Men's Basketball Travels for Rematch with No. 24/23 Clemson

Georgia Tech (8-11, 1-8 ACC) vs. #19 Clemson (16-4, 8-1 ACC)

• Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 9 p.m. ET | Clemson, S.C. | Littlejohn Coliseum
• Television:  ACC Network
• Play-by-Play:  Wes Durham  |  Analyst: Dan Bonner
• Radio:  Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 FM | SiriusXM ch. 384, SXM app 974 | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
• Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra  |  Analyst: Randy Waters

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech plays its first road game in two weeks Tuesday night, traveling to 19th-ranked Clemson to face the Tigers in a 9 p.m. contest at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Tech (8-11, 1-8 ACC) looks to snap a five-game losing streak against the ACC’s first-place team, who defeated the Yellow Jackets, 79-66, back on Dec. 21 in Atlanta. Tech’s only win came over No. 12 Miami, 76-70, on Jan. 4, and since then has lost to Florida State (75-64), Notre Dame (73-72 in overtime), Pittsburgh (71-60), NC State (78-66) and Syracuse (80-63). The Jackets sit a game out of last place in the conference standings.

Clemson (16-4, 8-1 ACC), off to one of its best starts in its ACC history, holds a one-game lead in the conference over Virginia and a two-game lead over four other teams. The Tigers, who sustained their first ACC loss last Tuesday at Wake Forest, rebounded Saturday with a slim 51-50 win over Virginia Tech. Clemson is 11-0 at home this season, including a 5-0 mark in conference games.

Tuesday’s game will be televised live on the ACC Network, with a live stream of the broadcast 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), and also on satellite radio (SiriusXM channel 384, SXM app 974).

THE TIP-OFF

• Georgia Tech plays three of its next four games on the road. The Yellow Jackets are home Saturday against Duke, then travel to Louisville and NC State next week.
• The last three meetings between Tech and Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum have been decided by a total of eight points. The game-winning winning points were scored with 15, 1 and 14 seconds on the clock, respectively.
• Tech is 1-1 this season against AP top-25 teams, having defeated No. 12 Miami and falling to No. 13 Virginia. There are no other top 25 teams remaining on the Yellow Jackets’ schedule after Clemson.
• Tech leads the ACC in three-point defense, allowing 29.2 percent from distance this season in all games.
• Tech leads the ACC in bench scoring, its reserves contributing 22.2 points per game this season. The bench has provided 30 or more points six times this season, and has outscored its opponents’ reserves in 12 of 19 games.
• Tech has used nine different starting lineups this season. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games, and eight of them have started a minimum of seven times.
• Sophomore guard Miles Kelly leads Tech in scoring, minutes, field goals made and attempted, three-point field goals made and attempted, and free throw percentage.

Miles Kelly led three Jackets in double figures with 17 points in Tech’s first meeting with Clemson on Dec. 21. (photo by Danny Karnik)

SERIES VS. CLEMSON

• The oldest and longest-running series the Yellow Jackets have with an ACC member, the 143 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).
• Tech has won four of the last seven games in the series, and the teams have split their two regular season meetings each of the past two seasons. The home team had won four straight games in the series until Clemson scored a 79-66 win at McCamish Pavilion in December.
• The Yellow Jackets have swept the season series just once (2019-20) since the 2004-05 season.
• Clemson holds a 10-9 in games played over the last eight seasons.
• The Yellow Jackets trail 53-39 to the Tigers since joining the ACC.
• Tech is 5-8 on the court against Clemson under head coach Josh Pastner, and 8-19 vs. Tiger teams coached by Brad Brownell.
• Tech is just 17-48 all-time in games played at Clemson, including an 9-41 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.

TEAM TRENDS

• Georgia Tech utilized its ninth different starting lineup this season against Syracuse. Nine Yellow Jackets have started at least two games this season, and none have started every game.
• With Lance Terry (hamstring) and Tristan Maxwell (hip pointer) both unavailable, Tech utilized just eight players for only the fifth time this season Nine or more Yellow Jackets have taken the court in 14 of 19 games. Tech ranked No. 121 in the nation this season in bench minutes (32.7 pct. entering the game), and only one other Josh Pastner Tech team has seen its reserves play more.
• Tech has hit 10 or more three-point field goals in three games this season (13 vs. Alabama State, 12 vs. Pittsburgh, 10 vs. Syracuse).
• Tech has averaged 24.5 three-point attempts in ACC games, trying at least 20 in every game except Virginia (16). The Jackets’ 31 attempts were the most for the team since trying 32 against Georgia State on Nov. 25, 2020, a game that went four overtimes.
• Tech is 1-11 this season when the opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goal attempts, 7-0 when it has a better percentage. Syracuse as the fourth opponent to hit 50 percent of its shots against the Yellow Jackets this season (Georgia, Clemson, NC State were the others).
• Tech is 6-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points (1-0 in the ACC), 2-10 when failing to reach 70.
• Tech is 11-for-28 from the foul line in its last three games after hitting 75.6 percent from the stripe in its first six ACC games.
• Tech’s bench has outscored that of its opponent 12 times in 19 games this season. Syracuse was the first team whose reserves outscored those of the Yellow Jackets since Miami on Jan. 4. The Jackets entered this week’s games No. 1 in the ACC in bench scoring (22.2 ppg).
• Tech’s 20 assists on 25 made field goals against Syracuse was a season best by percentage (80 pct.) and second best in terms of total assists (25 vs. Alabama State is the season high). The Jackets have assisted on 57.5 percent of their field goals in ACC games, fourth-best in the conference.
• Tech leads the ACC and in the top 25 in the nation in three-point defense (29.2 pct.) – Syracuse was 6-of-14 (42.9 pct.) against the Jackets, all six of the makes from one player. Notre Dame, Virginia, FSU and Syracuse combined to hit 35-of-85 (41.2 pct.) against the Jackets, while North Carolina, Clemson, Miami, Pitt and NC State were 26-of-104 combined (25 pct.).

PLAYER UPDATES

• Deebo Coleman scored a season-high 17 points against Syracuse, surpassing the 16 he scored at Georgia State in the second game of the season. He matched a career-best by hitting five three-point field goals. Coleman’s career high in points remains the 19 he scored in the second game of his college career against Lamar, the same game in which he hit five threes for the first time.
• Coleman became the second Tech player to play the full 40 minutes in a game this season, joining Lance Terry, who played 40 minutes vs. Miami in Jan. 4.
• Miles Kelly returned to double digits in points for the first time in three games, getting 13 points against Syracuse. He went 5-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-11 from three-point range.
• Kelly has hit three or more 3-point field goals in 10 games this season and has connected on 37.2 percent of his attempts in all games, 37.1 percent in ACC games.
• Kelly’s 9.1-points-per-game improvement over his freshman year is the third-largest jump among ACC players. Kelly averaged 4.5 points per game as a freshman, 13.6 per game this season.
• Jalon Moore posted his 11th game in double-digit scoring this season and has 28 points in his last two games (17 vs. NC State, 11 vs. Syracuse).
• Rodney Howard has connected on 36-of-55 shots from the floor (65.5 pct.) dating back to Nov. 23 vs. Marquette, covering 14 games. For the season he has connected on 60.3 percent of his field goal tries, 58.3 percent in ACC games.
• Deivon Smith matched his season high in assists with seven against Syracuse against one turnover. Smith ranks third in the ACC with a 2.43 assist/turnover ratio (his ratio last season was 1.1).
• 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 46.4 percent of the team’s total points this season and have taken 43.8 percent of the shots from the floor. In ACC games, they have accounted for 50.3 percent of the points and 47.2 percent of the shots taken.
• Tech’s guard trio of Kelly, Coleman and Lance Terry have taken more than two-thirds (66.9 pct.) of the Yellow Jackets’ three-point attempts and collectively have made 35 percent of them.
• Senior guard Kyle Sturdivant has played in 98 games over four seasons in his career, most among the Yellow Jackets. Senior center Rodney Howard is the next closest at 88. Tech’s other two seniors, Ja’von Franklin and Lance Terry, have played in just 78 and 73 games, respectively.

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.