Games 787-788: Wednesday doubleheader

788 - Utah State at San Jose State
December 4 at Event Center in San Jose, CA
ESPN2

Welcome back, Richie Schueler, we've missed you:

"you have to be able to rebound the basketball to win basketball games"
"in Mountain West circles"

IN MOUNTAIN WEST CIRCLES

"a terrific basketball background"
"they determined it was a basketball play"

!

"the sneaky athleticism tool"
"skill set"
"all energy, all the time"
"a high IQ basketball play"

787 - Nebraska at Georgia Tech
December 4 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
ESPNU

Game 455 - Georgia Tech at Georgia

December 19 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA
ESPN2

Georgia put together one of the finest shooting halves we've seen at 200 Game Season, a big reason it pulled away for an 80-59 victory.

The Bulldogs (8-2) went 15-of-21 from the field (71%) in the second half, including knocking down their first eight shots, and defeated their rival for the third consecutive season.

It was just a 36-34 lead at halftime for Georgia, but six different players made shots during that 8-for-8 start that lasted the first 7 1/2 minutes of the half. By that time, Georgia led 54-41 and Tech couldn't get any closer than nine points the remainder of the night.

Yante Maten is a potential SEC player of the year and showed why in this one, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead Georgia.


* Mike Morgan and Sean Farnham:

"the difference in swagger for Georgia Tech"
"it deviated from the consistency in his program"
"he gets downhill on you"
"xs and os"
"hang their hat defensively"
"RPI killers"
"surveying the defense"
"style points"

Made-up nonsense

"recruitability"
"run out"
"valuing the basketball" (2)
"he's a grinder"
"just a nice rip through"

Games 394-395: Pair of finalists in Atlanta

395 - Washington State women at Georgia Tech
WNIT semifinals
March 29 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com

Despite awful nights from both three-point range (3-of-17) and at the free-throw line (12-of-26!), the Tech women joined their male classmates in the finals with Wednesday's 69-61 victory.

Rebounding was a huge factor as Tech had a 50-35 edge - Zaire O'Neal and Elo Edeferioka each had 16 boards. O'Neal was the main cuplrit from the line (6-of-13), but she also scored a game-high 20 points and added four assists.

Tech, 22-14, visits Michigan in Saturday's championship game.

394 - Cal State Bakersfield vs. Georgia Tech
NIT semifinals
March 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
ESPN

The season for the Georgia Tech men had already been incredible before Tuesday's 76-61 win when you consider that they (1) had a new head coach and (2) many thought they'd maybe win one or two games in the ACC (they won eight). For the Yellow Jackets to get to the title game - and pick up their 21st win - has as much to do with the development of post player Ben Lammers and the immediate contribution from freshman Josh Okogie as anything.

Lammers went from a bench player to the ACC's top defensive player and a legit scoring threat inside and from the mid-range in less than a year, while Okogie turned in one of the finest freshman seasons in the conference. Lammers had 15 and 11 with five blocked shots; Okogie contributed a game-high 22 points with nine rebounds in Tuesday's win.

Tech will play in its second NIT final (and first since 1971) against TCU on Thursday.

* Couple other nice performances in this one, including Tech reserve guards Tadric Jackson and Justin Moore, who combined for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting with four assists and just one turnover. Bakersfield's Dedrick Basile hit five threes and led the Roadrunners with 18 points.

Game 385 - Georgia Tech at Mississippi

NIT quarterfinals
March 21 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, MS
ESPN2

The remarkable season for Georgia Tech continued on Tuesday.

Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year Ben Lammers provided his usual dominance (eight blocked shots and four steals), Josh Okogie scored 26 points and the Yellow Jackets were neither tied nor behind in winning 74-66.

In coach Josh Pastner's first season, Tech is a 20-win team and headed to Madison Square Garden for the NIT semifinals.

Lammers also had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added four assists. Okogie, just a freshman, went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, including four straight over the final 1:22 to seal the victory. Mississippi took 28(!) threes, but made just six and wasted a great performance from all-SEC center Sebastian Saiz (19 points, 8-of-11 shooting, 15 rebounds).

Josh Heath had seven of Tech's 21 assists (on 26 made baskets), and the Atlanta school shot 51%  from the field in winning for just the third time in 13 road games.

Tech, which failed to get past the quarterfinal round in last season's NIT, will play either Sun Belt Conference regular season champion UT-Arlington or WAC runner-up Cal-Bakersfield March 28.

Game 332 - Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech

February 28 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA

The Yellow Jackets celebrated senior night on Tuesday, just before the immediate future of the program led the way to a victory.

Junior Ben Lammers was fantastic, scoring seven of his game-high 20 points during a key stretch late and freshman Josh Okogie had two of the biggest second-half baskets and the game-clinching defensive play as Tech kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 61-52 win.

This was my first time seeing Lammers in person since he became a starter and one of the country's most-improved players and he didn't disappoint. The 6-10 center showed a variety of impressive moves around the basket and a solid mid-range jumper, along with his usual excellent defense (he leads the Atlantic Coast Conference & is second nationally in blocked shots). Lammers' three-point play on an up-and-under move at the 4:10 mark put Tech up 51-47, and he later added the last of his points on a dunk that gave the Yellow Jackets a 58-52 cushion with just over a minute left.

Okogie, a freshman from nearby Shiloh High School, had just five points through the first 34 minutes of the game, but came alive late. His three-point play on a great drive and finish at the rim made it 54-50, and after Michael Young pulled Pittsburgh to within two with a lay-in at the 2:57 mark, which turned out to be the Panthers' last points of the night, Okogie hit a pretty, pull-up jumper over Young and the Yellow Jackets led 56-52 with two minutes to go.

A desperate Pittsburgh tried to cut a seven-point deficit to five with about 30 seconds left, but Okogie took a charge that effectively wrapped up Tech's eighth conference win.

Young, who came into the night as the ACC's leading scorer at 20.2 points, led the Panthers with 16. Young picked up eight straight Pittsburgh points during a 2 1/2-minute stretch that saw the visitors grab a slim, 44-43 lead at the 6:30 mark. It was a 47-46 Pittsburgh lead on a three-point play by Jamel Artis off a nice give-and-go with Sheldon Jeter. Quinton Stephens' wild runner with just under five minutes to go gave Tech the lead for the rest of the night.

Game 255 - Georgia Tech women at Louisville

January 18 at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, KY
ACC Network


Other games watched:

Oklahoma men at West Virginia
Southern Illinois men at Drake

Game 253 - Georgia Tech at NC State

January 15 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC
ESPN2

Game 239 - Georgia at Georgia Tech

December 20 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com

Game 199 - Georgia Tech at San Diego State

NIT quarterfinals
March 23 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA
ESPN

Just a quick message from commentator Sean Farnham:

"The student section is the lifeline to the energy of the building."

Wow!

Game 170 - (10) Georgia Tech vs. (2) Virginia

ACC quarterfinals
March 10 at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
ESPN

Game 133 - Notre Dame at Georgia Tech

February 20 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
ESPN

Game 97 - Georgia Tech at Syracuse

January 30 at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY
ESPNU

Saturday afternoon always seems like a good time for a nice, long list of basketball phrases/nonsense.

"Mid majors on steroids"
"Athleticism-wise"
"SPECimen"
"Draft boards"
"ACC bracketology"
"Effort plays" (said twice)
"Tournament resumes"
"The landscape of college basketball"
"Energy is contagious"
"He's had young legs today"
"Skill set"

And let's quickly play Thanks, Chris!

Here's commentator Chris Spato on

Post play:

"There's just a lot of meat down there...you get meat going after one another!"

His overall thoughts on basketball:

"Talent has to affect winning."

A Tech possession down two with 50 seconds left:

"This is a huge possession."

[all] Thanks, Chris!

Game 60 - Duquesne at Georgia Tech

December 29 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA

Story