When you take a peek at the ACC Standings you see the usual teams in the top 6.

Maybe to some Clemson is a surprise but they are a deep and extremely talented team this season. However, above Duke and UNC in the standings in the middle of January you see Georgia Tech. Yes, Georgia Tech is 3-1 in the ACC, and for the first time since their Final Four season in 2003-04, they are multiple games over .500. A team that lost to the likes of Wright State and Grambling State now sits in the third place in the ACC in the middle of January with wins of Notre Dame and Miami. What has changed for the Jackets? Can they keep it up?

About a month ago I wrote an article about what Georgia Tech needed to do to get back on track. One of them was getting healthy. Ever since Josh Okogie returned, the Jackets have turned a corner. Okogie has come back and picked up where he left off last season.

Ben Lammers still has yet to get back to his 2016-17 self, but with double doubles in the last two games he is getting back to that. Lammers is also getting his hands on more passes now that he is able to move and jump around better which leads to why Georgia Tech is forcing more turnovers and earning some “hustle points”.

The rebounding has been much better in the ACC play. The team is doing better job on the glass on both sides.

The road ahead for the Jackets is a daunting one as three of the next four games are against ranked opponents: #2 UVA, #15 UNC, and #20 Clemson. The other game is against a FSU team who just fell out of the top 25 this past week. The good news? Two of those three ranked games are at home in the Thriller Dome including the game Thursday night against #2 UVA. Should the Jackets even split these next four, it would boost their tournament hopes. So are the Jackets for real? We are about to find out.

Bret Anderson | @Bret_A27

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