By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
The Big Game descends on the Bay Area this week.
The Super Bowl does, too.
For the first time ever, Georgia Tech (11-11, 2-7 ACC) makes its maiden ACC trip out west beginning with a matchup against Cal (16-6, 4-5 ACC) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. The Golden State loop has been notoriously fraught for ACC teams – since Cal and Stanford joined the league last season, conference opponents went 11 straight California trips without a sweep until Duke pulled off the feat last month.
That may seem like a tall order for the Yellow Jackets, who couldn’t make a dent in a second half deficit against North Carolina Saturday. But head coach Damon Stoudamire says he relishes the opportunity ahead of his team.
“I think we need the camaraderie. I’m excited for the trip, because as of today we seem to respond a little better on the road for whatever reason. A week can change everything,” Stoudamire said on his radio show.
And with Tech entering the second half of ACC play, every game becomes a Big Game now.
Enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Jackets heed Jack Kerouac – and technically, Cole Kirouac as well – and go West for their first meeting at Cal since 1950 (8:00 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network).
Georgia Tech practices at Cal on Tuesday. (photo by Grayson Rosen)
Cal had a suspense-filled split of its road trip to Florida, falling to Florida State by one before rallying to beat Miami by two in Coral Gables. Prior to that, though, they downed North Carolina 84-78 at home in a game in which they led by 17 at halftime.
Head coach Mark Madsen lost his top two scorers to transfers in the offseason, but he re-stocked his roster using an interesting portal strategy: signing several older, repatriated ACC players.
Player Prev. ACC School PPG (Team rank)
Dai Dai Ames (Jr.) Virginia 16.6 (1st)
John Camden (Grad.) Virginia Tech 14.4 (3rd)
Chris Bell (Sr.) Syracuse 12.9 (4th)
Stoudamire describes Ames as a “wiggler” who gets downhill and plays well off the ball. He’s only made 32% of his field goals over the last three games, but Georgia Tech felt the brunt of that twitchiness last year when he exploded for 18 points in a win over the Jackets in Charlottesville. He forms a talented backcourt with 6-3 Justin Pippen (15.2 ppg, team-high 4.2 apg), the son of Naismith Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and Stoudamire and assistant coach Bonzi Wells’ former teammate with the Portland Trail Blazers. Watch out as well for the 6-8, 220-pound Camden, who poured in a season-high 26 points against Miami and gives the
Bears a physical, pick-and-pop big man. He’s laced 18 of 32 threes over his last five games, and Cal as a team ranks second in the ACC in three-point percentage (36.8%).
It may sound rudimentary, but Georgia Tech will need to stay in front of their man and defend without fouling (the Bears also rank 10th nationally in free throw percentage). They’ll also need to rebound well out of their area; Cal has the lowest offensive rebounding percentage in the ACC, but Tech can’t allow second chances off of kickouts and scrambles.
Whatever pleasantries Stoudamire and Madsen exchange before tip-off, they’ll have a ways to go to match the warmth of their Moms. Madsen’s mother and Stoudamire’s mother grew close during their sons’ playing days as part of a Mothers of Professional Basketball Players group that was founded by the Mom of former Cavaliers guard Terrell Brandon. Stoudamire said they typically saw each other three or four times a year for various events.
Baye Ndongo scored a season-high 27 points against North Carolina. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Baye Ndongo put up a valiant effort in the absence of Mo Sylla and Peyton Marshall, pouring in a season-high 27 points and seven rebounds against North Carolina. He now faces the Cal team that he beat with a tip-in at the buzzer in overtime last year, the final brush stroke in a 26-point, 13-rebound masterpiece against the Bears.
What does Baye remember most about that play? When prompted, the junior broke into a broad smile.
“I actually forgot about that,” he confessed.
Jaeden Mustaf, on the other hand, needed no refresher on his soul-snatching poster dunk against the Bears from that same game. He proudly notes that it made No. 8 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays that night.
“That was a dream come true, because as a kid I watched SportsCenter growing up every day,” he said.
Mustaf, Ndongo and the Jackets now square off against a physical, hard-hedging Cal defense that ranks 25th nationally in three-point percentage (29.7%). Individually, Pippen ranks second in the ACC in steals (1.9 spg) and gives the Bears a long-armed, gap-shooting stalker out top.
Limiting turnovers will once again be a priority – the Jackets have suffered their two biggest differentials in points off turnovers in the last two games. “We’ve got to take and make the simple play,” Stoudamire noted. The Jackets have also focused on their “hit-ahead” passes, which can help them enter into their offense with better pace. Tech struggled to finish against North Carolina’s length, but why might two-point finishing may be worth watching against Cal? Pay attention to this number:
Cal’s record when opponent shoots…
< 55% 2pt. FG%: 14-1
> 55% 2pt. FG%: 2-5
Georgia Tech may be playing at Haas Pavilion for the first time, but Berkeley, Calif. won’t be terra incognita for Justin Landry, Tech’s third-year strength and conditioning coach. Landry grew up a 10-minute straight shot from the Cal campus in Oakland.
Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting with the “Ramblin’ Wreck Tipoff Show” at 7:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network. See you in Berkeley.
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