After its worst non-conference loss in more than 20 years, Georgia Tech has a lot to figure out moving forward.
The Yellow Jackets (2-2) host No. 21 Mississippi State at 7 p.m. Tuesday looking to bounce back from a 35-point loss at Cincinnati on Nov. 22. That margin of defeat was Tech’s largest in a non-conference game since losing 105-66 to Illinois on Nov. 23, 2001.
“The score didn’t indicate it, but we played a really good first half. We fell apart early in the second half and we couldn’t score, we couldn’t stop the bleeding and those things happen,” Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said Monday. “Like I told the fellas, here’s the reality of it: I lost by 63 points to the Indiana Pacers when I was in Portland. We had a really good team. I lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers when I was in Portland, with a really good team, by 59 points. We still won 50+ games.
“One point loss, 30-point loss, they only count as one loss. So we gotta let that go. We gotta put that behind us and move forward. It’s always the psyche and the fragileness of guys that you’re trying to get back and you’re trying to make sure that they understand that is was one loss and just that.”
Stoudamire’s team will be looking to avoid a three-game losing streak after a 2-0 start. More importantly it will be looking to play a better brand of basketball.
The Jackets, through four games, rank last among ACC teams in assist-to-turnover ratio, assists per game, field goal percentage, scoring defense, turnover margin and turnovers per game. Certainly not the type of statistical start Stoudamire was looking for to begin his tenure.
“Our effort and our energy is always gonna be the rallying cry. I’ve talked about that, even early on. I want that to be much better,” Stoudamire said. “Those are two things that you can’t really teach and you can’t really coach. You can coach execution on both sides of the ball, but energy and effort has to be a willingness. And (then) next-play mentality. Whether we turn the ball over, whether we miss a shot, we gotta be able to sprint back down the court. We gotta be able to lock in what we’re doing, we gotta be able to know who the shooters are, we gotta be able to, when the shot goes up, especially against a Mississippi State team, we gotta know we gotta put a body on somebody. We can’t have, what I like to call, those bad play hangovers. We can’t have that moving forward.
“That’s been an Achilles heel for us all season. It’s one that we’ve talked about and one thing we’re trying to get better at.”
Mississippi State comes to Atlanta undefeated and ranked 21st by The Associated Press. Coach Chris Jans has quality wins over Arizona State in Chicago and Washington and Northwestern in games played in Connecticut.
Freshman guard Josh Hubbard is State’s leading scorer at 16.2 points per game. West Virginia transfer Jimmy Bell is pulling in 9.5 boards per game to go along with 10 points per game. The Bulldogs rank eighth nationally in rebound margin.
“Really good team, really scrappy, really tough mentally,” Stoudamire said. “Jans is a good coach. Watched him from afar for years. I know they’ll take on his personality. We gotta be ready to play. I’m looking forward to seeing how we respond, especially to the physicality. We didn’t really respond (in the second half against Cincinnati) so it’ll be interesting to see how we come back and play these guys here on Tuesday.”
Tech also has two players who have played Mississippi State frequently during their respective careers.
Junior guard Kowacie Reeves averaged 11.3 points per contest in three meetings while he played for Florida. Two of those matchups Reeves was on the winning side, but MSU eliminated Reeves and the Gators from the 2023 SEC tournament.
Sophomore guard Amaree Abram was a part of two losses to the State while he was on the Ole Miss roster, scoring a total of seven points.
“I just remember their physicality. They’re always kind of connected, no matter what,” Reeves said. “I think that’s gonna be a challenge for us, but I think it’s gonna be good for us, just from the last game how physical (Cincinnati was), with (Mississippi State) they’re even more physical. It’ll be a good challenge for us.”
After Tuesday’s matchup, the week doesn’t get any easier for Tech: No. 7 Duke comes to McCamish at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Terry, Gapare updates
Stoudamire said there is no timetable for when senior guard Lance Terry will make his debut this season. Terry has been held out with an injury and Stoudamire said Monday, “when he’s ready to come back, he can come back.”
Stoudamire also said sophomore Tafare Gapare, who has started three games, scored two points and grabbed six rebounds, was cleared to return to practice Monday. Gapare did not play at Cincinnati due to injury.
Freshman center Baye Ndongo made his Tech debut during the Cincinnati game is expected to be active again Tuesday.
“Hopefully before the new year, just have a full team, a full roster so I can really see what it looks like,” Stoudamire added.
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