The Magic Numbers For A Georgia Tech NCAA Tournament At-Large Bid

Albeit unlikely, a run at the NCAA Tournament for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is still possible. Here are the magic numbers to watch if the Ramblin' Wreck has any hope of going to the Big Dance.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets now find themselves at a critical point of the season. While the hopes of attaining their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2010 are still alive, they are very much on life support. With Tech currently residing at 2 games under .500 (11-13) for the season, the already thin margin for error is now so small that it is on the verge of non-existence.

That being said, technically there is still a chance. I'll explain how.

Since the tournament expanded to 68 teams back in 2011, 11 teams have secured at-large bids with 14 or more losses:

- 2019: Florida, Ohio State

- 2018: Texas, Alabama

- 2017: Vanderbilt, Michigan State

- 2011: Marquette, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, USC

During this 9 year span, 327 at-large bids have been awarded (37 in 2011-13, 36 in 2014-19). These 11 teams account for just 3.4% of the at-large bids, and 1.8% of the automatic and at-large bids combined.

While the odds are against the Ramblin' Wreck, all 11 of these teams have a few magic numbers in common. Let's dive into them:

19 - This is the minimum amount of wins all 11 teams had entering Selection Sunday. The only team to have more was 2011 Marquette, who had 20. Considering there are just 7 regular season games left, Tech would have to win out in the regular season then win at least 1 game in the ACC Tournament. But we'll get into that later.

15 - This is the maximum amount of losses any of the 11 teams had. Just 2019 Florida, 2018 Alabama and 2017 Vanderbilt were able to snag an at-large bid with 15 losses.

67 - This is the lowest RPI of the 11 teams, belonging 2011 USC. 2011 Marquette is the only other team to have a sub-50 RPI at 64th. Tech's RPI is currently sitting 87th, though expect that to jump if they can string together a late season winning streak.

37 - This is the lowest Strength of Schedule, also belonging to 2011 USC. 2011 Tennessee, 2011 Penn State and 2017 Vanderbilt were overachievers, and had Top 10 SOS'. Tech currently has an SOS of 11th, so this should not be a problem.

1 - This is the amount of wins each team had their respective conference tournament. 6 of the 11 were able to win 2, with 2011 Penn State upping the ante with 3 wins. This very well could be the most crucial magic number, as Josh Pastner has not won a single ACC Tournament game in his time at Georgia Tech.

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