Gone is November

SAN ANTONIO — Back in November, Georgia Tech beat Connecticut 77-61 in the semifinals of the preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden. The relevance of that game seems so negligible tonight there might as well be two different teams suiting up for the rematch in the NCAA championship game at the Alamodome.

Which, in a sense, there are.

“It seems like a lifetime ago,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said.

“None of the past is gonna dictate [tonight],” Georgia Tech guard Marvin Lewis said.

Much has changed since November. Guard B.J. Elder continues to be slowed by a sprained ankle, but Georgia Tech (28-9) has improved. Center Luke Schenscher has become a major inside presence. The Yellow Jackets didn’t have injured forward Theodis Tarver, who adds depth to the frontcourt, or guard Will Bynum, a transfer from Arizona who became eligible at midseason and provided an immediate jolt of offense.

And lately, heroics.

The Yellow Jackets, the No.3 seed in the St. Louis regional, have won their five tournament games by a total of 23 points. The largest victory margin, seven over Kansas, was in overtime. Bynum has hit the winning or decisive basket in the last three games, including a layup with one second remaining in the 67-65 victory over Oklahoma State in the national semifinals Saturday. UConn (32-6), the No.2 seed in the Phoenix regional, came back to beat Duke 79-78 in the other semifinal.

“If you’ve been watching the tournament,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said, “you know what Will Bynum means to this team.”

In November, Georgia Tech was unranked. UConn was the preseason No.1 pick, led by the preseason choice for national player of the year, 6-10 junior center Emeka Okafor. That one loss raised questions about UConn, which beat Utah in its next game and dropped to third in the polls.

It also was the first game in which Okafor showed the effects of a stress fracture in his back. Hampered by spasms, Okafor managed to block six shots. But he also made just two of 10 shots from the field and had nine points. Even though Okafor played 34 minutes, Calhoun said “we didn’t have” him.

UConn also wasn’t getting much from sophomore swingman Rashad Anderson, who has started 10 of the last 11 games and made the all-regional team in Phoenix and whose 16 3-point baskets in the tournament is a Huskies record.

And the Huskies were getting nothing from freshman forward Charlie Villanueva, who was not yet eligible. Villaneuva adds another big body up front. While Okafor was resting his back during the Big East tournament, Villanueva filled in admirably as UConn won two games.

And it didn’t help that the Huskies shot 37.9 percent from the field and made just 10 of 30 free throws against the Yellow Jackets.

“We played great defense that day,” Hewitt said.

“I know we got hit pretty good,” Calhoun said. “I know they ran us off the floor. I still have that feeling. … Both teams have changed dramatically, I think, in a lot of ways.”

After losing all-conference center Chris Bosh to the NBA and forward Ed Nelson, who transferred to UConn of all places, Georgia Tech started 12-0. Then the Yellow Jackets hit a few bumps. They went 9-7 in the ACC and sensed their public (though not their self) esteem had declined.

Even now, the college basketball world doesn’t seem to be sold on the Yellow Jackets. Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said after the loss he believed his team was better.

“We’re the team moving on,” sophomore playmaker Jarrett Jack said. “They’re going home.”

Georgia Tech’s success has been marked by uncommon unselfishness and aggressive defense. Calhoun raved about the Yellow Jackets’ passing and how Hewitt has molded an aggressive squad with just one big man (Schenscher) and a lot of quick athletes around him.

“When you score on them, they attack you as well as any team in the country,” Calhoun said. “They take it as a personal affront.”

But Georgia Tech again is the underdog.

Okafor, a unanimous All-American whose 18-point performance in the second half against a foul-plagued Duke frontline will go down in NCAA tournament lore, is healthy. Anderson is now a factor. Guard Ben Gordon is a dynamic scorer, and freshman forward Josh Boone, who kept UConn in the game against Duke with seven points and 11 rebounds in the first half, “does an awful lot of terrific things for us,” Calhoun said.

By all accounts, the Huskies are poised to win a second championship for Calhoun, who got his first in 1999. In his 32 years as a coach, he said he hasn’t had a team that required “less maintenance.”

“All they really want to do is show up and work as hard as they possibly can every day,” Calhoun said. “They want to win. They want to compete, and they have great self belief.”