Technical Tidbits 9/13: Conference basketball schedule released, Searcy continues breakout season

Georgia Tech's 2016 men's basketball conference schedule was released yesterday, and it features as tough a stretch as you'll find anywhere in the country to kick off Josh Pastner's tenure on The Flats. ACC play kicks off with a home matchup versus North Carolina, followed by a trip up to Durham for a game against Duke and another home game versus Louisville. From there it goes Clemson, NC State, Virginia Tech, and Virginia before getting a bit easier shortly thereafter. If this team is going to be as bad as it has the potential to be, that could very well be a quick 0-6 to start conference play. Depending on how much better Boston College is, Tech could even be looking at a winless season overall versus the conference. On paper, they are simply not good enough to compete in any facet of the game with the best conference in college basketball.

Georgia Tech's coaching staff named Qua Searcy, Patrick Gamble, and Chase Alford the players of the week following their solid performances in Tech's win over Mercer. Searcy, who has now claimed the honor for two straight weeks, has been almost unquestionably the best player on the field through two games; he'd be my pick for team MVP if the season ended today. Everything from his pass-catching abilities to his obscene moves in space make him a threat every time he touches the ball. That type of play-making ability was clearly absent last season following Searcy's broken ankle against Notre Dame and likely contributed to the generally stale performance by the offense. Don't discredit what a player of his caliber means for Paul Johnson's scheme.

If the 2016 football season ended today, by some evil sorcery or the outbreak of World War III, the playoff picture very well could look like this: Alabama, Florida State, Clemson, and Houston. That's right, two ACC schools and a group of five school would be in the playoff for the first time ever along with the always-boring Crimson Tide. That's not in accordance with the AP Poll, which features Michigan and Ohio State instead of Houston and Clemson, but it's a compelling thought nonetheless. Honestly, anything that doesn't feature Alabama is compelling to me. Are their own fans not tired of winning at this point? I think I might be, to be perfectly honest. Thankfully we have no such problems in Atlanta.

Have a great Tuesday!