Jan. 24, 2017
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech returns home from a three-game road stretch to face two of the three teams tied for first-place in the Atlantic Coast Conference this week, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 6/8 Florida State Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion.
Complete Game Notes | Where to watch | Watch live on ACC Network Extra
Tech (11-8, 3-4 ACC), in its first season under head coach Josh Pastner, went 1-2 on its recent road trip, defeating NC State (86-76) before dropping close decisions at Virginia Tech (62-61) and No. 16 Virginia (62-49). Tech enters the week tied for eighth place in the ACC standings.
Florida State (18-2, 6-1 ACC) opens the week tied for first place with Notre Dame and North Carolina after defeating the 15th-ranked Fighting Irish and No. 12 Louisville at home last week. The Seminoles, who have won at Virginia and defeated Duke at home, have lost only at North Carolina.
Wednesday’s game will be aired on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Georgia), and will be streamed live online on the ACC Network Extra, available through the WatchESPN app. Radio coverage is provided by Tech’s flagship station, 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM), and is available via satellite radio (Sirius ch. 84, XM ch. 84).
STARTING FIVE
• Georgia Tech is in a midst of three straight games against teams ranked 16th or higher in the nation. The Yellow Jackets lost at No. 16 Virginia Saturday, and face No. 6 Florida State and No. 14 Notre Dame at home this week.
• Three keys for Tech – The Jackets are 11-1 this season when they shoot a better percentage from the floor, are 10-0 when scoring 70 points and 10-1 when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
• Ben Lammers’ +10.9 per game scoring average increase over the 2015-16 season is the second best in the ACC. But Tadric Jackson (+5.7) and Quinton Stephens (+5.7) also have posted impressive increases over last season. Josh Heath (+3.3) has more than doubled his 2015-16 average.
• Georgia Tech leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense vs. ACC teams, and ranks fifth in scoring defense. The Yellow Jackets rank 35th nationally vs. all opponents in field goal percentage defense, and 35th in adjusted defensive efficiency accoring to KenPom.com.
• Georgia Tech has shot 46.5 percent (100-for-215) from the floor in its last four games, 47.1 percent from three-point range (24-for-51).
SERIES NOTES
• Georgia Tech snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series with its 86-80 victory in Tallahassee last season, the teams’ only 2015-16 meeting. Tech’s last win over the Seminoles had occurred in Tallahassee on Feb. 13, 2007 by a score of 63-57.
• Going back to the team’s March 6, 2004 meeting, 10 of the 17 games have been decided by four or fewer points.
• The scores of 10 of the last 12 games were played with scores in the 50s or the 60s, with the exception of FSU’s 72-66 win on Feb. 10. 2011 in Atlanta and last year’s game. Tech has scored more than 66 points against FSU only twice.
• Since FSU joined the ACC, Tech is 18-25 against the Seminoles. Florida State won the first six in a row, Tech followed by winning five straight, and is 13-19 against the Seminoles since then.
• In those 43 games, 21 have been decided by four points or less, 32 by fewer than 10 points. One of those games went to double-overtime, which the Yellow Jackets won 111-108 on Feb. 11, 1999 in Tallahassee.
• Tech is 16-17 against the Seminoles in Atlanta, all but three of those games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• Tech is 7-13 against Seminoles teams led by head coach Leonard Hamilton. Tech is 8-13 against Hamilton overall, with a victory over his Miami team in December of 1997.
• Tech and Florida State were both members of the old Metro Conference from 1976-78, and the Seminoles won three of those four meetings.
PASTNER ON VIRGINIA’S LATE 1ST HALF RUN
“I think they [Virginia] got an offensive rebound in that section. They were up 29-28. We were right there. They’re a really good team, and we’ve been good all year answering runs. We didn’t answer that one. We’ve got to be able to score the ball, and we missed a lot of layups. It’s been a point of contention for us. We’ve got to continue to get better at it, work at it, and hope we put the ball in the basket in those situations.”
TRENDING…
• Tech started Heath, Lammers, Moore, Okogie and Stephens for the fifth straight game and have won two of those. It is the fifth different starting lineup used by the Jackets this season. Three Yellow Jackets – Ben Lammers, Josh Okogie and Quinton Stephens – have started every game this season.
• Tech trailed at the half for the seventh time this season (35-28), and for the first time in four games. The Yellow Jackets are 1-7 when trailing at the half this season.
• Tech’s 49 points was its second lowest offensive output of the season (43 vs. Georgia), but the Yellow Jackets shot 45.2 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range. The Cavaliers entered the game No. 1 in the ACC in field goal defense (38.0 pct.) and seventh in three-point defense (32.4 pct.).
• Tech held Virginia to its third-lowest point total of the year and eight points below its season scoring average entering the game (70.0 ppg).
• Tech held Virginia to 5-for-22 from three-point range; the Cavaliers came in No. 1 in three-point shooting (41.3 pct.).
• Virginia’s 45.8 percent from the floor overall was the best against the Jackets in five games, since Duke hit 55.7 percent. Tech came into the game first in the ACC in field goal percentage defense against conference foes and has allowed 41.5 percent this season.
• Nine out of Tech’s last 10 opponents have shot 40.6 percent from the floor or lower. Tech has held its ACC foes to 40.9 percent, and that includes a 55.7-percent game by Duke.
• Tech has shot 46.5 percent (100-for-215) from the floor in its last four games, 47.1 percent from three-point range (24-for-51).
• Tech went 4-for-9 from three-point range and is 20-for-39 in its last three games.
• Tech is now 1-8 this season when scoring less than 70 points. The Jackets are 10-0 when they score 70 or more.
• Tech lost the rebounding battle (32-24) for the second straight game. Virginia outscored Tech 9-0 on second-chance points.
• Tech blocked only one shot (by Quinton Stephens), tying a season low. The Yellow Jackets entered the game averaging 6.2 blocks per ACC game, 6.8 in all games this season (third in the nation).
• Tech has surpassed its nine steals against Virginia only twice this season.
• Pastner meter 1 (assists to made field goals): Tech assisted on 11 of 19 made field goals (57.9 pct.) vs. Virginia – 60 percent goal not accomplished. Tech is at 61.8 percent for the season, 66.5 percent in ACC games. Tech has 70 assists on 100 field goals (70 pct.) in its last four games.
• Pastner meter 2 (free throws made to opponents’ attempts): Tech made 7 of 12 free throws to Virginia’s 13 of 17 (goal of making more than opponent tries not accomplished). It was Tech’s poorest free throw performance in ACC games this season; the Yellow Jackets still maintain a 75.4-percent clip from the foul line in ACC games.
• Quinton Stephens matched his career high of 13 rebounds set last game at Virginia Tech. It was his sixth double-digit rebound game this season, and the 6-9 senior is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game for the season, 8.4 in ACC games.
• Over his last four games, Stephens is averaging 15.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists. He has hit 20-of-48 from the floor, 13-for-29 from three-point range, 9-for-12 from the free throw line.
• Ben Lammers was held under 10 points for just the second time this season (7 points with 7 rebounds). He went 3-for-12 from the floor and did not block a shot for the second time this season.
• Josh Okogie scored 14 points and reached double figures for the 15th time this season. Okogie went 4-for-6 from the free throw line and stands at 76.7 percent in ACC games, 75.7 percent overall.
• Okogie is Tech’s top scorer in ACC games at 16.9 points, and has shot 47 percent from the floor and is 7-of-14 from three-point range against conference foes.
• Justin Moore scored 10 points, his third double-digit game this season and second in an ACC game (11 at Duke). In between, Moore had scored a total of 11 points in four games. The 6-4 freshman went 5-for-6 from the floor with three assists and three steals with no turnovers against Virginia.
• Stephens played “just” 36 minutes against Virginia after never leaving the court at Virginia Tech and sitting for less than 30 seconds at NC State, Stephens and Ben Lammers (38 minutes at Virginia) are both averaging 36.3 minutes in ACC games.
• Josh Heath scored eight points (4-of-5 FG) with two assists and a steal but played just 25 minutes due to foul trouble. The 6-2 senior has averaged 8.3 points and 6.5 points over his last four games, hitting 14-of-19 shots from the floor.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its first year under head coach Josh Pastner. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993), played in the NCAA Tournament 16 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram.
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