Men's Basketball Returns Home to Host Virginia Tech

GEORGIA TECH (9-16, 2-13 ACC) vs. VIRGINIA TECH (15-10, 5-9 ACC)

• Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
• 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 FM | SiriusXM ch. 371, SXM app 371 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

THE FLATS – Looking forward to a week with a pair of home games, Georgia Tech returns to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday night, hosting Virginia Tech at McCamish Pavilion.

Georgia Tech (9-16, 2-13 ACC) was unable to put together back-to-back wins last week. After edging Notre Dame, 70-68, with a last-second basket Wednesday at home, the Yellow Jackets lost, 71-70, in the final seconds Saturday at Wake Forest. Though Tech has lost 10 of its last 11 games, its last four contests, including a 10-point loss at Louisville and an eight-point defeat at NC State, have been decided by a total of 21 points, and the Jackets held late leads in three of them.

Virginia Tech (15-9, 5-9 ACC) has bounced back from a 1-7 start in conference play to win four of its last six games, including home wins against Duke, Syracuse and Virginia. The fourth win was the Hokies’ first in a road game this season, a 93-87 decision Saturday at Notre Dame. In its 1-7 league start, Virginia Tech lost the seven games by an average of five points.

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live stream of the broadcast available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM), and on satellite radio (SiriusXM channel 371, SXM app 371).

THE TIP-OFF

• Six of Georgia Tech’s ACC games in February and March are on the road, including trips to NC State, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Boston College, who are a combined 52-16 at home this season. The Yellow Jackets’ home games are against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Louisville, who are a combined 1-21 on the road this season.
• Georgia Tech is 2-5 against Virginia Tech at McCamish Pavilion, with four of the losses coming by five points or fewer.
• Tech is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point defense and is 37th nationally, allowing 30.8 percent from distance.
• Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 20 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season, and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 14 of 25 games.
• Tech has used 11 different starting lineups this season, and no Yellow Jacket has started every game. Nine Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of nine times.
• Since Lance Terry returned from his hamstring injury (last three games), Tech has averaged 68 points per game, connected on 43.2 percent of its shots from the floor and 38.1 percent (24-of-63) of its three-point attempts. In the four games he missed, Tech averaged 53.8 points, hit 34.5 percent of its field goals and 25.2 percent of its threes.
• Center Ja’von Franklin has averaged 15.3 points and 10.2 rebounds across Tech’s last three games. He has hit 19-of-33 shots from the floor, 8-of-10 from the foul line, and recorded 10 assists, six blocks and four steals.
• Point guard Deivon Smith is one of 12 ACC players to have a 20-percent defensive rebound rate, according to KenPom. At 6-foot-1, Smith is the shortest of the 12 by six inches and is the only guard.

Ja’von Franklin has averaged 15.3 points and 10.2 rebounds over Tech’s last three games.

SERIES VS. VIRGINIA TECH

• Virginia Tech has won 22 of 30 all-time meetings with Georgia Tech, including 18 of 25 as a member of the ACC.
• The Hokies swept the 2021-22 regular-season series from the Yellow Jackets – 81-66 in Blacksburg and 62-58 in Atlanta – after Tech had taken the lone regular-season meetings the two years prior (69-53 in Blacksburg in 2020-21, 76-57 in Atlanta in 2019-20 season, snapping a six-game losing streak in 2019-20 and matching its largest margin of victory in the series).
• Tech has defeated Virginia Tech only four times in 13 meetings at home since the Hokies joined the ACC, and the Yellow Jackets received extraordinary performances by individuals to win two of those games. On Jan. 19, 2008, reserve guard Matt Causey came off the bench to hit seven threes and pour in 30 points in the Jackets’ 81-70 victory. On Jan. 25, 2011, Iman Shumpert recorded the fourth triple-double in Tech history with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the Jackets’ 72-57 win.
• Georgia Tech’s first victory over Virginia Tech occurred on Dec. 27, 1962, a 73-72 overtime triumph at the Gator Bowl Tournament that was part of an 11-0 start for the Yellow Jackets. Tech went on to finish the season 21-5. That remains the only meeting between the two teams when both were ranked in the nation’s top 25.
• Both teams were members of the old Metro Conference, but not at the same time. Georgia Tech was a member for three seasons from 1975-76 through 1977-78 before leaving to join the ACC. Virginia Tech joined the league for the 1978-79 season.

TEAM TRENDS

• Tech’s last four games have been decided by a total of 21 points. The Jackets’ first 11 ACC games were decided by an average of 15.4 points.
• Tech utilized nine players against Wake Forest, the 17th time in 25 games this season the Yellow Jackets have deployed nine or more. The Jackets rank No. 112 in the nation in bench minutes (34.1 pct.).
• Tech’s bench outscored its opponent (28-19 vs. Wake Forest) for the 14th time in 25 games. Tech ranks No. 2 in the ACC in bench points per game.
• Tech has averaged 23.8 three-point attempts in ACC games (6th-most in the ACC), trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16) and Wake Forest (19).
• Tech is 7-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points (2-2 in the ACC), 2-14 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have reached 70 points in ACC play only against Miami, Notre Dame (both meetings) and Wake Forest.
• Tech went 8-for-8 from the foul line against Wake Forest and has hit just 53-of-78 (67.9 pct.) over its last nine games. The Jackets have scored 9.6 points per game from the foul line this season, 7.7 in ACC games.
• Tech has turned the ball over fewer an average of 11 times over its last nine games, but has forced only 9.7 per game across the game stretch.
• Tech outscored Wake Forest in points from turnover (18-13), second chances (20-11), fast breaks (11-5) and the bench (28-19), and had a four-point deficit in the paint and an 11-point deficit (19-8) at the foul line.
• Tech has outrebounded its last three opponents by an average of 4.3.

PLAYER UPDATES

• In three games since returning from his hamstring injury, which kept him out of four games, Lance Terry has averaged 12.3 points, hit 15-of-28 shots from the floor and 5-of-11 from three-point range.
• Center Ja’von Franklin got his fourth double-double this season at Wake Forest, finishing with 14 points, 15 boards, two assists and two steals.
• Over his last six games, Franklin has averaged 12 points and 8.5 rebounds, hitting 31-of-53 from the floor.
• Deivon Smith has posted four double-digit scoring games in his last nine after tallying 15 at Wake Forest, averaging 9.2 points over that stretch. He also has 13 games of five or more rebounds after taking five against the Demon Deacons.
• Smith also had five assists against two turnovers at Wake Forest, and has an assist-turnover ratio of 2.78-to-1, third-best in the ACC and No. 21 nationally (he was 1.1-to-1 last season).

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 has completed six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 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.