Latest loss may prove costly

ATLANTA - Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt takes issue with the term "bad loss" when it comes to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

He couldn't make a persuasive argument against it Sunday. Even he had to agree this wasn't good.

The Yellow Jackets' 53-51 defeat at home to N.C. State was as bad as it gets. Certainly bad enough to deliver the preseason No. 3 team in the country and returning NCAA finalist into the category of bubble team with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

"This loss would be disappointing regardless of what the scenario is," Hewitt said.

There is no way to sugar coat this. Georgia Tech came home as healthy as its been all season and fresh off its first conference road victory at Clemson. There was reason to believe that a corner might have been turned and a late-season run could carry the Jackets back among the nation's elite.

Then came the N.C. State debacle.

We're talking a bad N.C. State team here. We're talking a team with a returning ACC Player of the Year who isn't likely to get enough votes for the second team this year. We're talking a team with a coach in jeopardy of losing his job even after beating Georgia Tech for the sixth consecutive time.

How bad is N.C. State? In the latest RPI rankings that weigh so heavily in determining the NCAA Tournament field, the Wolfpack entered the game 117th. N.C. State's strength of schedule is 131st.

When you look at Georgia Tech at 30th in the RPI, 24th in schedule strength and playing in front of its home crowd with a chance to get over .500 and tied for fourth in the ACC, you assume a certain edge.

Georgia Tech doesn't have that edge. At some point after its semifinal victory over Oklahoma State last April, the Yellow Jackets lost that edge. The sum of the team's collective parts is somehow short of its total. The scratch-your-head answer for this team is that they simply don't have it, whatever it is. And it's uncertain if they can find it in time to avoid that unhappy road to the NIT.

Even they don't have any answers to the riddle they've become.

"Coach and I had an interesting conversation last week," said junior point guard Jarrett Jack. "If you look at this team and last year's team top to bottom, we're more talented this year at every position. ... We definitely have all the pieces. That's what makes it more frustrating."

Something has obviously been lost in translation. These Jackets aren't coming anywhere close to their potential. and time is running out. Instead of 6-5 and in a three-way tie for fourth, they're 5-6 and in a two-way tie for sixth with a Virginia Tech team that handed the Jackets an equally humbling defeat last month.

"I'm a little perplexed, but we've just got to keep moving forward," Hewitt said.

They certainly can't look back. Sunday night was a total bust. B.J. Elder made his first appearance at Alexander Memorial in 2005, and his chance for heroics clanked off the rim with his last-second 3-point attempt. This after Jack slipped and fell and allowed Tony Bethel to drive for the go-ahead basket.

So much went wrong against N.C. State before the final fateful seconds. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over 18 times. They went a woeful 1-for-14 from 3-point range. Yet, they yielded only 10 points to in the final 13:32 - AND STILL LOST.

That is the story of the season for the Jackets. They just completed their first unranked week since November 2003, and now they have to fight from being forgotten when the NCAA releases its field of 65 in March. Their margin for error is down to nothing.

"Am I disappointed with some of the losses? Yes," Hewitt said. "But I wouldn't characterize this team as a disappointment. I still enjoy coaching these guys, and this team practices as well as any team that I've been around. Any theories I could give you are just excuses, so I'd rather not."

There is no good excuse for it. Only bad losses.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.