Terry and Baye Ndong going forward.
Stoudamire said Monday that Terry, a senior guard, and Ndongo will be inactive Wednesday, but that Ndongo, a freshman forward, could return sooner than later.
“(Terry) is still out. I don’t know the timetable on that,” Stoudamire said. “(Ndong) looks like we’re almost at a day-to-day standpoint. I’m hoping at the least he’ll back by Mississippi State (Nov. 28).”
Terry averaged 10.1 points per game and shot 42.1% from the floor last season.
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