After the team's 69-43 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire said that his team, "didn't play well and we gotta get ready for the tournament. We have to get better at playing on the road, and it doesn't matter if it's at a neutral site game."
Specifically in the game against Wake Forest, Stoudamire said that the team loss can be attributed to the lack of physicality in the game.
That is true though, as the Demon Deacons would outrebound the Yellow Jackets 42-40, but perhaps something that the box score will not show is that the Yellow Jackets had to fight harder for their rebounds that they did get due to the physicality of Wake forest big men Elfton Reid III and Tre'Von Spillers.
Elfton III would finish the game with 13 rebounds and a double double.
Heading into the tournament, the Yellow Jackets will need to be more physical down low, as aside from Baye Ndongo, the team has not had another big man step up inside the paint, with Ibrahim Souare still learning the college game in his freshman season, and Duncan Powell being more of a perimeter threat in the second half of the season, which leaves Ndongo all alone inside the paint to try to fight for rebounds.
Ndongo has been a great presence in the paint for the Yellow Jackets, but ultimately, the team will have to rely on someone else to contribute as well on the defensive end if the Yellow Jackets want to see their season end in success.