Three Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Upset Win Over Wake Forest
Georgia Tech raced out to a big lead yesterday against Wake Forest, but it took a Baye Ndongo buzzer-beater to close out a big upset win over the Demon Deacons.
The Yellow Jackets have been playing well over the last couple of weeks of the regular season and are playing their best basketball of the season as the ACC Tournament approaches. It has been a bit of an up and down roller coaster season for Damon Stoudamire in year one, but he seems to have this team playing its best at the most important time of the year.
So what are the big takeaways from last night's win?
1. Georgia Tech is playing its best basketball of the year
Are they playing perfect? No, of course not, but Stoudamire has this team winning and finally getting consistent. While Georgia Tech had impressive wins over Duke, Mississippi State, North Carolina, and Clemson, they could not find a way to string together wins consistently. They are doing that now, having won three straight and four of their last five. The offense is playing well and the defense has been much better after disastrous showings vs Clemson and Wake Forest over the past month. They might be one of the most intriguing teams to watch in next week's ACC Tournament.
2. Turnovers are a huge issue still
Turnovers have been a big issue with this team all season long, but they almost cost Georgia Tech a win last night vs Wake Forest. In total, Georgia Tech committed 17 turnovers, with seven of them coming from Nait George and a couple of them came in crunch time when Georgia Tech needed a basket. If Georgia Tech is going to win more than one game next week in the ACC Tournament, the turnovers have to be cut down significantly. This game does not get as close as it did in the second half if Georgia Tech takes better care of the ball.
3. Three-point shooting and rebounding won Georgia Tech the game
Georgia Tech was 10-21 from three last night while Wake Forest was just 4-16. The Demon Deacons are one of the top offensive teams in the ACC, but the Yellow Jackets benefitted from Wake having an off night, but credit should also be given to the defense.
One thing that Georgia Tech has been all season is a very good rebounding team and they held a 34-25 edge over Wake Forest yesterday.
If Georgia Tech can continue to do these two things at this level plus cut the turnovers down, they can win some games in the ACC Tournament next week.
