Aside from the near-seismic shock I felt when Florida State's 6'10", 350-pound Nigel Dixon fell on his back in the play-in game with Clemson, the thing that impressed me at the ACC Tournament was the play of Georgia Tech. Although the 17-12 record doesn't look impressive, wins over Kentucky, UCLA, Maryland and Virginia put this rag-tag team into the Big Dance. The win over UVA on Friday afternoon was another case of how. As in, How does this team do it?

"They just made enough plays to beat us," said Virginia coach Pete Gillen after the game. And that really sums it up. This is not a great team, but somehow it finds a way to win. Friday, the Jackets missed 11 free throws and got just six points from shooting guard Shaun Fein and still won. Saturday, they shot just 32% and still had a chance to beat North Carolina.

It was the play of a pirate that killed the Cavaliers. With his goatee and free-flowing 'fro, senior Darryl Labarrie resembles a buccaneer. Friday, LaBarrie had 13 points off the bench and hit a huge three with under a minute left. After the game, coach Paul Hewitt, who wore his credential from a belt loop all tournament (hey, Paul, we know who you are), shook the hands of several Tech fans in the stands -- a sort of victory lap -- then explained what he means when he describes LaBarrie as having an old man's game. "He's the guy you see at the YMCA. He looks a little disheveled, his shot doesn't look that good but he can play."

During this past off-season, Hewitt was always asking about the Tech players' pickup games. "I'd ask 'Who was on the longest?' " he says. "The answer that usually came back was 'Darryl'."

Asked about the "old man" designation, LaBarrie laughed. "I guess old men can play," he said. "Coach thinks I can get the job done. That's all that counts." John Gustafson is a senior reporter for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at john.gustafson@espnmag.com.