After suffering a catastrophic loss in its search for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, California will be desperate for a victory against lowly Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Squarely on the bubble, Cal (20-9, 8-8 ACC) saw its three-game winning streak snapped at home against Pittsburgh on Saturday, falling by 16 points in a Quad 3 setback. A loss to Georgia Tech (11-18, 2-14) would be the Golden Bears’ second straight Quad 3 blemish and likely nix their tournament hopes.
Cal holds the No. 63 spot in the NET rankings with a pair of East Coast games left in the regular season.
“We have to create our own energy. We have to create our own intensity,” Cal head coach Mark Madsen said about finishing up on the road. “We have a locker room full of tremendous competitors. We didn’t see that to the level we needed (against Pitt). That’s on me. That’s on me because I have to help our guys achieve their fullness in terms of competitive fire and spirit.”
The Golden Bears shot just 22.7% (5-for-22) on 3-point attempts in the loss. They rank third in the ACC with a 36.7% clip from beyond the arc.
Dai Dai Ames leads the Golden Bears with 16.4 points per game, followed by Justin Pippen (14.7) and John Camden (14.2).
Georgia Tech is limping to the finish line ahead of its home finale. The Yellow Jackets, who were eliminated from ACC Tournament contention with their 10th straight loss Saturday against Florida State, are a loss away from matching the most conference defeats in a season in program history.
Georgia Tech never led in its 80-71 loss to the Seminoles and allowed at least 80 points for the eighth straight game. Head coach Damon Stoudamire’s team has dropped 10 of its 14 conference games by double figures.
With two games remaining, the Yellow Jackets are purely playing for pride.
“I’m going to come to work every day and do what I need to do,” Stoudamire said. “But what our guys have to realize is that, at some point, you’ve got to stand for something. It just means going out there, playing hard, giving maximum effort. That’s all I’m looking for in the next week.”
Playing his final game at McCamish Pavilion after three years in the program, Kowacie Reeves Jr. paces the Yellow Jackets with 14.8 points per game, while Baye Ndongo averages 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
