The stretch run for the Georgia Tech basketball team begins Wednesday at Notre Dame, the first of three consecutive games on the road. It?s a chance for the Yellow Jackets to test their mental toughness in a difficult setting.
Right now, head coach Brian Gregory finds the team might be lacking in that department, an issue that has helped prevent it from closing the deal in crucial situations.
?We don?t inherently have the consistency and toughness, both mental toughness and physical toughness, you need to win all those games,? Gregory said. ?We?ve probably won 30 to 40 percent. When you?re good, you win 80 percent of those. Clemson has won those, and that?s why they?re 8-6 in the league.?
Georgia Tech lost its way against Clemson and dipped below the .500 record for the first time this season.
?The season is going to be determined by those games,? Gregory said. ?With eight minutes to go, it?s a one or two possession game ... how many do you win? Every win has been that like. Four of those were wins. We?ve probably lost six or seven of them.?
Georgia Tech (13-14, 4-10 ACC) showed that sort of mental toughness when it played Notre Dame on Jan. 11. The Yellow Jackets won that game 74-69, despite blowing a 15-point second-half lead. Trae Golden scored 20 and Daniel Miller had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
Notre Dame (14-14, 5-10) has had a year similar to Georgia Tech. The Irish lost leading scorer Jerian Grant, who averaged 19 points, to an academic issue at the end of December. They?ve had to deal with a series of injuries and setbacks, too.
?We both have key components that are no longer with the team,? Gregory said. ?It may be for different reasons, but the same result. They?ve been banged up, too. It?s an important game for us to go on the road.?
The Irish have three starters who average about the same amount of points each game: Garrick Sherman (13.6), Pat Connaughton (13.5) and Eric Atkins (13.4).
Georgia Tech?s health issues have improved somewhat during the past week. Robert Carter Jr. has started to knock off the rust from missing 10 games with knee surgery. And Golden scored 17 points in 33 minutes against Clemson after being limited to 43 minutes (and missing two games) because of groin injury.
But the Yellow Jackets are far from healthy. Forward Marcus Georges-Hunt is being hampered by a hip that was injured in a fall, and Kammeon Holsey continues to play with sore knees. Jason Morris remains out with a broken foot suffered Feb. 3.
The rock through it all has been Daniel Miller, the sturdy 6-foot-11 senior center who averages 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. Miller has started every game during his career at Georgia Tech and is only 50 points shy of reaching 1,000 points. That would make him the 42nd Georgia Tech player to reach the milestone.
Georgia Tech will be making its first trip to South Bend since Feb. 24, 1990. Georgia Tech went on to win the ACC that season and reach the Final Four.
Right now, head coach Brian Gregory finds the team might be lacking in that department, an issue that has helped prevent it from closing the deal in crucial situations.
?We don?t inherently have the consistency and toughness, both mental toughness and physical toughness, you need to win all those games,? Gregory said. ?We?ve probably won 30 to 40 percent. When you?re good, you win 80 percent of those. Clemson has won those, and that?s why they?re 8-6 in the league.?
Georgia Tech lost its way against Clemson and dipped below the .500 record for the first time this season.
?The season is going to be determined by those games,? Gregory said. ?With eight minutes to go, it?s a one or two possession game ... how many do you win? Every win has been that like. Four of those were wins. We?ve probably lost six or seven of them.?
Georgia Tech (13-14, 4-10 ACC) showed that sort of mental toughness when it played Notre Dame on Jan. 11. The Yellow Jackets won that game 74-69, despite blowing a 15-point second-half lead. Trae Golden scored 20 and Daniel Miller had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
Notre Dame (14-14, 5-10) has had a year similar to Georgia Tech. The Irish lost leading scorer Jerian Grant, who averaged 19 points, to an academic issue at the end of December. They?ve had to deal with a series of injuries and setbacks, too.
?We both have key components that are no longer with the team,? Gregory said. ?It may be for different reasons, but the same result. They?ve been banged up, too. It?s an important game for us to go on the road.?
The Irish have three starters who average about the same amount of points each game: Garrick Sherman (13.6), Pat Connaughton (13.5) and Eric Atkins (13.4).
Georgia Tech?s health issues have improved somewhat during the past week. Robert Carter Jr. has started to knock off the rust from missing 10 games with knee surgery. And Golden scored 17 points in 33 minutes against Clemson after being limited to 43 minutes (and missing two games) because of groin injury.
But the Yellow Jackets are far from healthy. Forward Marcus Georges-Hunt is being hampered by a hip that was injured in a fall, and Kammeon Holsey continues to play with sore knees. Jason Morris remains out with a broken foot suffered Feb. 3.
The rock through it all has been Daniel Miller, the sturdy 6-foot-11 senior center who averages 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. Miller has started every game during his career at Georgia Tech and is only 50 points shy of reaching 1,000 points. That would make him the 42nd Georgia Tech player to reach the milestone.
Georgia Tech will be making its first trip to South Bend since Feb. 24, 1990. Georgia Tech went on to win the ACC that season and reach the Final Four.
