February 1, 2019

Georgia Tech Travels to No. 25 Florida State

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech opens the month of February and reaches the halfway point of its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Saturday afternoon when the Yellow Jackets visit No. 25 Florida State for a noon regionally-televised contest at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Tech (11-10, 3-5 ACC), in its third season under head coach Josh Pastner, enters February having lost four of its last five games, winning only against Notre Dame at home on Jan. 22 in that stretch. The Yellow Jackets are 2-4 on the road this season and 1-2 in conference play, having beaten Syracuse while falling to Clemson and No. 2 Duke.

Florida State (15-5, 3-4 ACC), in its 17th season under head coach Leonard Hamilton, has won its last two games against Clemson and Miami following a 1-4 start in conference play. The Seminoles are 2-1 at home against ACC opponents, having defeated Miami and Clemson around a last-second loss to Duke.

Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Georgia), and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available 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. 381, internet ch. 972).

Freshman guard Michael Devoe has averaged 10.3 points per game over his 12 starts.

STARTING LINEUP

Pulling rank – No. 25 Florida State is the third consecutive Associated Press top-25 team the Yellow Jackets have faced, coming on the heels of Tech’s losses to No. 2 Duke and No. 9 North Carolina. It is the first instance of three straight games against top-25 teams since the 2016-17 season.
Bye, bye – Florida State is Georgia Tech’s second straight opponent to have had its scheduled bye before playing the Yellow Jackets. Miami will have a bye before hosting Tech on Feb. 23.
Going away – After playing five of its first eight ACC games at home, Georgia Tech hits the road for three of its next four, hosting only Clemson in that stretch next Wednesday.
Old school – James Banks III and Abdoulaye Gueye have given Georgia Tech an increasingly reliable frontcourt combination in ACC play. The duo shared the floor for more than 56 minutes in wins over Syracuse and Notre Dame (Gueye was sidelined for games against Clemson and Louisville). They were on the court together for just 16:56 at Duke due to foul trouble, 27:58 against North Carolina.
The Bank is open – In 20 games at Georgia Tech, James Banks III has exceeded his 46-game totals at Texas in every offensive category. His 47 blocks are three short of his total at Texas. Banks has six double-doubles this season for the Jackets, fourth most in the ACC.
Guard your yard – Georgia Tech ranks No. 4 in the ACC in scoring defense (68.1 ppg), No 2 in field goal percentage defense (40.0 pct.) and No. 2 in three-point percentage defense (28.5 pct.) against conference opponents. The Jackets rank No. 2 in steals (8.63 pg) and third in blocked shots (5.13 pg).
Below average – Georgia Tech has faced three of the nation’s top 10 teams in offensive efficiency as ranked by KenPom.com – Tennessee (2), Duke (3) and Virginia Tech (7) – and held them to an average of 61.3 points. Each posted their lowest efficiency rating of the season against the Jackets. North Carolina is No. 12, and the Jackets held the Tar Heels to their fourth-lowest rating of the season.
Rising up – Since its Dec. 22 game against Georgia, in which the Yellow Jackets scored 59 points and shot 32.3 percent from the floor, Georgia Tech has averaged 66.1 points, shot 48 percent from the floor, 30.3 percent from three-point range and assisted on 63.9 percent of its made field goals.
Tough at home – Tech is 14-9 against ACC teams at home under Josh Pastner, 5-5 against top-25 ACC teams.
Going deep – Georgia Tech has deployed eight different starting lineups this season, and 10 Yellow Jackets have started three or more games.
Longer bench – Tech has utilized at least eight players in all of its ACC games to date. Tech’s bench has played 34.1 percent of available minutes, No. 87 in the nation according to KenPom.com (national average is 30.7 pct.). Tech reserves are outscoring their opponents 22.6 to 16.2 per game.

SERIES VS. FLORIDA STATE

Florida State has won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series, including an 88-77 victory in Tallahassee in the teams’ only regular-season meeting of 2017-18. The Seminoles’ win snapped a two-game winning streak for Georgia Tech.
Tech and FSU have met just once each of the last eight seasons. The teams last met home-and-away in the same regular season in 2009-10.
Going back to the team’s March 6, 2004 meeting, 10 of the 19 games have been decided by four or fewer points.
Since FSU joined the ACC, Tech is 19-26 against the Seminoles. Florida State won the first six in a row, Tech followed by winning five straight, and is 14-20 against the Seminoles since then.
In those 45 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 17-17 against the Seminoles in Atlanta, all but four of those games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Tech is 8-14 against Seminoles teams led by head coach Leonard Hamilton. Tech is 9-14 against Hamilton overall, with a victory over his Miami team in December of 1997.
Tech is 11-21 in games played in Tallahassee, including an 8-14 mark at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, formerly known as the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.
Tech and Florida State were both members of the old Metro Conference from 1976-78, and the Seminoles won three of those four meetings.
Florida State has won both ACC Tournament meetings between the schools, including a 64-62 win at the Georgia Dome in 2009.

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.