THE FLATS — On Thursday night, two Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket seniors will be recognized prior to their last collegiate home contest as Tech welcomes Clemson for a 7 p.m. tilt.
THE STARTING FIVE…
1. Georgia Tech plays its final regular season home game of 2016-17 on Thursday, welcoming Clemson for a 7 p.m. tip. Fans can listen live on WREK 91.1/WREK.org or watch on ACC Network Extra.
2. Prior to tipoff, seniors Cha’Ron Sweeney and Katarina Vuckovic will be honored before they play in their final home game of their collegiate careers.
3. Georgia Tech looks to avenge a loss in the first meeting against Clemson. The Tigers used a late run in Littlejohn Coliseum to take the win. Zaire O’Neil led the Jackets with 19 points and was one of three players to reach double-figures.
4. Francesca Pan picked up her fourth ACC Rookie of the Week honor on Monday and is the first Yellow Jacket to earn four recognitions since 2013-14. Pan is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 ppg.
5. Head coach MaChelle Joseph is in her 14th season on The Flats and carries an all-time career record of 267-174. Joseph is the all-time winningest coach in program history and holds the highest winning percentage in Yellow Jacket history at 61.4 percent.
A WIN WOULD…
-Move Georgia Tech to 16-12 on the season and push its home record to 11-5
-Give Georgia Tech a 44-34 lead in the all-time series
-Be the second consecutive ACC win for the Jackets – being only the second two-game ACC win streak of the season
-Mark Coach Joseph’s 268th career win at Georgia Tech and give Georgia Tech its 643rd all-time program win
LAST TIME THEY MET
Georgia Tech led with eight points with four minutes left in the game, but a fiesty Clemson squad held the Jackets to two field goals over the final four minutes and outscored Tech 13-4 in the final four minutes to take the win. The victory marked the first for Clemson over Tech in six outings and the first in Clemson since 2006. The Tigers shot 45.8 percent from the field for the win and were led in scoring by Aliyah Collier with 21 points. Tech’s Zaire O’Neil paced the Jackets with 19 points.
LAST TIME OUT
Georgia Tech snapped a three-game skid defeating Pittsburgh on Sunday, 71-57. The Jackets were led offensively by four in double-figures paced by freshmen Francesca Pan with her fourth 20-point game of the season. Zaire O’Neil added 14 points, while Imani Tilford contributed 13 and Elo Edeferioka posted 11. Tech outscored Pitt in the fourth frame, 22-10, to walk away with the win and converted 17 Pitt turnovers into 20 points. The Panthers shot better from the field despite the outcome, hitting a 40.7 percent to Tech’s 39.7 percent.
