Jackets Face Road Clash at Georgia

GEORGIA TECH (4-2, 1-0 ACC) vs. GEORGIA (5-3, 0-0 SEC)

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum

• Television:  SEC Network  (Announcers:  Tom Hart, Daymeon Fishback)
• Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM channel 383
• Other ways to listen:  SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters
• Live Stats:  Statbroadcast.com

THE FLATS – Buoyed by a pair of wins over top-25 teams at home last week, Georgia Tech makes its second road trip of the season Tuesday night to take on Georgia at 7:30 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.

Tech (4-2) knocked off No. 21 Mississippi State, 67-59, in the ACC/SEC Challenge and No. 7 Duke, 72-68, in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener last week at McCamish Pavilion, rebounding from successive losses to Cincinnati and UMass Lowell. They were Tech’s first back-to-back victories over teams ranked in the AP top 25 since the 2016-17 season.

Georgia (5-3) has won three straight games, including home court wins over Winthrop and Mercer sandwiched around a come-from-behind 68-66 win at Florida State in the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Bulldogs are undefeated at home (4-0) this season, with a win over Wake Forest to its credit.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on the SEC Network with a live stream available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on the SiriusXM app and SiriusXM channel 387.

THE TIP-OFF

• Georgia Tech looks to extend its winning streak in the series with Georgia to three. The Jackets won 79-77 last year in Atlanta, and 86-79 in the teams’ last meeting in Athens.
• Tech plays five of its next six games away from Atlanta leading into the Christmas holiday break. Tech returns home to face Alabama A&M Saturday, then travels to New York to play Penn State, Dec. 16 at Madison Square Garden, and Honolulu, Hawai’i to compete in the Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 21-24.
• The last time Tech played top-25 teams in back-to-back games and beat both was the 2016-17 season – Jan. 25 vs. No. 6 Florida State (78-56) and Jan. 28 vs. No. 14 Notre Dame (62-60). No. 7 Duke was the highest-ranked team Tech has defeated since Feb. 12, 2020 over No. 5 Louisville (64-58).
• Tech is in the midst of playing four consecutive games against power conference opponents – Cincinnati (Nov. 22), Mississippi State (Nov. 28), Duke (Dec. 2) and Georgia (Dec. 5), and will face a fifth on Dec. 16 (Penn State).
• Tech is facing five guaranteed non-conference opponents that won 20 or more games in the 2022-23 season, including four that played in the post-season. Mississippi State (21-13), Penn State (23-14) and Howard (22-13) all played in the NCAA Tournament last season, while Cincinnati (23-13), a new member of the Big 12, reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. UMass Lowell (26-8) finished second in the America East Conference. The Yellow Jackets potentially could play two more 20-win teams in the Diamond Head Classic, with a possible game against Hawai’i (21-11) in the second round and TCU (22-13) in the final round.
• Tech has yet to play a game with its full complement of 13 scholarship players due to injury. Senior guard Lance Terry, Tech’s second-leading scorer last season, has been sidelined the entire season, while freshman forward Baye Ndongo missed the first three games.
• Tech’s wins over Mississippi State and Duke were accomplished with two freshmen in the starting lineup – forward Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George. The Jackets have not had two freshmen in its regular starting lineup since the 2018-19 season (Michael Devoe, Khalid Moore), and have not had a freshman regularly start at point guard since Jose Alvarado in 2017-18.
• Three of Tech’s four freshmen have seen action for the Yellow Jackets this season. Forward Ibrahima Sacko has played in all six games, averaging 16 minutes, while forward Ndongo and George debuted at Cincinnati and have played the last three.
• Tech’s four returning scholarship players – Miles Kelly, Lance Terry, Dallan “Deebo” Coleman and Kyle Sturdivant – accounted for 59.4 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points and 56.5 percent of the minutes during the 2022-23 season. They collectively shot 35.6 percent from three-point range. This season the group (minus Terry) has accounted for 51.1 percent of the points and 38.1 percent of the minutes.
• Tech has a total of nine scholarship newcomers on its roster, five transfers who were judged the 17th best transfer class in the country by 247Sports, and four freshmen.
• Tech’s five transfers combined to play in 263 games in their careers, and made 116 starts at their previous schools. They have combined for 19 of a possible 30 starts this season.
• Kyle Sturdivant, a transfer himself from USC prior to the 2020-21 season, is the elder statesman on the Tech roster, playing his fourth season. He is the lone player remaining from Tech’s 2021 ACC Championship team and has played 94 games (50 starts) in a Tech uniform.

SERIES VS. GEORGIA

• Georgia Tech leads the overall series 107-91 and has played the Bulldogs more than any other opponent in its basketball history.
• Tech has won the last two meetings, a 79-77 win in the 2022-23 season in Atlanta, and an 88-78 win in 2021-22 in Athens.
• Georgia had won five straight games before that, and Tech the four meetings in a row before that.
• The series has been played alternately on the respective schools’ campuses since the 1995-96 season. Georgia holds an 15-12 lead over that period. The teams’ scheduled meeting in the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, wiping out a Tech home game in the series.
• In the 27 on-campus meetings since 1995, Georgia has won four times in Atlanta, twice at McCamish Pavilion, and Tech has won three times in Athens.
• The longest winning streak for either team in the series was a 10-game run for Tech from December of 1958 to February of 1961. That included three wins in a row in Athens.
• Before the December, 1995 meeting in Athens that marked the return to on-campus play, the teams played 14 straight years at the Omni in downtown Atlanta, which was located on the site of the current Philips Arena. Tech went 8-6 against the Bulldogs in the facility, including eight of the last 10 before the neutral series ended. The teams have played on neutral sites other than the SEC or Southern Intercollegiate Championships only one other time, that coming at the 1960 Gator Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Tech was 2-4 against Georgia under head coach Josh Pastner, and is 1-0 against current Bulldogs leader Mike White.
• Tech and Georgia were both charter members of the Southeastern Conference, and the Yellow Jackets went 55-29 against the Bulldogs in the SEC before leaving the conference after the 1963-64 season.
• Tech is 37-34 against Georgia since leaving the SEC.

JACKETS REBOUND AGAINST TOP-25 TEAMS

After surrendering 89 points in a road loss at Cincinnati six days earlier, Georgia Tech rebounded with its best defensive performance of the season, holding No. 21 Mississippi State to a season low in points in a 67-59 victory last Tuesday night.

They followed that win by defeating No. 7 Duke, 72-68, to open its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule on Saturday.

In each game, the Yellow Jackets held its opponent to its lowest point total of the season. Tech limited the Bulldogs to their lowest offensive efficiency rating of the year (82.5) according to KenPom.com, and Duke to its third lowest (104.9).

Collectively, Tech limited the two teams to 36.2 percent from the floor and 23.9 percent from three-point range.

Tech’s offensive efficiency against Duke was the highest the Blue Devils have allowed this season (111.0).

The two wins coincided with the inclusion of freshmen Naithan George and Baye Ndongo into the Tech starting lineup.

Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2

Looking to build on the success of last year’s Competitive Drive Initiative, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech athletics are partnering once again to launch Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2. CDI Turn 2 has a goal of raising $2.5 million in new gifts to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund by Dec. 31, and Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Foundation will match eligible gifts to accelerate the impact for Tech athletics. Like last year, not only will gifts to CDI Turn 2 be matched, but so will the contributor’s benefits in the way of A-T Fund giving levels and priority points. To learn more and contribute online, visit atfund.org/turn2.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its first 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 Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.