Jackets Look to Even Series vs. Miami

Georgia Tech vs. Miami

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 | 7 p.m. ET | Coral Gables, Fla. | Watsco Center

Television:  ACC Regional Sports Networks (where to watch)

Play-by-Play:  Tom Werme  |  Analyst: Brian Oliver

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan | XM 386, SiriusXM app 976 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

THE FLATS – Looking ahead to a pair of road games this week, Georgia Tech first travels to Miami for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables. Tech looks to even the season series after taking a 73-62 loss at home to the Hurricanes on Jan. 29.

Tech (10-12, 3-8 ACC) escaped the ACC cellar Saturday with a 69-64 victory at home over Clemson, snapping a two-game skid in which the Yellow Jackets lost to Miami at home and Virginia Tech on the road. The Jackets are 4-4 over their last eight games, including ACC wins over Boston College on Jan. 12 (81-76) and Florida State (75-61) on Jan. 26.

Reigning ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe (Orlando, Fla.), the ACC’s No. 3-leading scorer (18.6 points per game), No. 6 three-point shooter by volume (2.48 per game) and No. 4 by percentage (39.4), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 15.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Miami (16-7 overall, 8-4 ACC), the fourth-place team in the ACC, has lost twice since beating the Jackets in Atlanta, a 68-64 home loss to Notre Dame and a 71-58 defeat Saturday at Virginia. The Hurricanes remain one of the ACC’s higher scoring teams, fourth in the conference in both scoring average and field goal percentage.

Wednesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Regional Sports Networks (Bally Sports South in Georgia), with live streams available through BallySports.com and the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), and on satellite radio (XM channel 386, SiriusXM app 976).

Miami on the mind#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/BlgB8NB9bE

— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) February 7, 2022

THE OPENING TIP

• Quick turnaround – Tech and Miami played their first game just 11 days ago, a 73-62 Hurricane win at McCamish Pavilion. Tech has split their two games in between, while Miami lost both.
• On the road – Georgia Tech is 1-3 on the road in conference play this season, 2-3 in all games. Miami is 9-3 at home in ACC games, 5-2 in ACC games. The Yellow Jackets are 4-6 against the Hurricanes at the Watsco Center, Tech’s best record by percentage at an ACC opponent’s arena.
• Dynamic duo – Georgia Tech seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher have accounted for 46.9 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring this season, and as the top two assist men on the team, have had a hand in 67.8 percent of Tech’s field goals made. Those numbers for ACC games are similar (45.4, 68.4). They also have combined for 45.0 of Tech’s free throw attempts and 49.4 percent of its three-point tries.
• Overturning turnovers – Georgia Tech has improved its turnover rate on both ends of the floor in conference play from early in the season, and ranks No. 4 in the ACC in turnover margin (plus-1.82). The Jackets were minus-0.6 in non-conference games.
• Grand theft basketball – The Jackets lead the conference in turnovers forced (14.64 per game) and are No. 2 in steals (9.18) in conference games. Tech’s last five ACC foes (Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson) have coughed it up 84 times, 52 of them takeaways for Tech.
• Eight lineups – For the last five games, Tech has returned to the original starting lineup with which it began the season and used for six of the first eight games (Michael Devoe and Kyle Sturdivant at the guards, Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore at the forwards, Rodney Howard at center). The Jackets had not used that starting five since Dec. 5 vs. North Carolina. Tech has utilized eight different starting lineups this season, and Jordan Usher and Khalid Moore are the only players to start all 22 games.
• House of Usher – Usher has averaged 15.7 points and 6.6 rebounds over Tech’s last 14 games, having hit 83-of-174 shots from the floor (47.7 percent) and 25-of-64 threes (42.4 percent).
• Mikey likes it – Senior guard Michael Devoe fell from the top spot in the ACC in scoring average for the first time this season after Tech’s game at at Boston College, and is currently No. 3 at 18.6 points per game. Devoe is No. 4 in the ACC in three-point percentage (39.4) and No. 6 in three-point field goals per game (2.48).
• Climbing the ladder – After beginning the season No. 36 in career points at Tech, Devoe has risen to No. 17 on the Tech career points list with 1,540 points, passing such Tech luminaries as Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Jarrett Jack, Michael Maddox, Tico Brown, Marvin Lewis, Anthony Morrow, Lenny Horton, former teammate Jose Alvarado, and most recently Kenny Anderson. He is within 47 points of 16th place (John Salley) and 48 points of 15th place (Bruce Dalrymple).
• Three over a thousand – Senior Jordan Usher cleared the 1,000-point milestone for his career Jan. 15 at North Carolina. He has 1,093 points, 819 of them scored in a Tech uniform, giving Tech three 1,000-point scorers on its roster, including Michael Devoe (1,540) and Bubba Parham (1,452).
• Freshmen rising – Kick-started by strong performances against Clayton State, Tech freshmen Deebo Coleman and Miles Kelly have averaged 13.8 points and hit 20-of 39 shots from three-point range combined over Tech’s last five games.
• Sturdy Sturdivant – Kyle Sturdivant has a 23:7 assist/turnover ratio over Tech’s last nine games. The junior guard has averaged 7.8 points with two double-digit efforts over that stretch.
• Rescheduled – The ACC has rescheduled Tech’s postponed ACC game at Syracuse for Monday, Feb 21 at 7 p.m. (was originally scheduled for Dec. 29). That will give the Jackets three conference games in a five-day stretch (Feb. 19 at Pitt, Feb. 21 at Syracuse, Feb. 23 vs. Virginia Tech) and four over eight days (Feb. 26 at Notre Dame).

Khalid Moore is averaging a career-high 8.1 points in ACC games after setting his personal scoring high Saturday with 19 points against Miami. (photo by Danny Karnik)

SERIES NOTES VS. CLEMSON

• Miami snapped a three-game Georgia Tech winning streak in the series by defeating the Yellow Jackets, 73-62, in the teams’ first meeting this season on Jan. 29 in Atlanta. The Jackets had won both meetings in 2020-21, an 87-60 win in Atlanta and a 70-66 decision in the ACC Tourament quarterfinals.
• Miami has 14-10 edge against the Yellow Jackets since it joined the ACC. Tech won the first two meetings against Miami after they became members of the ACC, but Hurricanes won nine of the next 11 before the Yellow Jackets captured six of the last 11.
• Tech has won three of its last five games against Miami in Coral Gables, including a 71-69 victory over 6th-ranked Miami on March 6, 2013. It was Tech’s first win at the Watsco Center since Feb. 26, 2005. The Jackets also captured a 70-50 win against No. 23 Miami on Jan. 28, 2015.
• Miami is 7-6 against Tech on the Yellow Jackets’ home court, including a 4-2 mark at McCamish Pavilion. The Hurricanes also defeated the Jackets twice at Philips Arena in the 2011-12 season, one during the regular season and the other in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.
• Miami was the opponent for Tech in its last game at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, a game the Yellow Jackets won 66-57 to close out the 2010-11 regular season. Tech won four of six games against the Hurricanes in the building.
• Sixteen of the 27 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
• Tech is 6-8 against Miami teams coached by Jim Larranaga, and 7-8 against Larranaga, including a 70-62 win over his George Mason team on Nov. 20, 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Tech coach Josh Pastner is 6-3 against Miami, including a pair of victories during his term as head coach at Memphis.
• The last meeting between the two schools prior to Miami’s joining the ACC occurred in December of 1997 as part of the Orange Bowl Classic doubleheader at Miami Arena, the Hurricanes’ home court until the team moved into the on-campus Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets, led that year by senior forward Matt Harpring, won that game, 69-61, over a Hurricanes’ team coached by Leonard Hamilton.
• Tech played Miami twice under former head coach Whack Hyder, prior to the Hurricanes putting their program on hiatus, losing the first-ever meeting in the series by 22 points in 1953, then taking a six-point homecourt victory in 1967. That was the only pre-ACC visit by the Hurricanes to Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and the 90-84 Tech win has been the highest scoring game in the series.

Defense ➡️ Offense#TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/h6gDEf2RMO

— Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball (@GTMBB) February 7, 2022

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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 2021 after finishing fourth in the regular season. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, winning four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), playing in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and playing 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.