NEW YORK — Georgia Tech took advantage of a sub-par Emeka Okafor and stunned No. 1 Connecticut 77-61 Wednesday night to reach the finals of the Preseason NIT.
The victory put the Yellow Jackets (4-0) in Friday night's championship game against Texas Tech, which used a grueling defense to wear down Utah 65-54 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Okafor, the leading vote-getter on the preseason All-America team, was doubtful for the game with back spasms and missed a timeout huddle early, stretched out on the floor as a UConn assistant worked on him. He was clearly hurting, often running gingerly from one end of the court to the other.
He finished with 13 points on 2-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds and six blocks after averaging 19 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in the first three games of the season.
With Connecticut's inside game vulnerable, Georgia Tech attacked relentlessly as Isma'il Muhammad and B.J. Elder took turns scoring baskets in bunches. Each finished with 22 points.
UConn (3-1) started out fast, scoring the game's first six points including dazzling dunks by Okafor and Taliek Brown. But by the time Ben Gordon had converted an alley-oop pass from Brown for another spectacular basket, Georgia Tech had jumped into the lead.
The Huskies made just one of 10 3-point attempts and hit just 10 of 30 free throws with Okafor missing seven of 12.