Jackets on verge of bursting their bubble

ATLANTA - Bubble, bubble, Georgia Tech's in trouble.

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Sorry, Shakespeare, for borrowing, but the 2005 Georgia Tech men's basketball season is turning into a Macbeth-ian tragedy.

The underlying theme of Shakespeare's play is what initially appears good can turn out to be bad, and with two weeks left in the regular season, a veteran team expected to contend for a championship is in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

The Yellow Jackets are on the bubble.

They stand seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference heading into a 1:30 p.m. game today at Florida State (ABC-Ch. 6). At 14-8 overall and 5-6 in the ACC, the Jackets need some late-season wins to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Should their struggles continue, their only hope for a bid would be to win the ACC Tournament. Otherwise, Georgia Tech would become the first team since Syracuse in 1998 to reach the national title game one year and miss the tournament the next.

"We definitely need to string some wins together, but we don't want to get to a point where we're panicking," B.J. Elder said. "We need to have a sense of urgency, though."

To avoid panic, Elder and his teammates should ignore recent history. A .500 record in league play is almost a must for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament - it's been six years since a 7-9 team got in, while all but three of the past 59 teams that finished 8-8 or better have been invited into the field of 64.

Georgia Tech needs to win three of its final five games to reach .500. Three opponents after Florida State all rank ahead of the Jackets in the standings - Duke, which visits Atlanta on Wednesday; Miami, which plays host to the Jackets next Saturday; and Wake Forest.

Coach Paul Hewitt knows the history and understands his team's situation. The Yellow Jackets lack quality wins - their only victory over a team sure to make the NCAA field came against Wake Forest.

The Jackets lost to several tourney locks, including out-of-conference foes Gonzaga and Kansas. Just playing those opponents helps their RPI, a key ingredient in the NCAA Tournament selection process.

"The general rule is, if you win 17 or 18 games, that gets you in," Hewitt said. "But with everything going on nationally, I don't have a feel for how many wins it will take to get in."

Reach Adam Van Brimmer at adam.vanbrimmer@morris.com.