Georgia Tech 57
NC State 54
NC State may have lost today’s ACC semifinal game against Georgia Tech back in January of this 2009 when then high school stud recruit, Derrick Favors, ultimately picked Georgia Tech over NC State.
Freshman forward Derrick Favors scored 17 points to lead the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets to a 57-54 win and into the final against top-seeded Duke.
The 11th-seeded Pack was able to withstand the size mismatches against Clemson and FSU but it can’t get the same outside shots (6-26 from 3-point range) and couldn’t contain Favors, who scored five points in a critical sequence.
If Favors’ decision and ultimate presence for the Yellow Jackets didn’t do it alone, the Wolfpack’s atrocious free throw shooting certainly aided the cause. On the afternoon, the Wolfpack shot just 10 of 19 from the free throw line, including misses on the front end of multiple one and one opportunities.
The play of the game clearly happened as described below:
Favors’ step-out jumper at 2:50 gave GT a 47-46 lead it held for the remainder of the game. Favors was grabbed on a breakaway by Javier Gonzalez, after Gonzalez turned the ball over at midcourt, and he scored three points on the intentional foul free throw and the ensuing possession.
