Technical Tidbits 12/15

Georgia Tech head basketball coach Brian Gregory thinks that the current team is much better overall than the 2014 team which won just 12 games, writes The Macon Telegraph. It is easy to examine the overall record of 6-2 and proclaim this until you realize that last season's team started off the abysmal season with an identical record; the early goings of college basketball season just doesn't tell us enough about a team to draw conclusions. What can help us draw positive conclusions, however, is the fact that nearly every player on the team looks improved over last year. Everyone from current team MVP Charles Mitchell to the always reliable Marcus Georges-Hunt have improved their respective games and the results are showing so far.

In fact, tonight's game against VCU will be the best opportunity so far this season for Brian Gregory to really test the mettle of his 2015 team. The game, which tips off at 9 o'clock at McCamish Pavilion, will pit the 6-2 Jackets against the 5-3 Rams in what will be just the ninth game of the post-Shaka Smart era at VCU -- the successful coach left over the offseason to take the same job at Texas. VCU, despite a 5-3 record, has been a perennial tournament team in recent years and deserves a lot of respect and preparation. Georgia Tech will have to go out and claim this win if the Jackets hope to win game number seven of the campaign. Looking ahead to the Georgia game just a few days later would spell disaster for the team's chance at a win.

As it turns out, Georgia Tech's miraculous victory over Florida State back in October may have done more than just provide a fantastic memory for football fans everywhere -- it very well could have changed the landscape of the college football playoff. Had Florida State beaten Tech and Clemson, the Noles would almost certainly have been in the final four with another undefeated record. Had they beaten just Tech and not Clemson, there still would have a small chance of a second consecutive appearance for Jimbo's squad. The second scenario in particular is not likely, but it's just some food for thought. Yay! Tech did have an impact after all!

SB Nation awarded the inaugural Piesman Trophy the other day, an award which celebrates the accomplishments of big men in football. This year's winner was Southeastern Louisiana's Ashton Henderson, whose seismic scoop and score was certainly worth celebrating. I saw SB Nation promote this event earlier in the season but had no idea that they would be having an actual award ceremony in New York City with the candidates and everything. Move over, Derrick Henry. Your award is now irrelevant. It is the dawn of the era of the Piesman.

Will the 2015 basketball team be able to keep up its success or will ACC play claim yet another season?