Yellow Jackets hold off NC State to make ACC final

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Favors registered 17 points and eight rebounds, as Georgia Tech overcame sloppy play down the stretch to get by NC State, 57-54, and advance to the ACC Tournament final.

Gani Lawal posted 12 points and 10 rebounds and D'Andre Bell scored nine for the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-11), who advanced to play Duke for the championship.

Tech, considered to be on the bubble, took down North Carolina in the opening round and may have done enough with Friday's quarterfinal win over Maryland to get to the NCAA Tournament should they fall short against the Blue Devils on Sunday, when the Jackets aim for a fourth ACC Tournament title.

Tracy Smith recorded 15 points, while Javier Gonzalez and Scott Wood each scored nine for the 11th-seeded Wolfpack (19-15), who beat sixth-seeded Clemson and third-seeded Florida State to reach the semis.

NC State shot a lackluster 30 percent in the first half, including a 1-for-12 showing from three-point range, to end with just 19 points and a 10-point deficit after 20 minutes.

The Wolfpack regrouped early in the second half and embarked on a go-ahead 12-0 run, capped by a pair of three-pointers from Gonzalez for a 36-33 game nearly six minutes in.

The lead stuck until Iman Shumpert put in back-to-back buckets for Tech, tying the game at 40 with just under nine minutes left.

The two sides played to within a possession down the stretch run until the Yellow Jackets produced a crucial 8-0 run to gain control with 1:27 to play. Favors scored five of those points and his layup to cap things off made it 52-46.

NC State had a chance to take the lead, though, thanks to a lack of closing skills on Georgia Tech's part.

C.J. Williams' tip-in preceded Glen Rice Jr. making just 1-of-2 at the line, and after the Jackets inexplicably sent State to the line twice in the final minute, Gonzalez drained a three after Shumpert missed both his free throws for a sudden 55-54 game with 12.4 seconds showing.

Bell made two clutch free throws on the other end, but the Wolfpack still had a chance for a tying three on the final possession. Gonzalez got a decent look from beyond the right elbow, but his shot caught the back of the rim just before time expired.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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