Men’s Basketball Hosts North Florida in Peach State Classic

GEORGIA TECH (1-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. NORTH FLORIDA (2-0, 0-0 A-Sun)

• Sunday, November 10, 2024 | 1 p.m. EST | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
• Live Stream:  ACC Network Extra | ESPN+ (Announcers: Wiley Ballard, Jon Babul)
• Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM app
• Other ways to listen:  Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters
• Live Stats:  Statbroadcast.com

THE FLATS – Beginning its second season under head coach Damon Stoudamire, Georgia Tech opens its 2024-25 season with four games in 10 days, continuing with a Sunday afternoon date against North Florida at McCamish Pavilion (1 p.m. tip).

The stretch continues with a Nov. 12 contest against Texas Southern (7:30 p.m.). Those two games are part of the Peach State Classic, an early-season home multiple-team event (MTE) in which those opponents also will play Georgia.

North Florida, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, is coming off a 16-16 campaign a year ago, including a 9-7 mark in conference play.

Texas Southern, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, went 16-17 overall in 2023-24 and 12-6 in SWAC competition.

Both games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available in the SiriusXM app.

JACKETS OPEN IN STRONG FASHION

Georgia Tech opened the 2024-25 campaign with a 85-62 rout over visiting West Georgia on Wednesday evening at McCamish Pavilion.

Playing his first game in the White and Gold, Oklahoma transfer Javian McCollum led Georgia Tech (1-0) with a game-high 18 points. Kowacie Reeves, Jr., added 15 points and Baye Ndongo chipped in 10 to round out three scorers in double-figures for the Yellow Jackets. Ten different players scored for the Jackets, who never trailed in the opener.

Thanks to five points from McCollum and four from Reeves, Tech raced out to an early 11-2 lead and never looked back. The Jackets closed the first half with a 26-13 run and led by 21 at the break, 50-29. The advantage never shrank to less than 20 in the second period, despite making just one field goal in the final nine minutes of the game.

Georgia Tech’s 23-point win was aided by seven assists from Naithan George and 10 rebounds from Colorado transfer Luke O’Brien, both game highs. McCollum had four steals to go along with his 18 points.

NOTABLE

• Tech is playing its first seven games of the season at McCamish Pavilion. The Jackets do not play away from home until Dec. 3 (ACC opener at North Carolina).
• Tech posted its largest margin of victory under Damon Stoudamire – 23 points. Tech’s largest margin of victory last year was 22 points in the Yellow Jackets’ season-opener vs. Georgia Southern (84-62).
• Tech shot 63.4 percent inside the arc (26-of-41) against UWG.
• Tech assisted on 20 of its 33 made field goals (60.6 percent).
• Javian McCollum’s 18 points against West Georgia got him over 1,000 points for his career. He began the season with 990 (590 in two seasons at Siena, 400 in his one season at Oklahoma).
• McCollum has scored in double figures 45 times in his career.
• McCollum’s four steals against West Georgia were one more than any player had for Tech last season.
• McCollum stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals against West Georgia.
• Naithan George had seven assists vs. West Georgia, the ninth time in his career he has dished seven or more. His career high in assists is 11 vs. Notre Dame, Jan. 9, 2024.
• Luke O’Brien posted his sixth career double-figure rebound game with 10 vs. West Georgia (the previous five all in the 2022-23 season). Career high 14 vs. Seton Hall on March 14, 2023.
• Kowacie Reeves, Jr., scored 15 points against West Georgia, his 14th double-figure game as a Yellow Jacket and 33rd of his career.
• Reeves, Jr., has started all 33 games Tech has played with him on the team.
• Baye Ndongo scored 10 points (on just 5 FGA) with seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks against UWG. It was his 20th career double-figure scoring game.
• Bruce Evans, assistant coach at North Florida since 2016, was Tech’s director of player personnel under head coach Brian Gregory from 2012-16.

GENERAL STORYLINES FOR 2024-25

• 110th season – Georgia Tech is playing its 110th season of basketball in 2024-25, having compiled an all-time on-court record of 1,451-1,324 (22 wins and one loss from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions).
• Tech in the ACC – Tech will play its 46th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, having won the conference championship in 1985, 1990, 1993 and 2021. Prior to that, Tech competed in the Metro Conference for three seasons from 1975-78, was an independent from 1964-75, and was a member of the Southeastern Conference for 32 years from 1932-64, winning one title in 1938.
• Tech was projected to finish 12th in the ACC standings last season by a vote of the conference’s official media panel. Tech has finished ahead of its media projection seven of the last eight seasons.
• Tech has a total of seven scholarship newcomers on its roster, including three freshmen who were judged the nation’s 20th-best recruiting class (247Sports composite), and four transfers in a class ranked 53rd.
• Tech opens the 2024-25 season with seven consecutive home games, its longest homestand to open a season since 1980-81. After three straight games away from home (Oklahoma, North Carolina, Northwestern), the Jackets will have five more in a row at McCamish Pavilion, including conference tilts against Duke, Notre Dame and Boston College.
• Tech will play 19 regular-season games at McCamish Pavilion, the most since the 2016-17 season, when the Jackets played 21 total home games, including two on the NIT.
• Of the three new members of the ACC, Tech has faced SMU the most (8-6 all-time, last meeting in 1986). The Jackets are 0-3 vs. California (last meeting 2012) and 1-2 vs. Stanford (last meeting 2000).
• Damon Stoudamire is one of 19 head coaches at the NCAA Division I level that played in the NBA. (courtesy of Stephen Gorchov at Hofstra)

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second season under head coach Damon Stoudamire. 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.