Two teams searching for answers will square off Saturday as Stanford hosts Georgia Tech in a battle of ACC programs trying to snap out of midseason funks.
For Stanford, the road through conference play has been rocky. The Cardinal come in riding a five-game losing streak, sitting at 14-9 overall and 3-7 in the ACC.
It’s not just the losses-it’s how they’ve unfolded. Since getting blown out by then-No.
6 Duke on Jan. 17, Stanford has dropped close ones to Cal, Miami, Florida State, and most recently, No.
20 Clemson.
Against Clemson, Stanford showed signs of life. They took a 32-30 lead into halftime and looked poised to pull off the upset.
But down the stretch, the Tigers capitalized on late-game miscues and some clutch free throws to escape with a 66-64 win. It was a gut-punch of a loss, but not without some silver linings.
“Tough one for our team because of the result, but our effort was good,” head coach Kyle Smith said postgame. “It would've been nice if we had a whistle go our way, but that didn't happen.
But this was definitely a better effort than we had in our last game. We've just got to get out of (this losing streak) somehow.”
Stanford’s offensive engine continues to be Ebuka Okorie, who’s averaging 21.6 points and 3.2 assists per game. He’s been the steady hand in an otherwise turbulent stretch, and the Cardinal will need another big outing from him if they want to stop the bleeding.
On the other side, Georgia Tech isn’t in much better shape. The Yellow Jackets have dropped four straight, falling to 11-12 overall and 2-8 in conference play.
Ironically, it was a loss to Clemson back on Jan. 24 that started their current slide. Now, they wrap up a two-game road swing through Northern California with hopes of salvaging a win.
Their most recent outing against Cal was a tale of two halves. Georgia Tech fell behind early, trailing 43-29 at the break, but found their offensive rhythm in the second half, pouring in 56 points.
Still, it wasn’t enough to overcome Cal’s hot shooting from deep. The Bears hit 52.2% from three-point range (12-for-23), while Georgia Tech managed just 34.5% from beyond the arc in a 90-85 loss.
“We played well enough to stay in a game. We didn’t win the margins to win the game,” head coach Damon Stoudamire said.
“Give (Cal) credit, they shot well from three. We didn’t do a great job in the first half.”
The Jackets were also dealing with some injury concerns. Leading scorer Kowacie Reeves Jr., who averages 15.1 points per game, was held scoreless in just six minutes of action, playing through an unspecified injury. In his absence, Akai Fleming stepped up off the bench, dropping 19 points-his first time leading the team in scoring since late November.
This matchup will be the second time these two programs have faced off since Stanford joined the ACC. Georgia Tech took the first meeting last February in Atlanta, 60-52. With both teams desperate to get back in the win column, expect a scrappy, high-effort game from two squads trying to rediscover their identity in a competitive ACC landscape.
Tipoff can’t come soon enough.