Georgia Tech vs. Pittsburgh
Saturday, February 19, 2022 | 7 p.m. ET | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Petersen Events Center
Television: ACC Network
Play-by-Play: Mike Monaco | Analyst: Randolph Childress
Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 383, SiriusXM app 973 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra | Analyst: Randy Waters
THE FLATS – Looking ahead to an NBA-style back-to-back road trip, Georgia Tech travels North this weekend to play a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games, first against resurgent Pittsburgh for a 7 p.m. contest Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center. It is the only scheduled meeting between the two teams this season.
Tech (10-15 overall, 3-11 ACC) has lost its last three games, to Miami (79-70) and Virginia (63-53) on the road, and NC State (76-61) at home, and fallen into last place in the ACC. The Jackets are looking for their first win since defeating Clemson at home (69-64) on Feb. 5, and also own wins at Boston College on Jan. 12 (81-76) and Florida State (75-61) at home on Jan. 26.
Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the reigning ACC Tournament MVP and the conference’s No. 3-leading scorer (18.58 points per game), No. 5 three-point shooter by volume (2.46 per game) and No. 3 by percentage (38.1), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Pittsburgh (11-16 overall, 6-10 ACC), conversely, has won its last three games to vault into 10th place in the conference standings. Two of those wins have come on the road at Florida state (56-51) and North Carolina (76-67) sandwiched around a homecourt victory over NC State (71-69). Pitt also has defeated Boston College, Louisville and Syracuse this season.
Saturday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live stream available through the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), and on satellite radio (XM channel 383, SiriusXM app 973).
Another milestone for @mdevoe0 as he passes John Salley for 15th on the all time scoring list!#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/N3qSBtgUGw
— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) February 17, 2022
THE OPENING TIP
- Great White North Tour – The Pittsburgh game begins a stretch of three games in five days for Georgia Tech, who will travel directly to Syracuse to play the Orange Monday night at 7 p.m. to make up a game postponed from Dec. 29 due to COVID issues. Tech returns home after Syracuse to face surging Virginia Tech Wednesday night at 9 p.m.
- Once around – Tech’s game at Pittsburgh is part of a four-game stretch against teams the Yellow Jackets will face just once this season, including Virginia (last Saturday), NC State (Wednesday) and Syracuse (Monday). The Jackets then finish the regular season with rematches against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Clemson and Boston College (the Jackets went 2-2 against those teams the first time around).
- On the road – Georgia Tech is 2-5 in road games this season, 1-5 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets have four road games among their remaining six in the regular season. Pitt is 8-8 at home this season, 4-3 in conference games.
- Dynamic duo – Georgia Tech seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher have accounted for 47.1 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring this season, and as the top two assist purveyors on the team, have had a hand in 68.2 percent of Tech’s field goals made. Those numbers for ACC games are similar (46.1, 69.1). In Tech’s 10 wins, however, they account for just 41.4 percent of the Jackets’ points; in Tech’s three ACC wins: 34.6 percent.
- Grand theft basketball – The Jackets rank No. 2 in the ACC in turnovers forced against conference opponents (14.00 per game) and also are No. 2 in steals (9.07). Tech’s last eight ACC foes (Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, Virginia) have coughed it up 119 times (14.9 per game), 78 of them takeaways for Tech.
- Eight lineups – Tech has utilized eight different starting lineups this season, and Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore are the only players to start all 25 games. Tech’s most frequent lineup has been the original one (Michael Devoe and Kyle Sturdivant at the guards, Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore at the forwards, Rodney Howard at center), which the Jackets used for six of the first eight games and the last six before Virginia.
- Iron Mike – Senior guard Michael Devoe fell from the top spot in the ACC in scoring average for the first time this season after Tech’s game at at Boston College, but has remained steady as the league’s No. 3 scorer since when (18.58 points per game). Devoe is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point percentage (38.1), No. 5 in three-point field goals per game (2.46) and No. 6 in minutes.
- Climbing the ladder – Michael Devoe passed two more Georgia Tech legends on its career scoring chart – John Salley (1,587 from 1982-86) and Bruce Dalrymple (1,588 from 1983-87) Tuesday night against NC State, reaching 15th place on the Yellow Jackets’ all-time scoring chart with 1,593 points. After beginning the season No. 36 in career points at Tech, Devoe has passed such Tech luminaries as Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Jarrett Jack, Michael Maddox, Tico Brown, Marvin Lewis, Anthony Morrow, Lenny Horton, former teammate Jose Alvarado and Kenny Anderson. Next on the list is B.J. Elder, star of Tech’s 2004 NCAA runner-up team and currently Tech’s director of player personnel, who scored 1,616 points from 2001-05 and holds 14th place.
- Freshmen rising – Kick-started by strong performances against Clayton State, Tech freshmen Deebo Coleman and Miles Kelly have combined to average 11.5 points and hit 24-of-54 shots (44.4 percent) from three-point range combined over Tech’s last eight games.
- Rad Rodney – Center Rodney Howard has put together his best two back-to-back games this season in Tech’s last two games, scoring 24 points (12-of-15 from the floor) with 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in Tech’s games against Virginia and NC State.
- Sturdy Sturdivant – Kyle Sturdivant has a 30:10 assist/turnover ratio over Tech’s last 12 games. The junior guard has averaged 7.3 points with four double-digit efforts and six turnover-free games over that stretch.
Never stop working #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/XCrrwgbGwE
— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) February 17, 2022
SERIES NOTES VS. PITTSBURGH
- Pittsburgh won the first three meetings between the two teams after the Panthers became members of the ACC, but the Yellow Jackets have come back to win five of the last eight to even the series since Pitt joined the conference.
- Tech won the only meeting between the two teams in the 2020-21 season by a 71-65 score in Atlanta, making it two straight wins in the series.
- Tech’s 73-57 win in its final home game of the 2019-20 campaign was the widest margin of victory for either team since Pitt joined the ACC. Eight of the 10 meetings as ACC foes have been decided by eight points or less.
- The teams have played home-and-away only twice since the Panthers joined the ACC, only once this season as well.
- Tech won the first five games in the series, prior to Pitt’s entry into the ACC, all of which took place between 1966 and 1989.
- The two most entertaining games between Tech and the former Big East member played in the same month of the 1989-90 season, when the Yellow Jackets were on the way to their second ACC title and first Final Four appearance. Bobby Cremins and Paul Evans were the respective head coaches at the time.
- Tech overcame an early 26-5 deficit to win the ACC/Big East Challenge game in Hartford in early December, getting 42 points from Dennis Scott, including the game-winner with 8 seconds left. Later in the month, the Panthers came to Atlanta for a Kuppenheimer Classic game at the Omni, and Tech won the game without head coach Bobby Cremins, who was attending his father’s funeral. Kenny Anderson recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 18 assists.
- Tech scored easy wins over Pitt in the first three games of the series, all under head coach Whack Hyder, two of which were played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Tech campus.
- Tech is 4-1 against the Panthers’ current head coach, Jeff Capel, having scored an 86-65 victory over VCU during the 2003-04 season when Capel was the Rams’ head coach.
.@Callmeush 💪 pic.twitter.com/rClrVjuKR6
— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) February 16, 2022
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 2021 after finishing fourth in the regular season. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, winning four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), playing in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and playing 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. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
