THE FLATS – Georgia Tech has been invited to participate in next season’s Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, an early season men’s basketball event that will take place Nov. 21-23, 2022 in Fort Myers, Fla. The Yellow Jackets will compete in the Beach Division along with major conference teams Marquette, Mississippi State and Utah.
The Tip-Off is an eight-team event with two four-team divisions, each division functioning as a four-team tournament with no crossover. The four teams in the Palms Division will be announced at a later date. The Jackets also will face one of the teams in the Palms Division in an on-campus game, also to be announced at a later date.
All games will be played at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, a 3,500-seat arena on the campus Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla. Matchups, game times and television coverage will be announced at a later date.
The only way to guarantee tickets for the Tournament, which sold out last year, is by purchasing an official fan travel package. Travel packages for the 2022 Tournament will go on sale this spring, but fans can immediately register to receive information and email alerts from the Tournament regarding travel package availability. Details and registration information can be found at www.fortmyerstipoff.com/travel. Ticket-only packages, based on availability, will go on sale this fall.
Tech has a 3-4 all-time record against Marquette, last facing the Warriors in the 2014 Orlando Invitational, and 16-13 against Mississippi State, last facing the Bulldogs in 1975. The Yellow Jackets have never faced the Utes.
The four programs of the 2022 Beach Division have combined for 90 NCAA Tournament appearances. Georgia Tech and sixth-year head coach Josh Pastner won the ACC Championship last season, earning its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010, while Marquette and Mississippi State received at-large berths to the 2019 Tournament. The Eagles and Bulldogs, led by a Final Four head coaches Shaka Smart and Ben Howland, respectively, are also primely positioned for NCAA Tournament berths later this season. Utah is under the direction of first-year head coach Craig Smith, who appeared in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments as the head coach at Utah State.
The Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off has quickly become one of the top early-season events in the country and a fixture in the Southwest Florida sports calendar. Since 2019 and including the upcoming 2022 event, three SEC teams, two Big East programs, two Big Ten squads, two Big 12 teams, two ACC programs, two Pac-12 squads and perennial national championship contender Gonzaga have participated in the Tournament. In 2021, both nights of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division were played in front of sold out crowds that saw the in-state Florida Gators defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes with a dramatic buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take home the Tournament title. The fifth-annual event, which has hosted several Final Four-caliber programs in its first four seasons including Gonzaga, Kansas, Auburn, Loyola (Chicago), Florida and Ohio State, will welcome four power conference programs to the Beach Division for the second straight year (Florida, Ohio State, Cal and Seton Hall in 2021).
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.
