Bracketology 2021: Georgia Tech, Memphis among week’s biggest losers

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Coming into this season, few head coaches had as much pressure to succeed than Josh Pastner of Georgia Tech. After four years of not making the NCAA Tournament with the Yellow Jackets, this season featured a starting lineup filled with upperclassmen and an All-ACC backcourt duo of Mike Devoe and Jose Alvarado.

Yet despite the talent, the team has started out the season with a dismal 0-2 record. Making matters worse, those defeats came to Georgia State and Mercer. The matchup with Georgia State was an epic four-overtime battle but it was the Panthers who ended up on the right side of a 123-120 victory. What happened with Mercer was much more disappointing, down by as much as 18 in the second half before losing 83-73.

Although the stats are a bit skewed, the starting lineup for the Yellow Jackets looks as good as expected. Big man Moses Wright (25.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg through two games) is playing spectacular ball, along with Jordan Usher and 6th man Bubba Parham. But this team’s poor defensive play is allowed inferior programs to score way too easily, hence the 0-2 start to the season.

What makes this even more problematic for Georgia Tech is who’s coming up. The next three opponents for them are No. 10 Kentucky, along with road games at Nebraska and Florida State. Just to make up what happened this past week, the Yellow Jackets need a win against either the Wildcats or Seminoles. For a team with at-large aspirations, they’ve dug themselves a major hole just days in.