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I think I speak for hundreds of thousands frustrated car drivers here when I say this ...

I just don't understand Atlanta traffic.

I was down here at the end of January for a 9 p.m. game between Wake and Tech. I left my hotel near the airport, south of the city, at around 6 p.m. I figured traffic wouldn't be a problem since I was headed into the city at the end of the day, pulling the old reverse commute.

Wrong. About 10 miles and two hours later I staggered into Alexander Memorial Coliseum for the game.

Fast forward to today. 7 p.m. game between Duke and GT. At another hotel near the airport (a moderate upgrade from my Day's Inn debacle, by the way). After my experience last time, I'm feeling pretty nervous when I can't set out for the airport until 4 p.m. If traffic into the city was horrible at 6 p.m., it's going to be doubly bad at 4 p.m. Right?

Wrong. Cruised through the city without a problem and ended up having to wait until the will-call booth actually opened.

So what, you might ask does this have to do with tonight's game? Easy. If you like similes, try this one: Georgia Tech is like Atlanta traffic. Impossible to figure out. Sometimes it's a breeze to face. Sometimes it's a tremendous headache.

Tonight? I think the Yellow Jackets will be a headache for the Blue Devils. It's B.J. Elder's fourth game back in the lineup, so he should be rounding into form. Plus, the Jackets know they got tremendously lucky in their win over FSU. Maybe that scared them straight. And Luke Schenscher - remember him? - actually had 12 second half points against the Seminoles. The last time he played consistently well Georgia Tech found itself in the national title game.

Am I predicting such greatness for the Jackets tonight? If you've read this blog recently you know I've dropped out of the prediction business after being unerringly wrong too many times in a row. I'll just say this - I wouldn't really consider it to be much of an upset if Tech pulls out the win tonight.