Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Duke tops power rankings despite loss

By Brad Cavallaro

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 23: Trevon Duval
PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 23: Trevon Duval /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 15
Next
ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 13: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Memphis Tigers calls a play during the Final of the 2016 AAC Basketball Tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Amway Center on March 13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 13: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Memphis Tigers calls a play during the Final of the 2016 AAC Basketball Tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Amway Center on March 13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

14. Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech shocked the world last season by making the NIT after being picked to finish last in the conference. College Basketball analyst John Rothstein said, before last season, that Georgia Tech would not win a single ACC game and while this was clearly wrong, it was a perfectly reasonable prediction. In fact, anyone who said the Yellow Jackets would win eight ACC games would have been deemed insane or their credibility would have been attacked.

The Yellow Jackets were able to exceed expectations due to the transformation of center Ben Lammers and the break-out freshman season from Josh Okogie. With two All-ACC level players appearing out of thin air, Georgia Tech suddenly became a competitive team, and with both players returning a NCAA Tournament bid was in sight.

However, Okogie and Tadric Jackson were suspended to start the season due to impermissible benefits which took two of Georgia Tech’s three best players off the roster. Jackson has returned and played well (16.8ppg), but Okogie remains out with a finger injury.

Ben Lammers has been amazing (14.3ppg, 8.1rpg, and 3.4bpg) and Jose Alvarado has been a surprise freshman (13.9ppg and 3.6apg), but the Yellow Jackets have squandered any momentum from last season with poor play and inexcusable losses.

This shorthanded Georgia Tech team has lost at Wofford, but worst of all dropped a home game to Grambling. Grambling is ranked 329th in KenPom so losing to them is almost inconceivable.

When Georgia Tech gets Josh Okogie back, they will probably resemble the team that people predicted in the preseason, but their resume may be beyond repair. The ACC will be a juggernaut once again, so this slow start could keep them from the postseason.