Jackets Look to Tame TigersJackets Look to Tame Tigers
Men's Basketball

Jackets Look to Tame Tigers

Tech and Clemson tip off at 2 p.m. EST Saturday at McCamish Pavilion

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson

Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 2 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion

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 380, SiriusXM app 970 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn

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

 

THE FLATS – Playing its only home game over a two-week period, Georgia Tech host Clemson in a 2 p.m. matinee matchup Saturday at McCamish Pavilion. It is the first of two scheduled meetings between the two teams this season. The Yellow Jackets travel to Clemson March 2.

Tech (9-12, 2-8 ACC) have dropped their last two games, 73-62 at home against Miami last Saturday and 81-66 on the road to Virginia Tech Wednesday, and are in last place in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are 3-4 over their last seven 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. 2-leading scorer (19.4 points per game), No. 5 three-point shooter by volume (2.55 per game) and No. 3 by percentage (40.2), leads the Jackets along with senior forward Jordan Usher (Canton, Ga.), averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Clemson (12-9 overall, 4-6 ACC), who has dropped four of its last six games, sits in 10th place in the ACC standings. The Tigers defeated Florida State, 75-69, in their last game, and also defeated Pittsburgh (75-48) on Jan. 22, both at home.

Saturday’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 380, SiriusXM app 970).

THE OPENING TIP

  • At home – Georgia Tech plays four of its final 10 ACC games at home, where the Yellow Jackets are 1-5 this season in conference play, 7-7 in all games. Clemson is 2-4 on the road in ACC play this season, 2-5 in all games.
  • Dynamic duo – Georgia Tech seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher have accounted for 47.9 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ scoring this season, and as the top two assist men on the team, have had a hand in 68.5 percent of Tech’s field goals made. Those numbers for ACC games are similar (47.6, 70.0). They also have combined for 45.9 of Tech’s free throw attempts and 50 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. 3 in the ACC in turnover margin (plus-2.0). The Jackets were minus-0.6 in non-conference games.
  • Grand theft basketball – The Jackets lead the conference in turnovers forced (14.30 per game) and are No. 2 in steals (9.10) in conference games. Tech’s last four ACC foes (Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech) have coughed it up 66 times, 42 of them takeaways for Tech.
  • Eight lineups – For the last four 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 21 games.
  • House of Usher – Usher has averaged 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds over Tech’s last 13 games, having hit 78-of-163 shots from the floor (47.8 percent) and 23-of-54 threes (42.6 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. 2 at 19.4 points per game. Devoe is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point percentage (40.2) and No. 5 in three-point field goals per game (2.55).
  • 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 1,537 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 50 points of 16th place (John Salley) and 51 points of 15th place (Bruce Dalrymple).
  • Over a thousand – Senior Jordan Usher cleared the 1,000-point milestone for his career when he scored 22 points Jan. 15 at North Carolina. He has 1,079 points, 805 of them scored in a Tech uniform, giving Tech three 1,000-point scorers on its roster, including Michael Devoe (1,537) and Bubba Parham (1,452).
  • Getting Moore done – Senior forward Khalid Moore has averaged 7.3 points over Tech’s last 15 games, after averaging 3.8 in the Jackets’ first six games of the season. He has hit 40-of-82 from the floor over that stretch. Moore is averaging a career high 7.7 points in ACC games.
  • Sturdy Sturdivant – Kyle Sturdivant has a 21:6 assist/turnover ratio over Tech’s last eight games. The junior guard has averaged 6.8 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).

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

  • This is the oldest and longest-running series the Yellow Jackets have with an ACC member. The 140 all-time meetings are more than 30 greater than Tech has played with any other ACC opponent. The series dates back to the 1912-13 season, when John Heisman coached the Tech basketball team.
  • Clemson is one of two permanent home-and-away opponents on Tech’s schedule each year (Notre Dame is the other).
  • The teams split their regular-season series in 2020-21, each team winning at home. Tech took an 83-65 win at McCamish Pavilion for its third straight win in the series before Clemson scored a 74-72 win at Littlejohn Coliseum on a 25-foot three-point shot just before the final horn.
  • The Tigers hold an 8-7 advantage in games played over the last seven seasons.
  • The Yellow Jackets swept the season series in 2019-20 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, winning 68-59 at home and 65-62 at Clemson. The win at Clemson was the Yellow Jackets’ first since the 2004-05 season, snapping a 14-game road losing streak in the series.
  • The Yellow Jackets trail 51-38 to the Tigers since joining the ACC.
  • Tech has an all-time record of 45-26 against the Tigers at home, including a 27-15 record at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and a 5-4 mark at McCamish Pavilion.
  • Tech is 4-6 on the court against Clemson under head coach Josh Pastner, and 7-17 vs. Tiger teams coached by Brad Brownell.
  • Tech is just 17-47 all-time in games played at Clemson, including an 9-40 mark in Littlejohn Coliseum. The Jackets lost 14 straight games on the road in the series, and 13 in a row at Littlejohn, before Tech won on March 6, 2020, Tech was Clemson’s first opponent in Littlejohn Coliseum back on Nov. 30, 1968. The Tigers won, 76-72.
  • Tech’s 111-108 win against the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 24, 2001 is the highest-scoring regulation game Tech has had with any ACC opponent. The Jackets’ current record of 17 three-point field goals was set in that game. The Jackets defeated Florida State by the same score in Tallahassee (in two OTs) on Feb. 11, 1999, and lost to Wake Forest in the 2007 ACC Tournament, 114-112 in double-overtime.
  • The Yellow Jackets have won three of four ACC Tournament meetings with the Tigers, including a 69-61 semi-final decision on the way to the 1993 conference title in Charlotte.

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.   

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.