THE FLATS – Georgia Tech and LSU will face off on Dec. 11 at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta as part of the second Holiday Hoopsgiving event announced Thursday. The one-day quadruple-header also features Auburn vs. Nebraska, Clemson vs. Drake and Mississippi vs. Western Kentucky.
The game will pit the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Yellow Jackets, coming off a 17-9 season (11-5 ACC) and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, against an LSU team that finished 19-10 overall last season, with an 11-6 conference record, good for third place in the Southeastern Conference regular season. The Tigers appeared in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Michigan in the second round.
The former Southeastern Conference rivals will be meeting for the 36th time overall in a series that LSU leads, 21-14. The teams have faced off six times since Georgia Tech left the conference, with the most recent contest coming on Nov. 20, 2011, a 59-50 Tigers’ victory in the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. Of those six meetings, three have occurred in the NCAA Tournament, including a 94-91 triumph in the 1990 South Regional in Knoxville, Tenn., that helped propel the Jackets to their first Final Four appearance.
“We’re excited to have another opportunity this year to bring Georgia Tech’s basketball team to play in State Farm Arena and help support the efforts of Holiday Hoopsgiving,” said Tech head coach Josh Pastner, whose Yellow Jackets defeated No. 20 Kentucky, 79-62, in last year’s Holiday Hoopsgiving event. “We’re looking forward to taking on LSU. They’ve been a strong program for many years and will be a great addition to our non-conference schedule.”