Next Up: Georgia Tech In The ACC Tournament

Put away all smugness and preconceptions because Georgia Tech has become a very tough team and one with some swagger, too.

Date 3/13 || Time 12:00 || Venue Spectrum Center || Video ESPN

Previews at this time of the year are not exactly pointless, but they can be redundant. Everybody has played everyone else once or twice and there just aren’t that many secrets.

Duke played Georgia Tech in Atlanta on December 21st though, and many things have changed since then.

We said earlier that while Pat Kelsey and Jon Scheyer would be the two leading candidates for ACC Coach of the Year (and Kelsey won), that there was a case for Tech’s Damon Stoudamire.

Why?

Because when Georgia Tech had a devastating series of injuries, he said he thought they could play through them - and did.

Not only did they do that but this team improved tremendously.

The Yellow Jackets beat Virginia in their ACC Tournament opener on Wednesday - they haven’t beaten Virginia in years - and despite a still desperately thin bench, looked like the more energetic team for most of the second half.

How thin?

Every starter played at least 33 minutes and while Ibrahim Souare played for 11 minutes and Darrion Sutton got seven, that’s bound to be taxing. Yet they had a 13 point lead late against the ‘Hoos.

And in spots they were sensational. Baye Ndongo had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Duncan Powell had 21.

And in spite of shooting just 22.2 percent from behind the line and 45.1 percent overall, Tech hammered Virginia. And that means on the boards too, where the Yellow Jackets won the boards, 44-26.

They also dominated at the foul line, doubling up the Cavaliers, 18-23 to 9-11.

This looked nothing like the team Duke dominated in Atlanta by 26 points. This is a group that is playing with immense heart and courage. When we said we thought Stoudamire had a case for Coach of the Year, we meant it and he did us the favor of demonstrating why in this win.

Duke will be favored on Thursday, and with their thin rotation, playing at noon won’t help Tech. And there are things you can pick apart in the win over Virginia, including Jaeden Mustaf’s lack of discretion on offense and allowing Virginia to almost pull off what would have been a stunning comeback.

Remember how the Yellow Jackets played under Josh Pastner? The bland, faceless offense? The lack of a discernible identity?

There’s none of that now. These guys come at you hard and make you earn it. Depth and energy should help Duke, but make no mistake: Georgia Tech is going to bring it Thursday afternoon.