Hoops Notes

CAGERS HOST #7 DUKE WEDNESDAY
Ok, we NEED to win this game. We need to punish Duke. We need to avenge 8 straight home losses to these punks. No mercy. Time for the seniors to step up and put the smack-down on Puke.


TOP 10 QUESTIONS NOT TO ASK COACH K
This is pretty funny stuff, right from a Duke newspaper.


NCAA EYES JACKET'S FINISH


SETH DAVIS SAYS LOOK OUT FOR GT

3. Which team outside the top 25 has the best chance to make the Final Four?

Notre Dame remains unranked even though I've been consistently putting the Irish on my AP ballot (I had 'em 18th this week), but I can't imagine any team would be happy facing Georgia Tech in the tournament. Yes, the Jackets needed a questionable call from the refs and two late free throws from B.J. Elder to edge Florida State on Saturday. But Tech led for virtually the entire game and is showing signs of getting stronger. Besides Syracuse, there won't be any other team in the field of 65 with four starters who played in an NCAA championship game. That's a major plus.

TONY BARNHART TALKS ABOUT ISSUES
He mentions the GT / Telfair incident:

Two weeks ago, former New York City star basketball recruit Sebastian Telfair made an unsubstantiated claim that someone offered him $250,000 to attend Georgia Tech. There is no proof of that allegation, but school officials had to scramble to shoot it down, anyway.

Yeah, by the way, part of the reason they had to shoot it down was the irresponsible reporting behavior of your newspaper.

EDITORIAL ON TELFAIR REPORTING
An interesting editorial on the difference between "refute" and "deny".


Q&A ON GT ON COLLEGEHOOPS.NET
Well, that's why you have to play the games:

Which two teams (one good, one bad) have been most surprising so far this season?
From Sam,
Ohio


Kristi Chartrand - Kansas
I have to say I’m totally shocked at what Georgia Tech has or should I say hasn’t done this season. This writer was sucked in and picked them to go back to the Final Four. I didn’t think it was such a reach. Paul Hewitt had almost everyone back on a team that reached the National Championship game. I thought their backcourt was one of the toughest in the nation. Jarrett Jack is big-time and certainly off the bench Wil Bynum is a great sixth man to have. I know B.J. Elder got hurt but they’ve really underachieved as far as I’m concerned. Luke Schenscher isn’t even half the player he was last season down the stretch! I thought they would be the 3rd best team in the ACC. There’s still time to make a run in the ACC tournament but in my mind they’re not even an NCAA tourney team right now. They need to improve their resume down the stretch.

There's more from that same site on GT here.


POINT GUARDS DOMINATE ACC


ACC STRUGGLES TO FIND FAIR SCHEDULE


TOURNEY PREVIEW


BLURB ON AUSTIN JACKSON
...our speedy hoops recruit.

Go-to guys
Austin Jackson, Denton Ryan: Georgia Tech signee averages 22.2 points.

PUTTING A NUMBER ON NCAA INVITES


FORMER LADY-JACKET STANDOUT IN ICELAND


From the FSU game:


ELDER STAYS COOL IN WIN


ELDER'S FREE THROWS SAVE GT


LOSS CLOUDS THORTON'S DEBUT


FSU HAS HEART BROKEN AGAIN

AROUND THE ACC

GEORGIA TECH (15-8, 6-6)

For proof that it's often better to be lucky than good, we present the Yellow Jackets' game-winning play against Florida State. Stumbling out of bounds, point guard Jarrett Jack manages to fling the ball into play under the basket. The ball somehow lands in the hands of teammate B.J. Elder, who, with a four-tenths of a second left, is fouled (well, according to referee Jamie Luckie) as he goes up. Elder's two free throws give Tech a 76-75 win. "That's how it was drawn up," Jack said. "Fumble it out of bounds and throw it back to B.J."


Next: The Jackets host Duke Wednesday. A win probably makes Tech an NCAA lock.

FSU'S WINNING RECIPE TAKES TIME TO COOK


FSU CRIES FOUL AFTER DEFEAT


FSU DESERVES RESPECT DESPITE LOSS


DISAPPOINTED BY SURPRISE ENDING


STRAIGHT JACKETS


HAMILTON SHUFFLES STARTING FIVE


FSU FANS DEBATE FINAL PLAY
Let it go.... Let it go.