It's GT-FSU 3.0 for the ACC Tournament Title
Georgia Tech split with #15 Florida State during the regular season with each team winning their home game. The Jackets are just 2-5 under Josh Pastner against the Seminoles, but Tech has been a thorn in Leonard Hamilton's side with several tough games and close games including both games this season.
Both teams benefitted from covid forfeits on their way to the game as Florida State avoided a third-round matchup with a hot Duke team and Tech avoided playing top-seeded Virginia in the semi-finals due to covid issues with the Cavs.
"We're moving to the championship game and it's a great opportunity. It's 8:30 on ESPN, primetime Saturday night. It means more exposure for Georgia Tech. There is no downside So let's try to go win the game. Yes, you want to win the game tonight (the Virginia game) to have gotten there, technically, but we're just in a crazy year and this is just how it is and you got to and you have an opportunity to play in the championship and try to take advantage of it," Pastner said.
"This is a scrappy team. I mean, they have exceeded everybody's expectations," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said of the Jackets after his team's game against UNC. "They're tough. They execute very well. They've got the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year on the same team. There's no doubt that they bring a lot of talent to the table. They play a different brand of zone defense, and they are as good a solid man-to-man defensive team as we'll face all year. We got our hat handed to us at their place, and we've got a tremendous amount of respect for them. And we know we need to be at our best in order to win tomorrow."
This will be Tech's first ACC Tournament Championship Game appearance since 2010 when they lost to Duke 65-61 in the Greensboro Coliseum. The Jackets' last ACC Tournament Championship came in 1993 in a rare blizzard during the ACC Tournament. MVP James Forrest led Tech as they defeated #1 North Carolina 77-75 in the championship game. That win was the only loss for Carolina after February 3 as the Tar Heels won the National Championship that year.
Ironically the 2021 ACC Tournament Championship game is the first one to not feature a North Carolina team since 1990 when the Jackets beat Virginia 70-61 and then proceeded to the Final Four before falling to eventual champs UNLV.