2014 ACC Tournament Preview: A look at Georgia Tech’s road in Greensboro

Mar 4, 2014; Syracuse, NY, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brian Gregory and the bench react to a score during the second half of a game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Georgia Tech won the game 67-62. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

After ending the season on practically the highest note possible, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are preparing to shock the world with a deep run into the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

With 15 teams now in the conference, the task is going to be tougher than ever, but Georgia Tech is actually one of the better teams to play on Wednesday, which is something. After getting the No. 11 seed in the tournament, the Jackets will play their first game Wednesday at 7:00 against No. 14 Boston College–a team that Tech has already beaten twice this season. The game is going to be televised on ESPN 2.

Here is the full schedule/bracket for the tournament:

If the Jackets wind up getting past the first round and get the opportunity to play on Thursday, they get another solid match up. Out of the 5, 6 and 7 seeds that are playing Thursday, Tech would be paired up with No. 6 Clemson. While the Jackets lost twice to Clemson this year, both games were fairly close and the Tigers are definitely a beatable team–especially if Georgia Tech can keep up their recent form.

If the Yellow Jackets are able to get past the Tigers as well, they’ll come up with their first “no way” matchup. Georgia Tech certainly won’t be favored against Clemson, but no one should be shocked if they are able to get a win against them. If the Jackets upset Duke on Friday though, it will be extremely similar to how everyone was feeling after Tech upset Syracuse last Tuesday. The Blue Devils recently beat up on North Carolina at home, and their 3-point shooting was back on track. If Duke is able to shoot as well as they did then (50.9 percent from the field) and/or Jabari Parker goes off, there’s really not much the Jackets can do.

But it is possible. Duke’s been fairly streaky this year and if they aren’t sinking shots from outside, they’re certainly a beatable team. When they are shooting though, they have the talent to beat any team in the country.

After that game, there’s no telling who the Jackets could play on Saturday (probably Syracuse) but we’ll have to get into that more if the situation plays out like this.

Needless to say, the road will be long and difficult for Brian Gregory’s team. They’ve shown some glimpses of excellence–especially recently, which is a good thing–but they are going to need to put together a complete game on both sides of the court repeatedly this week if they have any intentions of briging home some silverware.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) for more information throughout the tournament and stick around for recaps after the games. I’m also going to be in Greensboro for the tournament while working for ACCSports.com so we’ll have a presence at the tournament all week. Stay tuned.