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Jackets Visit No. 16/15 Virginia Tech

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THE FLATS – Looking for its third straight win and second straight on the road, Georgia Tech plays the second of two straight road games Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tip against No. 16/15 Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.

Georgia Tech update – The Yellow Jackets, 5-5 since returning from its 17-day COVID pause, are alone in ninth place in the ACC standings and have a NCAA NET ranking of No. 51. Tech captured its first ACC road win with an 87-60 victory Saturday at Miami and defeated Pittsburgh (71-65) at home six days earlier. Four of Tech’s five losses during this period came by a total of 19 points.

Virginia Tech update – The Hokies’ last three games have been postponed under COVID-19 protocols. Prior to that, Virginia Tech had won three of four games, including a 66-51 home win over No. 8 Virginia on Jan. 30. The Hokies have not lost at home in ACC play, falling at Louisville, Syracuse and Pitt.

Broadcast information – Live TV broadcast on the ACC’s Regional Sports Network (Fox Sports South in Georgia) and live streaming on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is provided by the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Learfield IMG College and flagship station WCNN-Radio (680 AM, 93.7 FM) in Atlanta. The Tech broadcast can be heard on SiriusXM Ch. 385 (internet 975) and the TuneIn app.

Head coach Josh Pastner speaks to the media Monday

  • THE TIPOFF
    • How much is a road win worth? – Georgia Tech’s first ACC road win of the season Saturday at Miami prompted an 11-spot jump for the Yellow Jackets in the NCAA’s NET rankings (from 62 to 51) and 15 spots in the KenPom.com rankings (from 55 to 40). Those are Tech’s highest positions in both rankings during head coach Josh Pastner’s tenure.
    • Tech’s ACC schedule rated second toughest – Georgia Tech’s ACC schedule is ranked No. 2 in strength according to KenPom.com (Clemson is No. 1). Tech was No. 1 prior to its win at Miami. The Yellow Jackets have played four games against the top two teams in the current standings, dropping two games to Virginia by a total of 10 points, and splitting with Florida State. Nine games have come against teams ahead of the Jackets. Tech has played only four games against teams below it in the ACC standings, and defeated all of them. The three postponements Tech has yet to make up are all against teams in the bottom six.
    • Big wins for the Jackets – Tech has defeated three AP top 25 teams this season – No. 20 Kentucky (Dec. 6), No. 20 Clemson (Jan. 20) and No. 16 Florida State (Jan. 30).
    • It’s nice to win – With a 7-6 ACC record to follow last year’s 11-9 finish, Georgia Tech has its most conference victories (18) in back-to-back years since the Yellow Jackets went 8-8 in 1994-95 and 13-3 in 1995-96 (21 wins). If Tech finishes with a winning ACC record, it would be the first time in back-to-back seasons that the Yellow Jackets have done that since 1989 and 1990 (both 8-6). Further, Tech has not posted .500-or-better ACC records in consecutive seasons since 2004 (9-7) and 2005 (8-8).
    • Four-large – Georgia Tech is one of two NCAA Division I teams (Ole Miss is the other) to have four active players with 1,000 career points. This has never happened in Tech history. Moses Wright joined the group Saturday and has 1,005 career points. Michael Devoe (1,037 points) reached that benchmark Feb. 14 against Pitt. Bubba Parham (1,424) already had 1,000 when he transferred to Tech, and Jose Alvarado (1,352) surpassed the mark late last season.
    • Break up to make up – Two of Georgia Tech’s five postponed ACC games were rescheduled and played, at Louisville (Feb. 1) and at home against Pitt (Feb. 14). No makeup dates have been set for the Yellow Jackets’ games at Notre Dame (originally Jan. 6) and NC State (Jan. 16) or Boston College (Feb. 17). Tech also had a non-conference game at UAB (Dec. 23) cancelled due to COVID concerns with the Blazers.
    • What’s left? – Tech has a quad 1 game (at Virginia Tech), a pair of quad 2 games (Syracuse and Duke) and a quad 3 game (at Wake Forest) remaining, The Jackets have had a quad 1 game (at Notre Dame) and two quad 2 games (at UAB, at NC State), as well as a quad 4 game (Boston College last Wednesday), postponed or cancelled due to COVID.
    • All in for Alvarado – Jose Alvarado ranks among the ACC’s top 10 in seven statistical categories – No. 4 in ACC in scoring (16.74 ppg), No. 5 in FG percentage (.525), No. 1 in FT percentage (.864), No. 6 in assist average (4.16), No. 1 in steals (2.79), No. 8 in assist/turnover ratio (1.88), No. 3 in average minutes (36.87) … Also is No. 13 in 3-point FG made (2.05) and would rank among the top 10 in 3-point FG percentage with enough makes (.419).
    • The Wright stuff – Moses Wright also holds top 10 rankings in seven ACC stat categories – currently No. 6 in the ACC in scoring (16.32), No. 9 in rebound average (7.53), No. 6 in field goal percentage (.519), No. 4 in steals (1.68 per game), No. 5 in blocked shots (1.74), No. 5 in offensive rebounds (2.68) and No. 7 in average minutes played (35.24).
    • Moses climbs the mountain – Moses Wright has become the 21st player in Tech history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career, reaching the scoring mark Saturday at Miami and the rebound mark Jan. 30 vs. Florida State. The 6-9 senior now has 1,005 career points and 556 career rebounds.
    • Dynamic duo – Michael Devoe (16.08) and Jose Alvarado (15.92 ppg vs. ACC) rank No. 5 and 8, respectively, in the ACC and have accounted for 44.6 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points in conference games. They have scored or assisted on 69.3 percent of Tech’s field goals in conference play. The Jackets are 8-1 this season when both players score in double digits, 6-0 in the ACC.
    • Bombs away – Alvarado and Devoe have combined to make 44.4 percent of their three-point shots in ACC games, combining for 60 of the Yellow Jackets’ 105 threes.
    • Ball security – The Jackets remain No. 1 in the ACC in turnover margin (plus-4.32) and rank No. 9 nationally in turnover margin. Tech’s margin of plus 4.38 in ACC games also ranks No. 1. Tech leads the ACC in turnovers forced (15.31) in league games, and fourth in turnovers committed (10.92).

Moses Wright has four double-doubles this season, three of them in ACC games.

 

SERIES VS. VIRGINIA TECH

Virginia Tech has won 20 of 27 all-time meetings with Georgia Tech, including 16 of 22 as a member of the ACC … Georgia Tech captured a 76-57 victory in the teams’ only scheduled meeting of the 2019-20 season, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Hokies and matching its largest margin of victory in the series … Tech’s 64-54 win on Feb. 9, 2013 in Blacksburg is its only triumph at Cassell Coliseum in 11 tries.

WHAT’S TRENDING

  • Georgia Tech captured its first road win in the ACC this season and did so in record fashion, posting the largest margin of victory in an ACC road game in program history, 27 points, eclipsing its 26-point win at Wake Forest on March 3, 2011. The Jackets led by 30 at the half.
  • Tech improved to 8-1 this season when Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe both score in double figures, 6-0 in ACC games.
  • Tech’s 87 points were its season high for an ACC game and most since scoring 96 at North Carolina on Jan. 4, 2020.
  • For the 16th time in its last 17 games, Tech won the turnover battle (11 to Miami’s 15), and the Yellow Jackets have a plus-4.4 turnover margin in conference play, plus-4.3 in all games. Both rank No. 1 in the ACC. Tech also leads the ACC in turnovers forced in conference games (15.3) and is second in all games (15.5).
  • Tech has shot 50 percent or better in six ACC games this season (57.1 percent vs. Miami, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, both games against Clemson), and has connected on 47.5 percent of its shots in ACC games this season.
  • Tech snapped out of a five-game funk from the three-point line, hitting 11-of-26 from distance (42.3 percent) against Miami. The Jackets had shot just 30.1 percent over its previous five games.
  • For only the fifth time this season, Tech’s bench outscored its opponent’s reserves (18-2 vs. Miami). The Jackets are 5-0 when that happens.
  • Moses Wright grabbed 12 rebounds against Miami, giving him his 11th career double-double and fourth this season. He added three assists, a block and a steal.
  • Michael Devoe scored a season-high 29 points at Miami, hitting 11-of-16 shots from the floor and a career-high 7-of-11 from three-point range. The 6-5 junior made his first six field goal attempts, four of which were threes, before missing.
  • Devoe has had games of seven 3s (Miami on Feb. 20) and six 3s (Clemson on Jan. 20) in ACC play this season, and currently ranks No. 2 in three-point field goals per game (2.69) and three-point percentage (.461). He had made 44.7 percent of his three-point attempts for his career against conference opponents.
  • Jose Alvarado played 28:01, his fewest minutes in an ACC game this season and third fewest overall (he has played 40 minutes in a game four times this season). Still he scored 16 points (6-8 FG, 2-4 3pt FG, 2-2 FT) with six assists and three steals.
  • Alvarado was credited with steals, and his season average is 2.78 in all games, 3.08 in ACC games. His overall rate is the most by an ACC player since Tim Pickett of Florida State in 2003 (2.8), and his rate in ACC games is the most since Clemson’s Vernon Hamilton set the conference record of 4.1 in 2006.
  • Alvarado’s 2.11 steals per game career would put him among the ACC’s all-time top 20 if his career ended today.

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 A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org. 

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its fifth season under head coach Josh Pastner, having finished fifth in the ACC in 2019-20, the program’s highest finish since 2005. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993), played in the NCAA Tournament 16 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.

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