Boston College Eagles vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Basketball Recap

Boston College 86, Georgia Tech 75

Is it seven long years since the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were seen dancing and jumping around on the floor of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas? Right now, a program that used to enjoy mountaintop moments in the ACC – even, yes, under its current head coach – is scraping the bottom of college basketball’s proudest and most tradition-laden power conference.

Hoops isn’t reverenced in any league the way it is in the ACC. Indiana and Kentucky are individual citadels of hoops hysteria, but it’s on the Atlantic Seaboard where just about every school places more of an emotional priority on hoops rather than football. Georgia Tech very much fits into this dynamic. The Jackets made the 1985 Elite Eight; made multiple Sweet 16s, and reached the 1990 Final Four under beloved coach Bobby Cremins. Then, in 2004, current coach Paul Hewitt guided the Rambling Wreck to a thrilling 67-65 win over Oklahoma State in the Final Four national semifinals. A last-second bucket by spunky guard Will Bynum sent the Jackets into a state of jubilation. The team lost to Connecticut in the championship game two nights later, but Hewitt had seemingly stamped himself as a man who could lead Tech to greater things.

Now, the Rambling Wreck is simply wrecked.

The Boston College Eagles made sure that Georgia Tech didn’t get off the mat on the opening weekend of full conference play for the ACC. Boston College, coming off an embarrassing loss to Harvard at home, was looking to extend its ACC streak to two after a 79-75 victory at Maryland on December 12. Georgia Tech’s “bad” losses have been mostly on the road, including Kennesaw State, Siena (Hewitt’s former employer), and UNC-Charlotte.

The Yellow Jackets kept the game close in the first half and went to intermission with the score tied at 39. Boston College used ball movement and physical inside play under coach Steve Donohue to lead by as many as 13 points in the second half. Georgia Tech had 23 fouls in the game to BC’s 13, a sign of the Eagles’ superior discipline, which stood in marked contrast to the Jackets’ jumpy and uneven reactions.

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Boston College shot 55 percent for the game to Georgia Tech’s 48 percent, a sign that this was a defense-optional encounter. The Eagles hit 21 of 29 free throws to Tech’s 10-for-15 total, and those were the margins in the game.

For the Eagles, Reggie Jackson led all scorers with 25 points, including eight for nine from the field, and three for three from beyond the arc. Corey Raji had 22 points and nine rebounds. Biko Paris contributed 11 points and seven assists for Boston College.

Georgia Tech’s Kammeron Holsey led with 18 points, followed by Iman Shumpert with 15, and Mfon Udofia with 14 points. Foul problems plagued the Yellow Jackets, Daniel Miller, Glen Rice Jr., and Udofia had their minutes limited, each finishing with four fouls.

As the ACC spins into gear, either of these teams might be considered a contender for the top end of the bottom half of the 12-team league. In other words, seventh place would be a decent showing.

That’s not what Georgia Tech basketball fans envisioned when they partied on a special Saturday seven years ago in the heart of Texas.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer