@GTMBK Non-Conference Slate Nearing Completion

June 30, 2015

THE FLATS – Three games against NCAA Tournament teams – Georgia, VCU and Wofford – plus the resumption of an old rivalry with Tennessee highlight a strong non-conference men’s basketball schedule for Georgia Tech in 2015-16.

Tennessee begins a four-game series with the Yellow Jackets with a visit to McCamish Pavilion on Nov. 16, giving the Yellow Jackets two Southeastern Conference foes on the schedule. Tech also will host Wofford, which won the Southern Conference championship and reached the NCAA Tournament last year, on Dec. 1. VCU of the Atlantic 10 Conference, an NCAA Tournament team each of the last five years, including a Final Four appearance in 2011, begins a two-game series with the Yellow Jackets on Dec. 15, also at McCamish Pavilion.

The Yellow Jackets, attempting to win their fifth straight game in the series with Georgia, a 21-game winner and an NCAA team last year, will make a visit to Athens on Dec. 19.

“As we did last season, we’ve done a great job of positioning ourselves with quality opponents, both home and away, that will not only challenge us, but create an exceptional strength-of-schedule and a high, post-season worthy RPI,” said Tech coach Brian Gregory. “The opportunity to have both Tennessee and VCU play at home is tremendous. With the rotation of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, we had an opportunity to get a top-25 team in VCU to replace that home game, which adds a lot of value to our strength-of-schedule. We’ve got tough road games at Georgia and Tulane as well.”

Ivy League member Cornell will come to Atlanta to open the 2015-16 campaign on Friday, Nov. 13, followed by the visit from Tennessee. Following a yet-to-be announced Thanksgiving week event, Tech returns home to begin its December slate with Wofford, and then resumes another long-standing rivalry at Tulane on Dec. 5. The Green Wave were the Yellow Jackets’ first opponent in McCamish Pavilion on Nov. 9, 2012, and the teams have played 69 times.

Following the games against VCU and Georgia, Tech closes out its December schedule with three home games against Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 21), Colgate (Dec. 23) and Duquesne (Dec. 29).

Two more non-conference home games are still to be announced which lead into the Thanksgiving week event. Those and the complete ACC schedule will be announced later this summer.

Gregory’s fifth Tech team returns three starters, including senior forward Marcus Georges-Hunt, the sixth-leading returning scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference and promising sophomore scoring guard Tadric Jackson, as well as one of the top double-double practitioners in the ACC in senior forward Charles Mitchell. All told, 11 letterwinners are back, including six of the team’s top nine scorers. The Jackets also welcome to their ranks the ACC’s top three-point shooter from last season, Adam Smith, who is transferring from Virginia Tech, and high-scoring forward Nick Jacobs, a transfer from Alabama who sat out the 2014-15 season.

Schedule notes: Tech has won its last meeting with every team on its non-conference schedule as reported here and leads the all-time series with all except Tennessee … The Volunteers will return to Atlanta during the 2017-18 season, and the Yellow Jackets will play Tennessee in Knoxville during the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons … Tech will travel to Richmond to play VCU in 2016-17, while Tulane will play the Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion next season … Wofford will return to Atlanta to play Tech again in 2016-17, and the Jackets will visit Wofford in 2017-18 … Tech’s last meeting against Cornell occurred during its 12-0 start on the way to the national championship game in 2004 (the Jackets also defeated VCU during that start) … Tech’s last meeting against VCU happened during Brian Gregory’s first season on the Flats, in the Charleston Classic, a 13-point Yellow Jacket win … Tech’s only previous meeting against Duquesne was a 1970 first-round Post-Season NIT victory at Madison Square Garden … Four of the teams on the non-conference schedule finished 2015-16 with RPI rankings 102 and above – VCU (21), Georgia (45), Wofford (49) and Tennessee (102).

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Tech’s home ACC schedule for 2015-16 will feature visits from defending NCAA champion Duke, NCAA Elite Eight teams Louisville and Notre Dame, and ACC regular-season champion Virginia among the Yellow Jackets’ nine home Atlantic Coast Conference games. Miami, which reached the championship game, and Pittsburgh, as well as Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest also will visit McCamish Pavilion this season.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is beginning its fifth year under head coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets have 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 (@GTMBK).

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