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Barry Jacobs: Preview: #6 Georgia Tech vs. #11 Wake Forest

By BARRY JACOBS

Mar 9, 2007

Raleigh, N.C. — Other than Maryland, Georgia Tech is the hottest team in the ACC, with seven wins in its last nine games. The two most recent victims were North Carolina and Boston College.

This turnabout comes from a team and coach criticized earlier this year by an Atlanta columnist for underachieving, a verdict with which Paul Hewitt generally agreed. “I’ve never been this frustrated with a group in all my life,” the Georgia Tech coach said a few weeks back, criticizing himself as well.

Hewitt never doubted his players’ effort, only their judgment. Given the team’s reliance on Javaris Crittenton, a freshman point guard, and freshman forward Thaddeus Young, befuddling lapses and headlong forays into trouble were inevitable.

Lately, Crittenton has clicked, and so have the Yellow Jackets. “He’s our guy,” Hewitt said of the team leader in scoring (14.5) and assists (5.7 per game, second in the ACC). “Everybody gears everything to stop him.” Crittenton hit double figures in assists and points in the wins over UNC and BC. Young is likewise coming on, and is second on the team in scoring and rebounds.

Georgia Tech and Wake Forest split their season series, with each winning on its home court. That dichotomy is nothing unusual for the Jackets, who were 1-8 on the road this season. Their stretch-drive winning streak came almost exclusively at home.

So Hewitt will try to convince his squad that Tampa is really a home away from home, while Wake’s Skip Prosser regales his freshman-laden squad with tales of twin upsets by the Demon Deacons in the ’06 ACC Tournament.

The Deacs show signs of rounding into a solid unit, winning three of their last five games and five of their last nine. Senior big man Kyle Visser, accorded ample opportunity, has prospered. The only double-figure scorer on the team (16.9), Visser gets help inside from freshman Jamie Skeen.

Wake is hurt by the league’s worst ratio of assists to turnovers -- freshman playmaker Ish Smith leads the ACC in assists (5.9 per game), though like Crittenton remains exquisitely erratic in his decisionmaking. The youth-laden Deacons also are among the league’s least-accurate shooters from floor and line.

Assuming Georgia Tech maintains its poise and focus, it should handle the Deacs, then advance to play Virginia Tech, a team an opposing ACC coach insisted “doesn’t try every night.”

Then again, this is a Hokie squad that faced worse adversity last season, suffering personal and athletic heartaches. Virginia Tech boasts a superior backcourt in seniors Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon, and large, athletic wings in Deron Washington and A.D. Vassallo. This is a veteran unit that started 16-5, swept North Carolina and defeated Duke on its home court as well.

For the sake of making a prediction, expect North Carolina and Maryland to win their Friday games, advancing to Saturday’s first semi-final at 1:30 p.m. In the other bracket, look for Virginia and Virginia Tech in the 3:30 p.m. semi-final, a rare battle of seasoned backcourts.

Maryland and Virginia Tech will advance, with the Terps winning their second ACC Tournament in four years.