THE FLATS – Closing out its regular-season schedule on the road, Georgia Tech visits NC State Wednesday evening for a 9 p.m. regionally-televised Atlantic Coast Conference basketball game at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.
Tech (13-17, 5-12 ACC), in its third season under head coach Josh Pastner, returned to the win column Sunday night with an 81-78 overtime victory over Boston College, the team immediately ahead of Tech in the ACC standings, in the Yellow Jackets’ home finale. The Jackets sit alone in 11th place in the standings, a half-game behind the Eagles and a half-game ahead of Miami and Wake Forest. Tech, 2-9 on the road this season, is looking for its second conference win on the road, having beaten Syracuse back on Jan. 12.
NC State (20-9, 8-8 ACC), in its second season under head coach Kevin Keatts, is looking to bolster its NCAA Tournament chances and secure a .500 conference record. The Wolfpack sit in eighth place in the ACC with a road game remaining at Boston College this weekend. NC State, 5-2 at home in the ACC, has won four of its last six games.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Georgia) and will be streamed live through the ESPN app. Radio coverage is provided on the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network, airing in Atlanta on 680 AM and 93.7 FM the Fan. The Tech broadcast is available on satellite radio (XM ch. 387, internet ch. 978).
Sound from head coach Josh Pastner
Sound from sophomore guard Jose Alvarado
Sound from sophomore forward Moses Wright
STARTING LINEUP
- Bye, bye – Georgia Tech’s regular season concludes with Wednesday night’s game; the Yellow Jackets have their scheduled bye this weekend as they wait to learn their opening round tip time and opponent in the ACC Tournament.
- Tuesday’s child – Only three games separate the bottom six teams in the ACC standings, with Boston College leading that group at 5-11, followed by Tech at 5-12, Miami and Wake Forest at 4-12, Notre Dame at 3-13 and Pittsburgh at 2-14. The Yellow Jackets own tiebreakers over every team in that group except Miami.
- Stacked – Seven ACC teams rank among the top 40 in KenPom.com’s offensive efficiency rankings (NC State is No. 26), and nine ACC teams rank among the top 40 in defensive efficiency. Four of those teams are ranked in the top 20 of both categories.
- Outpost – In an attempt to invigorate its offense, Georgia Tech returned to a one-post starting alignment for its last six games, with James Banks III starting in the middle with four perimeter players. It has helped produce the Yellow Jackets’ four highest point totals since Jan. 12 and three of its best shooting efforts since Jan. 22. Tech has averaged 64.2 points and hit on 34.8 percent of its three-point shots in its last six games, compared to 53.9 points and 23.8 percent on threes in the previous eight games.
- 50 (per) Cent – Tech has shot 50 percent or better in eight games this season, three during conference play, after connecting on 50.8 percent against Boston College. The Jackets shot 50 percent in six games last season (three ACC games), and five times (once in ACC play) in 2016-17.
- Hola again – Jose Alvarado has scored 99 points in Tech’s last five games (19.8 ppg), including a career-high 29 against Pittsburgh. In those five games, he has hit 32-of-63 from the floor, 12-of-28 from three-point range.
- I’ll be there for you – Jose Alvarado has played the full 40 minutes three times in Tech’s last seven games, (Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Miami). The sophomore has logged 12 complete games in his career, four this season. He played 44:17 of a possible 45 minutes in Sunday’s OT win over Boston College.
- Wholly Moses – Moses Wright arrives in his hometown for the first time as a Yellow Jacket playing the best basketball of his career. He has reached double figures in two of his last three games (19 vs. Miami, 10 vs. Boston College) and averaged 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in his last six games (he had scored just six points in the five games prior to that).
- Crack that whip – Michael Devoe is 28-for-59 from three-point range in Tech’s last 13 games. He had gone 12-for-43 in the first 17 games of the season.
- The Bank is open – James Banks has scored 29 points (12-of-18 FG) and grabbed 16 rebounds in his last two games.
- Tech tribunal – Alvarado, Devoe and Banks have each scored in double figures in the same game six times this season, and Tech has won four of those games. They combined for 45 of 69 points at Arkansas, 49 of 92 against Wake Forest, 43 of 63 in the first meeting against Notre Dame, and 59 of 81 against Boston College.
- Three’s the charm – Tech has averaged 7.6 threes and shot 34.2 percent from beyond the arc in its last seven games. In the five games before that, the Jackets shot 14-for-96 (14.6 pct.) from bonus range.
- Guard your yard – Georgia Tech ranks No. 8 in the ACC in scoring defense (69.8 ppg), No. 6 in field goal percentage defense (41.5 pct.) and No. 4 in three-point percentage defense (30.8 pct.) against conference opponents. Those rankings have dropped precipitously over the last six games as Tech has altered its playing rotations to emphasize offense.
- Youts are served – Georgia Tech’s seven freshmen and sophomores have played 67.6 percent of the minutes for Tech in ACC games.
- Going deep – Georgia Tech has deployed 12 different starting lineups this season. Eleven players have started three or more games, and 10 have started at least one ACC game.
- Longer bench – Tech’s reserves have played 33.7 percent of available minutes, No. 90 in the nation according to KenPom.com (national average is 30.7 pct.).
SERIES NOTES VS. NC STATE
- NC State has a 57-40 lead in the overall series which dates back to 1925. Georgia Tech has won three of the last four meetings, including 78-75 victory last March 1 at McCamish Pavilion in the teams’ only regular-season meeting of 2017-18.
- The Jackets are 11-31 against NC State in Raleigh, including a 4-11 mark at PNC Arena. However, the Yellow Jackets have won their last two games there, a 90-83 win on Jan. 27, 2016 and an 86-76 decision on Jan. 15, 2017, Josh Pastner’s first ACC road win at Tech’s head coach.
- Pastner is 2-1 against NC State, and NC State coach Kevin Keatts is 0-1 against Tech.
- Twenty of the last 24 meetings in the series have been decided by 10 points or less, with three of those decided in overtime.
- Tech is 23-18 against the Wolfpack in Atlanta, including one home-court meeting that was played at the Omni in 1986 and one at Philips Arena in 2012. NC State had won all three games played at McCamish Pavilion before Tech’s victory on March 1, 2018.
- Since it joined the ACC, Tech is 32-43 against NC State, including regular-season and tournament.
- Tech is 3-3 against NC State in ACC Tournament games, the last meeting occurring in 2003 in a 71-65 Wolfpack victory in Greensboro. The Jackets won first-round games in 1996 in Greensboro (88-73) and 1990 in Charlotte (76-67).
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its third 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.
For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be purchased here.
