UGA Beats Georgia Tech... Again
Georgia beat Georgia Tech in basketball again today. This makes the fourth season in a row.
It should have. Georgia Tech is a bad team right now. I have a hard time picturing them legitimately competing for the top half of the ACC this year. Everyone reading this knows that Georgia has shown flashes of good and bad this season.
But it had to win today and did. That’s not always the easiest thing to do in sports.
The loss to No. 20 Arizona State slipped away from Georgia. That was a game these Dawgs should have won and didn’t. This was one it should have won and did.
That’s progress.
That it came at the expense of lowly Georgia Tech, and its “we are better than you, but we can’t beat you” crowd… all the better. That routine is beyond old, but it is funny to watch that ridiculous notion crumble in real time.
The next thing you know the head football coach at Tech will start lecturing everyone about “meaningful degrees”. Yeah, the guy with a bachelor's from Western Carolina is telling us what time it is... see what Tech does once you drink the Kool-Aid?
As usual, however, this was bigger than Tech for UGA. This was about correcting some troubling trends that have shown up during this winter on the hardwood. I still believe that Georgia has the capability to get to the NCAAs, but they are so far behind the eight ball (with four losses) it seems unlikely they can correct the uphill climb they’ve made for themselves with their pre-conference results.
So, for now, this season is about these Dawgs getting better. Looking simply at the results won’t always be the best way to judge things each game. With that said…
Georgia didn’t completely squander a significant first-half lead.
Getting better.
Nick Claxton struggled through the game hardly scoring until the end, but made an impact in other ways.
Getting better.
Georgia held the Jackets to a dismal 32% FG percentage for the game.
Getting better.
The Dawgs only turned it over 13 times.
Getting better if still not ideal. 13, after all, isn’t 19 or 20.
But there were times when Georgia should have stepped on the throttle and ended the game. In the first half, while Tech was slogging along on offense, Georgia should have pushed the lead out more. Somewhat predictably, Tech twice got within three before Georgia surged again to get a more substantial lead.
And there were a few dead ball fouls that went against Georgia that allowed Tech not only to get momentum, but to creep back into the game in a way they would not have had the ability to do without the free throws and the ball. After all, four-point trips down the court are not common.
Georgia was the better team, and that was clear from the opening tip. The Dawgs never trailed. The Dawgs looked sloppy at times, but seemed locked in from the start.
This was a game the Dawgs had to have, and they got it.
Merry Christmas Jackets.