On Saturday, while enduring one of the toughest atmospheres in college basketball (Cameron Indoor Stadium), Georgia Tech might have earned more national respect in defeat (66-53) ... than its 11 seasonal victories combined.
What made the loss so appealing, moving forward?
Let us count thee ways:
a) Georgia Tech held No. 2 Duke to a season-low 27 points at halftime.
b) The Yellow Jackets allowed only 2 of 21 three-pointers against the Blue Devils. Their total defense was similarly stingy, with Duke barely shooting more than 41 percent from the field.
c) Georgia Tech's James Banks III might be the first player -- high school or college -- to dunk over freshman phenom Zion Williamson.
Citing the photo above (and the video below), Banks made the most of his four-point output; and it should be a lifetime memory, since Williamson stands as the consensus choice for the No. 1 overall pick in this summer's NBA draft.
(To be fair, Williamson wasn't in prime position to reject Banks' dunk ... but it's a posterized moment, nonetheless.)
d) For the first 25-plus minutes, Georgia Tech exposed a number of holes in Duke's defensive approach, namely with dribble-drive penetration deep into the paint ... and the Blue Devils' lack of rim protectors after Williamson.
The Zion was his typically beastly self at home, stuffing the stat sheet with the following numbers: 22 points (9 of 12 from the field), seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Fellow freshman R.J. Barret racked up 24 points and 11 rebounds. As a tandem, Barret and Williamson buried 17 of 28 shots from the field.
For every other Duke player, however, it was a ghastly total of seven field goals ... on 30 shots (23 percent).
Which brings us to this ...
e) The Ramblin Wreck's matchup-zone defense, essentially daring Duke to shoot from long range, should be the blueprint for all future Blue Devils opponents.
Now for the bad news: At this point in its development, Georgia Tech's roster has neither the talent, depth nor stamina to hang with Duke for a full 40 minutes.
With 14-plus minutes remaining in the game, Georgia Tech (11-9, 3-4 in ACC) owned a 38-31 lead and was seemingly poised to spring the upset.
However, within a flash, Duke (17-2, 6-1 in ACC) tightened up the defense, got more aggressive with pace and soon reaped the benefits of the changes in flow, forging a 35-12 spurt to close out the victory.