The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Familiar tale: Tech can’t make shots
Late-game drought proves decisive as subsequent comeback falls short.
Georgia Tech was done in by a familiar NEW YORK — nemesis in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. Missing makable shots near and far, the Yellow Jackets were eliminated by Pittsburgh 61-59 on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.
The No. 11 seed, Tech shot 35.5 percent from the field in falling to No. 14 seed Pitt. The Jackets, rated No. 271 in adjusted offensive efficiency by KenPom, missed a slew of layups and drives, shots that have repeatedly eluded them over the course of the season.
“Missed a lot of layups, which has kind of been our Achilles’ heel all year long,” coach Josh Pastner said after his first game since being named the ACC’s coach of the year.
With Pitt (16-16) daring the Jackets (17-15) to take shots from the perimeter, they were unable to capitalize. Taking more shots from outside the arc than usual, Tech was 4 for 18 from 3-point range. Guard
Tadric Jackson, who played with energy and was able to get to the basket on drives, finished with 17 points, a team high, but was 8 for 21 from the field, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.
“We just fell a little short,” Pastner said. “It’s a tough loss and it’s one of those things, but I’m really proud of our young men.”
Tech is out of the running for an NCAA Tournament bid, the possibility of which seemed laughable at the beginning of the season, more so at the start of ACC play on New Year’s Eve. But the Jackets’ chances grew with upsets of North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame.
Pitt moves on to play No. 6 seed Virginia tonight.
Five observations from the game:
1. When the game was lost: Down 48-41 with 7:25 to go, the Jackets scored on five consecutive possessions to force a 51-all tie. Jackson’s driving basket with 3:47 to go tied it.
However, Pitt’s Jamel Artis answered with a 3-pointer and Tech then went scoreless on the next five possessions, giving the Panthers room to push the lead back to seven points with 43 seconds to play. The dry spell left Tech in a deficit it could not surmount, despite a furious rally.
2. What it means: Tech is officially off the bubble with the defeat. The Jackets will return to Atlanta today and await an invitation to the NIT. Pastner made a plea after the game that any team that finishes 8-10 in the ACC should be included in the NCAA Tournament, but it is highly doubtful that the selection committee would agree.
The NIT’s 32-team field will be filled following the selection of the NCAA field on Sunday. If the Jackets make it in, it will be the second year in a row that they are in the NIT. Tech reached the quarterfinals last season in what proved to be the final games of coach Brian Gregory’s tenure.
Pastner said he would give the team a couple of days off.
“We’ve milked everything we could out of the guys,” Pastner said. “I mean, literally, every ounce of energy.”
3. Tough night: Tech center Ben Lammers was held to six points, which tied his season low. Lammers was 3 for 9 and the target of Pitt’s ploy to sink its defense into the paint to prevent him from scoring. Lammers did have 15 rebounds, including six offensive.
“It’s probably the reason we won the game,” Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said of the defense on Lammers.
4. Foul-ups at the end: Tech had a couple of glitches in the final seconds. Guard Josh Okogie went to the freethrow line with 2.2 seconds remaining and the Jackets down 60-57.
After making the first to cut the lead to two points, Okogie intended to miss the second to give the Jackets a chance to get an offensive rebound and putback to tie the game.
However, Okogie’s shot went in, cutting the lead to two. Tech extended the game by fouling Artis with 1.4 seconds left, and Artis converted one of two free throws, making the second and giving Tech the ball out of bounds. Forward Quinton Stephens threw a deep pass to Lammers, but he couldn’t get both hands on the ball on a play similar to the one Tech ran in the final seconds of the Feb. 21 loss to N.C. State.
With only one hand on the ball, he couldn’t make a clean catch and the game ended with players scrambling for the ball on the floor.
5. Slow start: Tech went into halftime down 29-26 after trailing by as many 11. It was the 10th consecutive ACC game that the Jackets had been down at the end of the first half. Tech was 3-7 in those games.
Tech was 1 for 6 from the line in the first half.