Men's Basketball Faces Rematch with Notre Dame

GEORGIA TECH (8-15, 1-12 ACC) vs. NOTRE DAME (10-13, 2-10 ACC)

• Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
• Television:  ACC Regional Sports Networks  |  Affiliates  |  In-Market Stream  |  Out-of-Market Stream
• Play-by-Play:  Bob Rathbun  |  Analyst: Brian Oliver
• Radio:  Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 121 or 194, SXM app 956 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

Lance Terry returned from a four-game absence (hamstring) to score 10 points at NC State. (photo by Olivia Dail)

SERIES VS. NOTRE DAME

• Notre Dame has won seven of the last eight meetings to take a 15-12 lead in the all-time series. Georgia Tech’s only win was an 82-80 win on Feb. 6, 2021 at McCamish Pavilion. The Fighting Irish won the teams’ initial meeting this season, 73-72 in overtime on Jan. 10 in Atlanta. They swept the regular season series in 2019-20 and 2021-22, and had won the last two meetings of 2018-19, the final regular season contest and an ACC Tournament meeting.
• Since Notre Dame joined the ACC, the teams have split their regular season series four times, and the Fighting Irish have swept the Yellow Jackets three times. Tech has yet to sweep the Irish.
• Notre Dame is one of two permanent home-and-away opponents for Tech in the ACC. However, the teams did not play in South Bend during the 2020-21 season when the game was canceled due to COVID-19.
• The Yellow Jackets are 6-13 against Notre Dame since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC. The first 17 meetings were decided by a total of 88 points, and the widest margin of victory was 10 points by Notre Dame on Feb. 10, 2019 before the Fighting Irish scored a 34-point win (90-56) on Feb. 26 2022 in South Bend. True to form, the teams played their fourth overtime game in the most recent meeting earlier this season.
• At McCamish Pavilion, Tech is 6-3 against the Irish (minus one 2017 win vacated by the NCAA), and the games have been decided by a total of 32 points.
• The Yellow Jackets won five straight meetings between the two teams from 1972 through Tech’s 74-69 victory in McCamish Pavilion on Jan. 11, 2014, the team’s first meeting as ACC foes.
• That game and a 90-80 Tech victory in Atlanta a year earlier were the only two face-offs ever between legendary coaches Bobby Cremins and Digger Phelps.
• All but one game in the series has been played on the two campuses, the exception being a 2007 meeting in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam. The Yellow Jackets erased a 9-point deficit in the final 5:11 and won the game on a three-point basket by Matt Causey with two seconds remaining.
• Tech is 9-3 all-time against Notre Dame in Atlanta, three of those wins at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and six at McCamish Pavilion (the 2017 win was vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions).

TEAM TRENDS

• Georgia Tech has utilized 11 different starting lineups total this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, eight have started at least nine games, nine have started at least one ACC game, and none have started every game.
• Tech’s five starters in the NC State game played the entire second half until Ja’von Franklin fouled out with 11 seconds left in the game.
• Franklin became just the second Tech player to foul out this season, Jordan Meka, who replaced Franklin for the final 11 seconds, fouled out of the Dec. 17 game against Alabama State.
• Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 16 of 23 games. Tech ranks No. 93 in the nation this season in bench minutes (34.4 pct.), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more. At NC State, however, Tech’s four reserves played a total of 14 minutes. All five starters were on the court for more than 36 minutes each.
• Tech has averaged 24.4 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16). The Jackets are fourth in the ACC in highest 3PA/FGA rate (40.9 percent according to KenPom) and sixth in average number of attempts over the entire season (22.2).
• Tech’s 44.1-percent success rate from the floor was its best since it connected on 44.4 percent against Virginia on Dec. 31, a span of 10 games. Its 33.3-percent conversion on three-pointers (8-of-24) was the Jackets’ best since Jan. 14 vs. Pitt (41.4 pct., 12-of-29). Still, Tech has made just 30 percent of its threes in ACC play, and 24.3 percent over its last six games.
• Tech outshot an opponent from the floor (44.1 pct. to NC State’s 41.9 pct.) for the first time since Jan 4 vs. Miami, and lost for the first time this season when doing so. Tech is 1-14 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-1 when it has a better percentage.
• Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), 2-14 when failing to reach 70. The Jackets have reached 70 points in ACC play only against Miami and Notre Dame.
• Tech went 4-for-6 from the foul line at NC State and has hit just 39-of-68 over its previous seven games. The Jackets have scored 14.6 percent of their points from the foul line this season, last in the ACC.
• Tech has assisted on 55.6 percent of their field goals in ACC games, sixth-best in the ACC.
• Tech’s bench scored no points (0-for-4 FG) for the first time this season. The Jackets dropped to No. 2 in in the ACC in bench scoring (20.1 points per game).

PLAYER UPDATES

• Miles Kelly has led Tech in scoring seven times this season, and did so against NC State (17 points) for the first time since Jan. 4 against Miami, Tech’s only ACC win.
• Kelly has scored 33 points in his last two games (16 at Louisville Wednesday night), his best back-to-back games since scoring 20 against Miami on Jan. 4 and 16 on Jan. 7 at Florida State.
• Center Ja’von Franklin filled up the stat sheet with 16 points and eight rebounds, as well as five assists and five blocked shots, both of which were career highs. The 16 points were one shy of his season best. He is the only Tech player to reach those totals in the same game dating back to 2010-11 (Sports-Reference.com).
• Franklin has blocked eight shots in his last two games and ranks fifth in the ACC at 1.59 per game.
• Franklin has averaged 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds over Tech’s last four games, hitting 19-of-32 from the floor in that stretch.
• Away from McCamish Pavilion this season, Franklin has averaged 9.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 blocked shots and 1.9 assists per game. He has hit 54.5 percent of his shots from the floor (36-of-66).
• Kyle Sturdivant’s 30 points in his last two games (17 at Louisville, 13 at NC State) is his best back-to-back effort of the season. He played more than 37 minutes in each game, hit 10-of-26 shots from the floor, 5-of-15 from three-point range, dished eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds.
• Lance Terry returned from a four-game injury absence (hamstring) to score 10 points (4-of-9 FG) in more than 38 minutes at NC State. He has seven double-figure scoring games this season and is Tech’s second-leading scorer in ACC games (9.3 ppg).
• Tech’s sophomore trio of Deebo Coleman, Miles Kelly and Jalon Moore rank 1-2-3 on the Yellow Jackets’ scoring chart. They have accounted for 45.6 percent of the team’s total points this season (47.7 percent in ACC games) and have taken 43.9 percent of the shots from the floor (46.4 percent) in ACC games.
• Tech guards Kelly, Coleman and Lance Terry, the Yellow Jackets’ most frequent three-point shooters, have combined to hit 33.5 percent in all games, 32.7 percent in ACC games.

No Tech player since 2010-11 has totalled as many as 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots in the same game as Ja’von Franklin did at NC State. (photo by Olivia Dail)

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 has completed six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. 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.