By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
When you’ve worked so hard to hit your stride, why allow yourself a stumble?
Georgia Tech (16-14, 10-9 ACC) has already clinched a first-round bye for the ACC Tournament thanks to its resounding, 89-74 win over Miami on Senior Night. But a chance to leapfrog Stanford for the 7-seed still remains. And why enter the postseason with the sour feeling of a loss if you can avoid it?
Perhaps that’s why Damon Stoudamire urged his team to “stay paranoid” as it prepares for its regular season finale against Wake Forest (20-11, 12-7 ACC) at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. Take pride in the wins, but be skeptical of the praise. Don’t let contentedness turn to complacency.
Not to mention, Wake Forest likely hasn’t forgotten the 70-69 loss Georgia Tech dealt them last March, effectively torpedoing their NCAA Tournament chances. And the Demon Deacons have dropped four of their last six games, including a 93-60 loss to Duke on Monday, which could put them in an even frostier mood.
Tech has every reason to stay in the present – to “be where their feet are,” as the old coaching trope goes.
For a team hitting its stride, it may be fitting advice.
Enjoy the top notes from my chart as Georgia Tech aims for one last gut check win to close the regular season (2:15 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network):
Baye Ndongo’s jump hook with less than a second remaining lifted Tech to victory at Wake Forest a year ago.
After a 7-1 start in conference play, Wake Forest’s hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid may now hinge on a deep run in the ACC Tournament, if not winning it altogether. They’ll undoubtedly look to Saturday as a chance to jumpstart some momentum for the postseason. Wake Forest has won 60 games at Joel Coliseum over the past four seasons, though the Deacs were 15-0 at home last year when Baye Ndongo’s floater stunned them with :00.4 left.
The Demon Deacons aren’t quite as potent as last year – they rank 139th in KenPom efficiency after finishing 25th last season – but they can still go on some swaggering sprees of offense. Senior guard Hunter Sallis (18.2 ppg) remains a sleek, three-level shot maker, while 6-4 Cameron Hildreth (14.9 ppg) is a heady, hard-nosed senior who’s arguably the best post-up guard in the ACC.
Hildreth went scoreless against Duke after topping 20 points in six of his last seven games. Sallis was held to nine points, snapping a streak of 18 straight games in double figures. Along with the added kindling of Senior Day, expect both to be fully engaged on Saturday. They’re complemented by 7-footer Efton Reid (8.9 ppg), who excels at getting defenders on his back, and Appalachian State transfer Tre’von Spillers (10.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg), a bouncy, forceful rebounder.
The Demon Deacons excel at getting teams in rotation and pressuring the rim. They only average 5.5 threes per game, a figure that ranks 342nd nationally, and their accuracy has fallen off sharply from last season.
| Wake Forest 3-point Shooting | |||
| Year | 3pt.% | ACC Rank | NCAA Rank |
| 2023-24 | 36.40% | 2nd | 46th |
| 2024-25 | 28.90% | 18th | 349th |
Among the keys for Saturday: Make catches at the elbow a chore and don’t get detached around Wake Forest’s screens.
From the “arbitrary yet impressive” files: Georgia Tech has scored 87 or more points in back-to-back ACC games.
The last time the Yellow Jackets did that? March of 1996. Tech beat Clemson 87-74 in their regular season finale, then knocked off NC State 88-73 in the ACC Tournament.
The groans have subsided significantly when Georgia Tech has toed the foul line lately.
The Yellow Jackets may still rank last in the ACC in free throw percentage, but they’ve quietly made 85% of their attempts during their three-game win streak (45-of- 53).
Why might that be important on Saturday? Wake Forest has allowed ACC opponents to score 21% of their points off free throws, the highest percentage in the league. The Demon Deacons also lead the ACC in free throw rate offensively, scoring 23% of their points from the foul line.
% of points from FTM (ACC)
- Wake Forest: 3% (Most ACC)
- Opponents: 0% (Most ACC)
Lance Terry (0) has scored 16 points in the final four minutes of the first half in Tech’s last two games. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Call it a “Terry flurry.” Or an “ava-Lance” if you prefer.
Either way, after the final media timeout of the first half, Lance Terry has hardly missed in the last two games.
Lance Terry – Final segment, 1st half (Last 2 games):
- Total time: 7:18
- Points: 16
- FG: 6-7
- 3PT: 4-4
He’s helped the Yellow Jackets outscore their opponents +16 during that span.
Clean looks could be scarce against a Wake defense that leads the ACC in 3pt. FG% defense in conference play (31.4%). The Demon Deacons have allowed 42 three-pointers over their last four games, but they also held Duke to a season-low 63 points when they met in January. Wake Forest likes to blow up dribble handoffs and smother guards with hedges, which can hijack a team’s timing in the halfcourt. Can Tech handle those hedges and do well in “play after the play” situations? The Demon Deacons also lean toward deep drops on pick-and-rolls. Could that activate Nait George’s midrange game on Saturday?
In addition to Travis Best and Dennis Scott, Georgia Tech had another luminary on hand for Senior Night: rapper Waka Flocka, whose song “Hard in Da Paint,” contrary to popular belief, was not about Baye Ndongo’s rebounding prowess.
He attended the game at the invitation of Duncan Powell, who actually recorded a song at his studio as a freshman at North Carolina A&T. The two have stayed in touch ever since.
Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting with the “Ramblin’ Wreck Tip-off Show” at 1:45 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network. See you in Winston-Salem.
-AD-
Got business in Winston-Salem 💼#StingEm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/8dw5rEyxBQ
— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) March 7, 2025
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. 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 X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be reserved here.
