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Yellow Jackets Face NC State Wolfpack in Key ACC Matchup

Brian Gregory has another opportunity to win back to back ACC games, and on the road at that. They will have to defeat a comparable ACC opponent in NC State.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The Yellow Jackets are set to take on the NC State Wolfpack today at 1pm on the road at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. This game will be televised on WATL-TV regionally in Atlanta, as well as ESPN3 online. Locally the game can be heard on 106.7 WYAY-FM and Sirius/XM ch. 85.

This is one of those ACC positional games that fans frequently pass over not giving much concern over. Take the 2012-13 season. The Jackets entered ACC play with a 10-2 record, followed by 5 straight ACC losses. They only ended up winning 6 total ACC matchups. The Jackets beat Wake Forest (twice), Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland and surprised #6 ranked Miami. And then, there were the SIX games that the Jackets lost to by less than 7- one being an overtime loss to VT and another was a missed Michael Snaer travel/potential push off, but who's dwelling in the past huh?? (Start at 1:36 and look at where his pivot starts and ends!!!) Georgia Tech finished 9th in the ACC, with a 6-12 record.

So how does this relate to today's game? Both teams have a 2-4 record in the ACC, with NC State ranked 9th and Tech 10th. This is one of those games that could be a 7 point loss or a 7 point win. This should be a close game. Just check out the stats:

Tech NC State
PPG 69.1 71.4
FG% 44 46
FT% 69.1 66.7
3PT% 30.3 28.8

I mean come on! Those are so similar. The Wolfpack beat Notre Dame and Maryland, got spanked by UVa and Duke and lost to Wake Forest by 1 point. This team has had a pretty similar season to Georgia Tech so far. Both teams have beaten the teams that they were expected to beat and lost to the stronger teams. Today, starting with the tip until the last second, these teams will be battling to gain another win that is honestly a toss up at this point in my opinion. I hope the Jackets can pull off a victory, but they will need to play their strong defensive game, control the ball and take good, open shots.

Do the Jackets have what they need to win their second ACC road game? Can Gregory finally get his first back to back ACC games?