Georgia Tech struggles after Final Four season

ATLANTA - Jarrett Jack can't figure it out.

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He's still surrounded by nearly all the same teammates, the guys who helped carry Georgia Tech within one victory of a national championship, not to mention a promising freshman class.

Yet, with less than a month to go in the regular season, the Yellow Jackets find themselves perched on the dreaded "bubble" - more concerned with getting into the NCAA tournament than winning it all.

"If you look at last year and this year, I think this team is more talented from top to bottom," said Jack, Georgia Tech's point guard. "We've just got to know what it takes to get over the hump."

The Yellow Jackets (14-8) are clearly one of the country's most disappointing teams, beginning the season ranked No. 3 in the country but now sitting below.500 (5-6) in the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference.

While ACC rivals Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest have lived up to the hype, Georgia Tech has slipped out of the spotlight with six losses in its last nine games. The latest setback was an ugly 53-51 loss to North Carolina State, a conference back-marker that completed a season sweep of the Yellow Jackets.

"We definitely have the pieces at every position to match up well with any team in the country," Jack said after Sunday night's game. "That's what makes it so frustrating. We have what it takes and we know what it takes to get it done."

A year ago, coach Paul Hewitt guided this team on a magical run through the NCAA tournament. The Yellow Jackets reached the Final Four for only the second time in school history, making it all the way to the championship game before losing to Connecticut.

Georgia Tech lost only two players of significance from that team, starting guard Marvin Lewis and backup forward Clarence Moore. When compared with those coming back - seniors B.J. Elder, Luke Schenscher, Will Bynum, Isma'il Muhammad and Anthony McHenry, along with Jack, a junior and three-year starter - the Yellow Jackets seemed primed for another long run in the NCAA tournament.

Now, it's no guarantee they'll even make the field, a most improbable scenario for a team that was ranked so high in the preseason.

Georgia Tech will likely need to win at least two more games to earn tournament consideration, but the remaining schedule is rather daunting: road games at Florida State, Miami and No. 5 Wake Forest, along with a home game against seventh-ranked Duke.

The only surefire win on the schedule appears to be a home game against Clemson to close the regular season.

"Fourteen wins is not going to get us into the tournament," Hewitt said.

So what's gone wrong?

-Injuries. Elder, the team's most dangerous offensive player, missed nine games because of a lingering hamstring problem. Freshman Jeremis Smith dislocated a kneecap early in the season and just returned to the court in the past week.

-Turnovers. The Yellow Jackets rank near the bottom of the conference in turnover margin and were especially sloppy with the ball in their last three games, giving it up 18 times against both Duke and N.C. State and 24 times in a victory over Clemson.

-Intangibles. They always say it's tougher to stay at the top than get there. Georgia Tech can't sneak up opponents anymore, and it's often difficult for players to maintain the same intensity after a surprisingly successful season. Even the most minuscule drop-off can make a major difference in the won-loss record.

The Yellow Jackets also seem to be lacking the sort of fiery leader who can take the rest of the team to task for its lackluster play. If anything, these guys seem to like each other a little too much.

In the loss to N.C. State, Hewitt admonished his players to become, well, selfish.

"Coach told us to look at the basket a little more," Jack said. "We're probably focused on making the extra pass a little too much."

Hewitt won't go into specifics about his team's troubles, saying it would only sound like he's making excuses. Instead, he keeps telling his players that there's still time to turn things around.

"We're all disappointed. There's no question about that," he said. "But we don't really have any choice here. We've got to keep moving forward."

Jack isn't giving up.

"I still have faith in my guys," he said. "I'm not going to give up on them until the last game of the season."

If the Yellow Jackets keep playing like this, that last game will come much sooner than anyone would have expected.