Paul Hewitt's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Continue to Underachieve on the Road

Earlier today, Georgia Tech suffered a devastating 76-74 loss Saturday to the Maryland Terrapins. The Terp's Cliff Tucker hit a clutch three-pointer at the buzzer to seal the win. Good for Maryland and their coach Gary Williams, as they are just about assured of going to the Big Dance. Georgia Tech, on other hand, just can't get over the hump.

At 18-9, 6-7 in the ACC, the Jackets are the epitome of a bubble team. ACC teams Clemson, Florida State, Duke Virginia Tech, Maryland and Wake Forest have played themselves into the tournament if selections were made today. North Carolina and Virginia have played themselves out, but there Georgia Tech sits not knowing if they would be in or out.

With that in mind, I know it and you know it. We all know Georgia Tech is too talented to be in this position. It's the man on the bench, head coach Paul Hewitt, that continues to underachieve.

You can say there are one or two reasons why Georgia Tech lost Saturday. Gani Lawal was 2-8 from the free throw line, and the Jackets were 11-20 overall, a paltry 55 percent as a team. You can argue Georgia Tech played well and just had some bad luck, but I'm not buying it. This is bigger than a tough road loss to a good team.

This is a repeated pattern of losing on the road by Georgia Tech that just doesn't end. They've lost close games before on the road and they've been blown out. Sometimes they play well and sometimes they don't, but the bottom line is they keep losing.

Since 2006, the Yellow Jackets are 6-33 on the road in the ACC. That's the worst in the ACC during that time. Paul Hewitt today in the AJC said Georgia Tech was starting to play its best basketball of the year.

I'm not sure what Hewitt is watching, because I see a team that's lost four of its last six games. Recently, the Yellow Jackets lost another game on a buzzer beater on the road at Miami. Maybe Paul Hewitt feels snake bit by the two recent last second losses, but I don't feel sorry for him. I'm seeing the same thing that I've seen for the last five years. Hey Paul, how about putting together some wins to get this ultra talented team into the NCAA's?

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