Georgia Tech Basketball: Yellow Jackets Have Chance to Earn 1st Round Bye In ACC Tournament With Strong Finish

As winners of five of their last seven games, Georgia Tech has been one of the hottest teams in the ACC and has done so with just 6-7 players available. Their win on Saturday vs Cal came with the Yellow Jackets missing Javian McCollum, Luke O'Brien, and Kowacie Reeves. There are five games remaining before the ACC Tournament and this recent stretch of play has Georgia Tech very much in the mix for a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament, something that was unthinkable just a month ago. Some of this is due to the poor quality of the ACC this season, but Damon Stoudamire's team deserves credit for finding a way to be in this position given that they have been without key members of their team for much of the season.

Right now, Georgia Tech is in a three-way tie for 8th place in the conference with Florida State and Pitt. All three teams are 7-8 in ACC and if things ended right now, Georgia Tech would be the odd man out in the tie and would be the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament.

The rest of the schedule is favorable to Georgia Tech though and sets them up well for a good run down the stretch. Georgia Tech currently ranks 105th in the latest KenPom rankings and three of their final five opponents are ranked below them. Boston College (192nd), NC State (116th), and Miami (177th) are all lower than the Yellow Jackets and Georgia Tech will be favored in all three of those games. Pitt (52nd) and Wake Forest (61st) are the two teams remaining on the schedule where Georgia Tech is going to be an underdog, but neither of those games is unwinnable.

Pitt has lost eight of their last 12 games while Wake has won four of their last five. The matchup against the Panthers is the only time the Yellow Jackets will have faced them and they can earn the tiebreaker over them with a win on Tuesday. The same goes to Wake Forest, though Georgia Tech is four games behind them in the standings. They can win all five of these games and if they do, a first round bye would be earned. Not having to play a game in the first round of the tournament would be big for Georgia Tech, especially if the injury situation has not improved.

Georgia Tech has an opportunity in front of them to make a move up the standings. Their quest to continue their move up will resume on Saturday on the road vs Boston College.

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