NCAA Tournament First Round Recap - Ga Tech vs OK State

(10) Georgia Tech 64, (7) Oklahoma State 59

Georgia Tech shot 64.2 percent from the free throw line this season.

Don't think for a minute that anyone can paint that statistic in positive terms... that number isn't exactly good. Moreover, according to Vegaswatch, the odds of a team shooting 24-of-25 from the free-throw line on a given night, when that team shoots 64.2 percent from the stripe on average, are 1-in-4,338.

Let that sink in: 1-in-4,338.

Evidently, some boys from Atlanta, plus a head coach named Paul Hewitt, hit the lottery on Friday night in Milwaukee.

Georgia Tech did exactly what the oddsmakers said wouldn't come about very often; the next 4,337 times a 64-percent foul shooting team toes the line in the tournament, bet against it to hit 96 percent of a large batch of free throws.

Fun stats aside, what was and is far more impressive about the Yellow Jackets' charity pitching prowess is that the majority of the free throws that Georgia Tech hit were incredibly important. This was a back and forth game down the stretch. After Derrick Favors tied the game at 43 with 13:54 left in the game, the Yellow Jackets never trailed. They never led by more than four points until Moe Miller put the finishing touches on a five-point win with 17 seconds left.

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What makes Tech's trick even more remarkable is that the Jackets didn't hit a shot from the field over the final 8:26, scoring their final 13 points at the charity stripe. Astounding.

So yes, Georgia Tech hit a lot of clutch free throws down the stretch, and those free throws are the reason that Paul Hewitt was able to get out of the first round. There were other reasons as well. Gani Lawal and the aforementioned Mr. Favors both played well, finishing with 26 points and 15 boards. Iman Shumpert and company did a number on one of the best scorers in the country, holding Oklahoma State star James Anderson - who averages almost 23 points per game - to just 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, with an 0-for-6 bagel from 3-point range. The Jackets played well, especially on defense. They locked down Coach Travis Ford's Cowboys throughout this contest, denying dribble penetration and clogging passing lanes, particularly in the last few minutes.

  With all this having been said, though, if it wasn't for the Rambling Wreck's unlikely performance from the free throw line, we'd be watching James Anderson and Evan Turner go head-to-head on Sunday in an Oklahoma State-Ohio State " Battle of the OSUs."

Georgia Tech most certainly engineered something special toward the end of the NCAA Tournament's wild first-round ride.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Georgia Tech will be playing Ohio State on Sunday. There are many reasons to like this matchup for the Jackets. The Buckeyes don't have the size to match up with Georgia Tech inside, and if the Jackets proved anything Friday night against Oklahoma State, they have long, athletic defenders on the wing. Evan Turner isn't going to have it easy Sunday for the second-seeded Big Ten champions. If Paul Hewitt and the rest of his coaching staff can slow down Turner and get big games from their post players, Georgia Tech just may be headed to the second weekend.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer