By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
It’s hard enough to hold a top-5 scorer in the ACC to a season low in points.
Georgia Tech nearly did it twice… in the same game.
NC State’s backcourt of Terquavion Smith (19.1 ppg) and Jarkel Joiner (16.7 ppg) came in as the most dynamic scoring duo in the ACC. Georgia Tech instead frazzled them with its matchup zones and mixing fronts, holding them to five points apiece on 3-of-17 shooting. Smith dished out 10 assists, but it was a sharp drop-off from the 32 points he scored a game earlier against Florida State.
Any ACC coach would gladly take an off shooting night from one of them. But both? On the same night?
“That kind of shows how snake bitten we’ve been,” head coach Josh Pastner said.
Alas, Georgia Tech (8-15, 1-12 ACC) couldn’t parlay that performance into a road win over a team that’s gunning for an NCAA at-large berth. The Yellow Jackets can’t do much about that missed opportunity… except, maybe, redeem another missed opportunity from earlier in the season.
Tech’s 73-72 overtime loss to Notre Dame has gnawed at them ever since. Like Saturday, the Jackets also led late before giving up a regulation-closing run. Wednesday’s game against the Fighting Irish (10-13, 2-10 ACC) doesn’t just offer a chance to snap a losing streak; it gives Tech a chance to re-write an ending, something that can add an even deeper layer of satisfaction.
Enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Jackets and Irish renew their series at McCamish (7 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):
Josh Okogie’s layup at the buzzer gave Georgia Tech a 62-60 win over Notre Dame in 2016. The nine games between the two teams at McCamish Pavilion have been decided by a total of 26 points. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Wednesday’s game marks the final scheduled meeting against Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who announced last month that he’d be stepping down after 23 seasons as Irish head coach. Brey and Pastner have always enjoyed a congenial relationship, bonded by their good nature and self-deprecating humor.
Asked for his favorite Brey anecdote on his radio show Monday night, Pastner thought back to the ACC basketball coaches’ meeting last summer in Amelia Island, Fla. Dan Gavitt, the senior vice-president of basketball at the NCAA, was there to explain the NET rankings and the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s thought process from last season. He mentioned to the group that if Texas A&M had beaten Tennessee at the SEC Tournament, Notre Dame would have been left out of the NCAA Tournament. The Irish finished in second place in the ACC at 15-5.
Recalled a teetotaling Pastner: “Mike Brey stopped and he says, ‘Dan, I need to leave the meeting right now and go get a drink.’ And this is about nine in the morning. And he walked right out of the room in the meeting and said, ‘Where do you get the vodka?’ He left for about 15 minutes.” He returned, Pastner said, after he realized no place at the hotel was selling alcohol that early in the morning.
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Pastner and Brey’s coaching styles have also made for some white-knuckle theatre: Brey’s seven career losses against Georgia Tech have come by a combined 20 points.
Notre Dame’s guards move well without the ball, and despite their record, they’re still capable of scoring in waves. Six-foot-6 super-senior Dane Goodwin (11.8 ppg), who scored a team-high 19 points against Tech in South Bend, is tough on the block and effective in the middle of zones. He may look to ignite his offense early after a 2-for-12 shooting performance against Wake Forest on Saturday. Six-foot-10 stretch-five Nate Laszewski (14.1 ppg) can free himself on pick-and-pops and pick-and-slips, while freshman J.J. Starling (12.3 ppg) has the best burst off the bounce.
Georgia Tech will have to stay disciplined against the pump fakes and pivots the Irish’s guards like to use. Laszewski drew six fouls when they played last month, but Tech’s guards did a commendable job fronting the post when they switched on him (Tech played man-to-man the entire game). Georgia Tech’s best defense may also be ball security: Notre Dame ranks 358th in turnover rate defense, but its 18 points off turnovers against Tech were a season high.
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Kyle Sturdivant whipped a pass to Miles Kelly curling toward the top of the key, a classic “roll-and-replace” action found in almost every playbook. Kelly caught the ball unguarded and unencumbered, at the highest-percentage spot behind the three-point line. Tech led NC State by one with 3:00 remaining.
Though locked in the moment, Pastner could hear the dread echoing down the sideline.
“When we got that open, I heard Kevin [Keatts] say, ‘Oh —–,’ and I won’t say the word because I don’t curse,” Josh Pastner told me in our postgame radio interview.
But Kelly’s shot drifted wide and missed the rim altogether. Instead of a four-point lead and PNC Arena getting palpably nervous, Georgia Tech still only led by one.
Whether to extend a lead, cut into a deficit, or simply swing momentum, those three-point shots – clean, quality, but ultimately off the mark – have been all too common in the second half during Georgia Tech’s losing streak.
| Last 8 games | 3pt.% |
| 1st Half | 34.4% (72 of 209) |
| 2nd Half/OT | 21.3% (23 of 108) |
Notre Dame connected on just 4-of-21 three-pointers against Wake Forest, but the Irish won’t be deterred – in the vast majority of their lineup combinations, all five players are capable of launching from deep. Guard Cormac Ryan has a clinically quick release, while Trey Wertz made some clutch threes against the Jackets in South Bend. Against a team that shoots a three on 43 percent of its field goal attempts, Georgia Tech can’t afford a lull from deep.
Only two ACC players in the last 10 years have recorded eight rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots in an ACC game. (photo by Olivia Dail)
Just how rare was Ja’von Franklin’s stat line against NC State? According to my research, only one other ACC player in the last decade has had eight rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a conference game:
| 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists in ACC game | |||
| Player | Opponent | Date | Stats |
| Zach LeDay (Virginia Tech) | Florida State | 3/9/2016 | 15p/12r/5a/5b |
| Ja’von Franklin (Georgia Tech) | N.C. State | 2/4/2023 | 16p/8r/5a/5b |
Pastner said he received a postgame text from Debbie Yow, his friend and former NC State athletic director, expressing admiration for Franklin’s athleticism.
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Franklin pogo-ed all over Purcell Pavilion in January, playing all but three seconds and finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Pastner annually preaches for his team to drive and finish with conviction against Notre Dame – the Irish rarely foul, and they’re allowing an ACC-worst 55.5 percent from two-point range in conference play.
Why might you want to pay attention to that number Wednesday?
Notre Dame record when:
- Allowing < 55% 2pt. FG%: 8-3
- Allowing > 55% 2pt. FG%: 2-10
Can Georgia Tech get multiple paint touches when it runs its offense Wednesday? And should they brace themselves for more zone from Notre Dame? The Irish shifted to a zone down the stretch and throughout overtime in their first meeting.
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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports. See you at McCamish.
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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.
